An accounting board best known for requiring the calculation and reporting of the debt owed for retiree health care promised government workers, which often turned out to be shockingly large, is having another moment.
This month the Governmental Accounting Standards Board applied new rules for reporting pension debt to retiree heath care. It’s a broader look, shows year-to-year changes, and requires local governments in state systems to report their share of debt.
And the new numbers must be reported on the face page of financial documents, not buried deep in the notes of lengthy documents known only to those with green eyeshades.
This month also is the end of the first fiscal year for which local governments are required to report their share of pension debt under the new rules. The two big state pension systems, CalPERS and CalSTRS, are helping local governments do the paperwork.
View Article