The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
released guidance that addresses some of the practical issues raised by stakeholders in implementing the the board's pension accounting rules. The guidance was written in response, specifically, to the following three statements:
- No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, which went into effect in 2013;
- No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions, which went into effect in 2014; and
- No. 73, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions and Related Assets That Are Not within the Scope of GASB Statement 68, which goes into effect in June.
"After the issuance of those Statements, issues were raised by stakeholders including (a) presentation of payroll-related measures in required supplementary information, (b) selection of assumptions and the treatment of deviations from the guidance in an Actuarial Standard of Practice for financial reporting purposes, and (c) classification of payments made by employers to satisfy employee (plan member) contribution requirements," said the GASB guidance.
The requirements of GASB Statement 82 are generally effective for reporting periods beginning after June 15, 2016, with earlier application encouraged. Additional information regarding implementation timing is available in the document.