Changes In Pension Accounting Standards Taking Effect This Year

In this type of plan, the employer provides a predetermined periodic payment to employees after they retire. The amount of this future payment depends upon a number of future events, such as estimates of employee lifespan, how long current employees will continue to work for the company, and the pay level of employees just prior to their retirement.

Governments will likely report pension expense more quickly than under the prior standards; however, how or whether this information is used in assessing the amounts that governments will contribute to their pension plans is a public policy decision made by government officials. The accounting for pensions can be quite complex, especially in regard to defined benefit plans.

The Types Of Pension Costs

Therefore, when accounting for other employee-related benefits, some may require proper professional and subjective judgment depending on the situation. Pension expense is an expected value and when the actual value of the pension differs, those deviations are recorded through other comprehensive income under IFRS. For Canadian private companies that adhere to ASPE, there is no such OCI account. A contingent asset is a potential economic benefit that is dependent on future events out of a company’s control. James Chen, CMT is an expert trader, investment adviser, and global market strategist.

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Accounting For Other Benefits

One of the features of the prior standards that many financial statement users have criticized is the variety of choices that employers could make when attributing the present value of projected benefit payments to past, present, and future periods. Governments previously were allowed to select from six different actuarial cost allocation methods, each of which could be applied in two ways—as a level dollar amount each year or as a level percentage of payroll in each year. In the view of many users, these options seriously diminished comparability. The new Statements, however, require that all governments use one type of actuarial cost method—called entry age—and apply it only as a level percentage of payroll. Actuarial gains and losses are best understood in the context of overall pension accounting. Except where specifically noted, this definition addresses pension accounting under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles .

It is important to note that examining a pension plan’s investment return in any short-term period is not appropriate for drawing conclusions about the appropriateness of a government’s assumption about long-term investment earnings. The investment return in any given year or short-term period is likely to be either higher or lower than the assumed long-term return. However, an appropriate long-term investment return assumption will reflect the expected average earnings over a long period, even though it may not be the same as actual earnings in any particular single or short-term period. Statement No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, which applies to financial reporting by most pension plans. Actuarial gains and losses are created when the assumptions underlying a company’s projected benefit obligation change.

Improving The Presentation Of Net Periodic Pension Cost And Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost

Combining everything under operational costs had the potential to increase volatility of operating results in the eyes of lenders, credit agencies and investors. Beginning in 2018 or 2019, depending on the company’s fiscal year end, only the service cost will remain as an operating cost, and all other line items will move to non-operating costs. The separate treatment of non-operating pension expenses should result in more transparency of compensation and operations within the income statement, and explain true operating results separate from special pension items. GASB Statement No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, revises existing guidance for the financial reports of most pension plans for state and local governments. Due to the nature of pension plans, accounting for them is rather complicated. The first complication is that pension benefits are payable to retirees in the far future, so it is hard to estimate the amount of future payments. With a defined benefit plan, an employee knows the terms of the benefit to be received upon retirement.

• Generally, a change from the use of a calculated value to fair value is a change to a preferable method because it accelerates the recognition in earnings of events that have already occurred.
• Accumulated plan benefits are to be presented as the present value of future benefits attributable, under the plan’s provisions, to service rendered to the date of the actuarial valuation.
• Actuarial gains and losses are created when the assumptions underlying a company’s projected benefit obligation change.
• Since, the actual cash flows are not counted each year; this means the annual pension expense is based on rules that attempt to capture changing assumptions about the future.
• Our advocacy partners are state CPA societies and other professional organizations, as we inform and educate federal, state and local policymakers regarding key issues.

In an effort to accelerate the recognition of gains and losses in the income statement, companies have also changed from using a calculated value to using fair value in determining the market-related value of plan assets for the expected return calculation. In accordance with ASC 250,1 such companies have retrospectively applied these changes in accounting principles to their financial statements. The purpose of this alert is to highlight some of the significant implications and other considerations related to such accounting changes.

Two Types Of Pensions

It has been suggested that comparability would be greatly improved if all governments were required to use the same assumptions. However, taking a one-size-fits-all approach would ignore significant differences between governments—such as the mix of their investment portfolios and their actual earnings experience—that are relevant to determining the amount that governments are obligated to provide for pensions. The employer is also required to maintain memo accounts for unrecognized prior service costs and unrecognized gains and losses. The primary objective of a plan’s financial statements is to provide information that is useful in assessing the plan’s present and future ability to pay benefits when they are due. This objective requires the presentation of information about the plan’s economic resources and a measure of participants’ accumulated benefits. The cumulative effect of the change to the new accounting principle on periods prior to those presented shall be reflected in the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities as of the beginning of the first period presented.

