GASB issued a proposed technical bulletin that clarifies
that the use of actual known amounts for purposes of calculating the
annual required contribution (ARC) adjustment relating to pensions and
other post-employment benefits (OPEB) is consistent with the intent of
existing standards. The proposed technical bulletin, Determining
the Annual Required Contribution for Postemployment Benefits,
clarifies that using the known amount in place of the estimation
procedure in GASB Statement no. 27, Accounting for Pensions by
State and Local Governmental Employers, and Statement no. 45,
Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers for
Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions, is encouraged.
Statements no. 27 and no. 45 assume that the ARC adjustment is not known and require governments to use a method of estimation. Since it has come to GASB’s attention that some actuaries do track that portion of the ARC separately, the proposed technical bulletin will clarify that governments may base the ARC adjustment on the actual amount when it is known.
The proposed technical bulletin is available at www.gasb.org/exp.
