The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued new standards for how state and local government employers should account for pension benefit costs.  Significantly, the calculation of the employer pension expense will no longer be related to the employer funding requirements. Under this new approach, the GASB will   require employers to report an actuarially determined annual required contribution (ARC) only if they voluntarily decide to calculate one.   GASB will no longer set the parameters within which an employer calculates the ARC.