Laserfiche WebLink
1. Detailed information about an agency's non pension or "other post employment <br />benefits" (or OPEB). That is who benefits, types of benefit, etc. (Pleasanton's OPEB <br />is confined to City paid health benefits for a retiree and his /her spouse), <br />2. An actuarially determined liability for the OPEB and the amount of financial assets <br />that are currently available to meet the liability, and <br />3. A statement of the extent that an employer makes contributions to offset its OPEB <br />and any outstanding OPEB liability. <br />Like the FASB 106 and its related rulings, GASB #45, which applies to all public <br />agencies including states, counties, cities, public school districts, state universities, and <br />public hospitals, has had a significant impact on how public sector agencies report, <br />estimate and fund OPEB benefits and, fundamentally, it has forced agencies to rethink <br />their "pay -as- you -go" philosophy. <br />Central to GASB #45 is an identification of an Annual Required Contribution (ARC) <br />which consists generally of two components, the normal cost that will apply as long as <br />there are covered employees and an Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL) <br />which is essentially the difference between the value of the assets accumulated to <br />finance an agency's OPEB obligation and the actuarially accrued long term liability of <br />the obligation. In general, the ARC represents an employer's required annual <br />contribution for meeting OPEB obligations. As a result, the ARC recognizes OPEB's as <br />earned financial obligations accrued during an employee's entire period of service. This <br />contrasts with the "pay -as- you -go" method that reflects an agency's cost for meeting <br />OPEB's for current retirees. As an example, using the "pay -as you -go" approach, an <br />agency with 100 active employees and 10 retired employees receiving a post- retirement <br />health benefit at a cost of $1,000 annually, would meet its OPEB obligation by only <br />paying $10,000 annually to cover the cost of the retired employees. <br />In accordance with GASB 45, the same agency noted above is required to disclose and <br />preferably fund, the total cost of not only the ten retired employees, but the future costs <br />for all 100 current employees, which results in a significantly greater liability. It should <br />also be noted, that GASB 45 does not require funding an agency's long term OPEB <br />liability, however, its does require the liability to be reported in the financial statements <br />each fiscal year. Further, while GASB promulgates accounting standards for public <br />sector entities, it has no enforcement power. However, failure to follow its standards <br />can lead to a qualified audit opinion and lower bond ratings. Nevertheless, similar to the <br />impact of the FASB rulings, the GASB rulings represent technical and financial <br />challenges for public sector agencies. <br />In preparation for implementing GASB #45, and in response to Council direction to <br />control health costs and mitigate future liabilities, the City has done the following: <br />Retained the services of a qualified actuarial consultant who has performed <br />periodic actuarial valuations in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2008 to determine <br />the City's UAAL and ARC. <br />Page 3 of 13 <br />