Several states (Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Florida) have a “mandated” implicit rate subsidy. That means almost every public-sector employer in these states has an OPEB liability. Each of these states has a statute that says public employers: must allow retirees to stay in the health plan until age 65, and can’t charge them any more […]
We’re on the last wave of compliance with GASB 45 accounting for other post-employment benefits (OPEB). The biggest calendar-year employers (Phase 1) started in 2007, midsize (Phase 2) in 2008. Now it’s 2009 audit season, when smaller employers (Phase 3) will shift from cash-basis OPEB accounting to GASB 45’s accrual basis: recognizing the cost over […]
One little noticed PPA requirement is the multiemployer summary plan report. It’s due to participating unions and contributing employers within 30 days after 5500 due date (starting with the 2008 5500), so one should have been filed already for most multiemployer pension plans. The Department of Labor was required to publish a model form for […]
I have been saying to my colleagues for the past couple of years that the backlash against public employee pensions was on the horizon. Recent newspaper articles and pension studies confirm that the storm is finally here. With many private employees seeing their retirement savings halved during the recession and their employer-sponsored retirement plans cut […]
There’s an intriguing provision in the new health care reform law for retiree medical plans: 80% reinsurance for each early retiree’s claims between $15,000 and $90,000. The official summary is here. There’s a fixed amount of money available for this, just $5 billion. When it’s gone, it’s gone. And remember that $5 billion doesn’t go […]
By Jim van Iwaarden
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Posted in Early Retiree Reimbursement Program (ERRP), FAS 106, GASB 45, Other post-employment benefits (OPEB), Public plans
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Tagged Early Retiree Reimbursement Program, early retiree reinsurance program, ERRP, GASB 45, health care reform, OPEB, retiree health, retiree medical
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Yet another article on the growing popularity of cash balance plans was featured on the front page of Yahoo! finance this morning. It’s a bit of a generic overview, but gets the point across. One thing to note: the article states that annual interest crediting rates in these plans are guaranteed rates such as 4%, […]
During the recent economic recession, many pension plan sponsors have either been forced to shut facilities/plants or have experienced rounds of layoffs which reduced the number of active participants in the pension plan. As many pension plan sponsors know, a significant drop in the number of active participants can trigger a PBGC “reportable event.” This […]
April 22, 2010 – 10:55 am
I’ve been amazed at how many times this little tidbit about the popularity of cash balance plans has appeared and reappeared in the news. That’s great, because many employers and financial planners are still unaware of what’s possible. It makes sense that a big surge has come since 2001. That was just after the […]
April 21, 2010 – 12:04 pm
For a while now, we’ve been sharing knowledge around the office with “what I learned today” emails. Now we’re going to start sharing it with the rest of the world. Off we go…
