Communicating The Facts

Communicating the Facts on GASB 68 Presented by: [Insert Name] About GASB 68 • GASB stands for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board • It is the governing body that sets best practices and issues “statements” that set the standard for public sector accounting and financial reporting • GASB 68 is a new requirement that changes the way government entities that offer defined benefit plans report pension liabilities • The most notable change is the separation of accounting calculations from funding calculations • The statement does not apply to post-employment health benefits (OPEB)   Summary of the Change Balance Sheet (Government Wide  Financial Statement) Income Statement (Government Wide) Deferred Outflows  and Inflows Required  Contributions Pre-GASB 68  (Statements 27 & 50) Long-term liability was recorded in the footnotes of the financial statements Post-GASB 68 Pension expense equaled the annual required contribution Pension expense will now be calculated based on accrual accounting, thus it will not equal the annual required contribution A new calculation of long-term liability, called Net Pension Liability, will be on the balance sheet and the footnotes will be more extensive New requirement The annual actuarial valuation Same process process calculates the required contributions Summary of the Change, cont • Currently, government entities include only the yearly contributions required to cover pension benefits on the balance sheets in their annual reports • Under GASB 68, government entities will be required to include the total long-term cost of benefits as a liability on the balance sheets • A similar total long-term cost of benefits, called Unfunded Accrued Liability, was included prior annual reports, but was not listed on the balance sheet • This goes into effect for all annual reporting after June 15, 2014 Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) • Before GASB 68 statement, we disclosed long-term pension liability, called UAL, in our footnotes • This long-term pension liability was calculated the following way: Actuarial Accrued Liability • The total value of benefits earned by members under a plan to date • This number uses the actuarial assumed rate of return, which is currently 8% Actuarial Value of Assets • The value of pension plan investments • This calculation uses a smoothed asset value, which causes the amount to be different than the amount actually held in the trust for the plan (market value of assets) UAL A New Calculation • After GASB 68 statement, we need to disclose a new calculation of longterm pension liability, called Net Pension Liability on our balance sheet • This new calculation is calculated the following way: Total Pension Liability Fiduciary Net Position • This number is similar to the Actuarial Accrued Liability, however for some plans the number will be calculated using a different discount rate • The actual amount of assets held in the pension trust for a plan at the measurement date (market value of assets) NPL What Will This Mean for Our Municipality? • Though these new long-term pension number may seem different, the current financial situation of our retirement plan has not changed • The new requirement will not change how much we are required to contribute to our plan each year • Our retirement plan is part of MERS, however each plan is maintained in a separate trust • This means we get the benefits of pooling resources for investments while maintaining the integrity and individuality of our plan How Will MERS Help Us? • MERS will work closely with us to provide all of the information required to comply with new reporting rules • Information will come in two pieces, the annual actuarial valuation and the annual financial report • There is no need to hire an actuary on our own • MERS is available to answer any of our questions • MERS is also available to assist us in answering any questions with local media and the public • Again, while the new requirement will provide an accurate picture of all future costs, it may overstate a government entity’s current financial challenges, causing confusion and overreaction • The MERS team has been trained to explain the issues clearly • They will work in partnership with us to deliver a consistent message across the state and to our local media Choose an implementation timeline from the following slides based on your fiscal year June – November Fiscal Years December Fiscal Years January – March Fiscal Years April – May Fiscal Years