Under GASB 43 and 45, public sector employers are required to account for retiree medical benefits under special rules for Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB). Many have chosen to pre-fund these liabilities in a trust similar to a retirement plan trust. At the recent Minnesota School Board Association convention, Van Iwaarden Associates teamed up with an […]Read More… from OPEB Investments – The Danger of Playing It Safe
Tag: retiree health
“Measure It Before You Promise It” for GASB 45 OPEB
Over the past several years, GASB 45 has required public employers to recognize the cost of Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB: e.g., retiree health insurance, life insurance) while employees are accruing the benefits, not after they retire. For many public entities, the true cost of their healthcare promises has been an eye opener. However, public employers […]Read More… from “Measure It Before You Promise It” for GASB 45 OPEB
Top Reasons to Change Your GASB 45 Valuation Schedule
GASB 45 requires a complete actuarial valuation of public retiree health plans to be completed every 2 to 3 years (depending on number of plan members), and sponsors usually don’t look forward to the administrative hassles of their next study. However, there are several situations where a new valuation could be advantageous and, likely, mandatory. […]Read More… from Top Reasons to Change Your GASB 45 Valuation Schedule
It’s now or never for ERRP application
We all knew this day would come, and now it’s here. New applications for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) will be received only until 5 pm on Thursday, May 5th. The last time we blogged about this, the ERRP money was going fast. Now the urgency is clear. So if you’ve been thinking about […]Read More… from It’s now or never for ERRP application
ERRP funds are going fast, but employers still have time to act
billion of the original $5 billion has now been paid out under the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), according to an article this month in Business Insurance. We’ve been watching the ERRP since its inception (posts 1, 2, 3, 4), and didn’t think the $5 billion allocation would last long. A July 2010 EBRI article […]Read More… from ERRP funds are going fast, but employers still have time to act
OPEB Trust Investment Return
Many municipalities, school districts, and other governmental entities have established OPEB trusts as a way of starting to prefund their postretirement benefit promises to employees. In addition to the perceived fiscal responsibility of prefunding OPEB benefits, setting aside assets can also help the plan sponsor’s GASB 45 accounting. This post deals with certain situations where the […]Read More… from OPEB Trust Investment Return
PPACA Starting to Impact Retiree Health Plans
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
ERRP Reimbursement and Website Update
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 Demographic Assumption Review
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
Preparing to Apply for the ERRP Subsidy
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