The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued
Statement no. 45, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers
for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions, which
generally requires state and local governments to account for and
report costs and obligations related to postemployment health care and
other nonpension benefits, commonly referred to as other
postemployment benefits, by the same methods they use for
pensions (
www.gasb.org/news/nr080204.html ). Large—in terms of total
annual revenues—government employers must implement the statement’s
provisions for periods beginning after December 15, 2006. Midsize and
small governments have one and two years beyond that date,
respectively, to comply. GASB published related guidance—Statement no.
43, Financial Reporting for Postemployment Benefit Plans Other
Than Pension Plans ( www.gasb.org/news/nr051104-A.html
)—in April. Both statements are available from GASB’s order
department at 800-748-0659 or online at http://store.yahoo.com/gasbpubs
.
Government Accounting
