As local governments prepare to implement the new pension accounting standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, GASB Chairman David Vaudt said in a webcast that plan administrators and governments need to focus on five key areas for successful implementation:  

1.  Pension funding policy

2.  Selection of assumptions

3.  Timing of measurements

4.  Frequency of timing of actuarial valuations

5.  Employer reporting information. 

Vaudt reminded listeners that the direct link between measurement for funding purposes and measurement for pension expense purposes has been removed in the new standards:  GASB Statement No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions, which is effective for governments for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2014. Statement No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, which addresses reporting by pension plans that administer benefits for governments, takes effect for financial statements for periods beginning after June 15, 2013.

Click here for more information about the GASB webcast.