Have you been staying up-to-date with the new standards published by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)? ICMA has numerous articles, groups, and topic pages to help you understand the changes ahead and how to prepare for them.  

Pension Funding: A Guide for Elected Officials

ICMA, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, and other national government associations developed this guide to explain what the new GASB standards mean and what governments can do to be sure that they have a sound approach to fund their plans.

“Pension Funding Guidelines Overview”

This one-page summary might be called “Books, Budgets, and Bonds.” It explains the three different pension numbers local officials and the public need to understand: the accounting figure that GASB requires for reporting on balance sheets, the pension calculations that ratings agencies use to determine a government’s creditworthiness, and the calculation that actuaries develop for annual budgeting purposes

“Expect More Volatility with New GASB Pension Accounting Standards”

“The new accounting and reporting standards issues by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) will require that employers immediately recognize certain public pension expense items, and these changes will mean that the net pension liability and pension expense for local governments will be more volatile as investment returns over each year must be immediately recognized.”

Public Pension Funding

Check out pension plan examples from cities in Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado as well as advice from the Pension Funding Task Force. 

Have you checked out the Public Pension Task Force group on the Knowledge Network? It will allow you to connect with other local government professionals who share your concerns about GASB’s new accounting standards for public pensions.

For all the latest updates and news, check out our topic page on the Knowledge Network, GASB. 

Hilary Badger

Knowledge Network, Intern

ICMA