What information is required to be reported under GASB 45?
GASB 45 requires that public entities which prepare financial statements according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) calculate and record the expense and liability of their OPEB benefits. Typically, public agencies have reported the cost of retiree heath care and other non-pension benefits on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. The annual amount paid for benefits has been reported as the annual expense with no other liabilities or funding requirements reported. GASB believes that the current “pay-as-you-go” method does not accurately reflect the true costs that governments are accumulating for future benefits of current employees. According to GASB, the amount of the future benefit is an expense that must be recorded rather than deferred as a liability to a future generation. Under GASB 45, public entities must account for, and report on their entity-wide financial statements, the annual required contribution (ARC) for OPEB in the same way they report pension contributions. The a