Because the change addressed in this Alert does not affect the tax treatment of pension liabilities or the measurement of pension assets or liabilities, the current deferred tax asset or liability will continue to exist after the adoption of the changes in accounting policies discussed above. However, the amounts recorded in OCI representing the tax effects under a company’s previous policy would be retrospectively reflected in retained earnings (or the income tax expense line in an individual prior period presented) upon the change in accounting policy discussed above. In changing to an accelerated method of recognizing pension gains and losses or to fair value for the market-related value of plan assets, companies need to consider the effects on net periodic pension cost in all prior periods presented in the financial statements. To account for the retroactive application as if the principle had always been used, the cumulative-effect change to periods before those presented should be reflected in beginning retained earnings of the earliest period presented and in accumulated OCI . See below for consideration of income taxes resulting from this change in amortization method for gains and losses. As just stated, the new pension Statements relate only to accounting and financial reporting, or how pension costs and obligations are measured and reported in external financial reports. How much governments actually contribute each year to a pension plan is a policy issue.

How Does Inventory Accounting Differ Between Gaap And Ifrs?

If most of the plan participants are inactive, amortize the excess over their remaining life expectancy. In addition to pension accounting, companies also have to provide other benefits that are treated similarly to pensions from an accounting perspective. An actuarial valuation is an appraisal of a pension fund’s assets versus liabilities, using investment, economic, and demographic assumptions. From period to period, a change in an actuarial assumption, particularly the discount rate, can cause a significant increase or decrease in the PBO. If recorded through the income statement, these adjustments potentially distort the comparability of financial results. GAAP, these adjustments are recorded through other comprehensive income in shareholders’ equity and are amortized into the income statement over time. Under IFRS, these adjustments are recorded through other comprehensive income but are not amortized into the income statement.

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So, the company must invest in a fund in order to meet its obligations to the employee. While there are various pension plans in use today, the two most common are the defined benefit and the defined contribution plan. If a plan amendment reduces plan benefits, record it in other comprehensive income on the date of the amendment. This amount is then offset against any prior service cost remaining in accumulated other comprehensive income.

Actuarial gain or loss refers to an increase or a decrease in the projections used to value a corporation’s defined benefit pension plan obligations. The actuarial assumptions of a pension plan are directly affected by the discount rate used to calculate the present value of benefit payments and the expected rate of return on plan assets. The Financial Accounting Standards Board SFAS No. 158 requires the funding status of pension funds to be reported on the plan sponsor’s balance sheet. This means there are periodic updates to the pension obligations, the fund performance and the financial health of the plan. In addition, because it is common for companies to capitalize compensation cost , companies need to consider the effects on the related balance sheet items (e.g., inventory, fixed assets) when making a change to an accelerated recognition approach.

Any residual amount of the credit is then amortized using the same methodology just noted for prior service costs. This study’s underlying premise is that current pension plan accounting has two important negative effects. First, it distorts the measurement of earnings and net worth in the short run, as well as the pattern of earnings over future periods. Second, this distortion can send incorrect signals to investors about a firm’s health, resulting in the mispricing of a firm’s outstanding debt and equity instruments. The author demonstrates how these distortions are introduced, examines the magnitude of the distortions, and discusses proposals for reform. A projected benefit obligation is an actuarial measurement of what a company will need at the present time to cover future pension liabilities.

For example, dissimilar to pension payments, the costs of healthcare services may change drastically over time and the use of these services is irregular compared to annuity payments like pensions. Plans should consider providing a statement of cash flows when that statement would provide relevant information about the ability of the plan to pay benefits.

In a defined contribution plan , while the company makes contributions or matching contributions, it does not promise the future benefit to the employee. Similar to pension benefits, companies will accrue an expense for benefits earned by employees in that year and create a liability provision for those benefits that are to be provided in the future. Financial statements for each individual prior period presented shall be adjusted to reflect the period-specific effects of applying the new accounting principle. If this test is positive, amortize the excess just noted over the average remaining service period of those active employees who are expected to receive benefits.