In the retiree benefits world, there is a general consensus that several provisions in the Patient Protection and Access to Care Act (PPACA) may cause employer sponsors of retiree health plans to rethink those programs. These changes include: – Filling of the Part D “doughnut hole” (2010-2020) – Guarantee issue insurance with no pre-existing condition […]Read More… from PPACA Starting to Impact Retiree Health Plans
A quick update on the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP): Over the past few months, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been busy gearing up for the implementation of the ERRP. As you may recall from our earlier posts (1, 2, 3), this is a program that’s part of the larger healthcare […]Read More… from ERRP Reimbursement and Website Update
GASB 45 requires the measurement of public employers’ retiree health liabilities and many plan sponsors are now entering their second cycle of GASB 45 actuarial valuations. These calculations are highly dependent upon the actuarial assumptions selected by the plan sponsor. Therefore, it’s a good idea to review these assumptions at each valuation cycle. Many times, […]Read More… from GASB 45 Demographic Assumption Review
We’ve had a couple of initial posts on the new Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP): the first one gave a quick overview of the amount of funds available, while the second post described options for spending the reimbursement. In this post, I’d like to give a quick overview of some actions plan sponsors can take […]Read More… from Preparing to Apply for the ERRP Subsidy
Over the past couple of years, the GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board – they write the public employer accounting rules) has started the process of updating the accounting rules for public employer pension and retiree health plans. They issued an invitation for ideas/comments in 2009 and now we are getting our first sneak peek at […]Read More… from First Look at Proposed GASB Accounting Changes
A full valuation (measurement) of GASB 45 liabilities is required every 2 to 3 years, depending on the size of the employer. In the years when actual measurements are performed, the GASB 45 results (ARC, Annual OPEB Cost, and Net OPEB Obligation) are fairly straightforward to calculate. However, there is often confusion about what to […]Read More… from Off-Year GASB 45 Accounting
Many small cities and governmental entities (less than 100 employees) are still figuring out their GASB 45 liability or whether they even have a liability. GASB’s Alternative Measurement Method (AMM) is a simplified alternative to performing a full actuarial valuation, but even the AMM has a cost that some very small entities would prefer to […]Read More… from An Alternative to the GASB 45 AMM
Under GASB 45 accounting rules, there are many technical terms. One of these is the Annual Required Contribution (ARC). I often get questions from clients regarding the “meaning” of the ARC, so I thought that I’d give a quick and simplified explanation. Background: GASB 45 rules create a method for public employers to accrue OPEB […]Read More… from GASB 45 – What’s the meaning of ARC?
GASB 45 covers a variety of OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) such as retiree medical, dental, and vision benefits. Although retiree medical insurance gets most of the attention and generally has some of the largest liabilities, dental coverage has the potential to create a significant liability too. Just as with retiree medical benefits, retiree dental […]Read More… from GASB 45 Dental Benefits
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 […]Read More… from The retiree health reinsurance gold rush
