Project Update
Disclosures about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan
Last updated on November 30, 2011.
(Updated sections are indicated with an asterisk *)
The staff has prepared this summary of Board decisions for information purposes only. Those Board decisions are tentative and do not change current accounting. Official positions of the FASB are determined only after extensive due process and deliberations.
Project Objective
*Due Process Documents
*Decisions Reached at Last Meeting
*Summary of Decisions Reached to Date
*Next Steps
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
Background Information
*Contact Information
Project Objective
The objective of this project is to enhance the disclosure requirements about an employer’s participation in a multiemployer plan under FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ Subtopic 715-80 (originally issued as FASB Statements No. 87, Employer’s Accounting for Pensions, No. 106, Employers’ Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions, and No. 132 (revised 2003), Employers’ Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits).*Due Process Documents
On September 21, 2011, the Board completed this project with the issuance of Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-09, Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80): Disclosures about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan.
*Decisions Reached at Last Meeting (July 27, 2011)
See minutes below.
*Summary of Decisions Reached to Date
See Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-09.
*Next Steps
None.
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
The Board meeting minutes are provided for the information and convenience of constituents who want to follow the Board’s deliberations. All of the conclusions reported are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings. Decisions become final only after a formal written ballot to issue a final standard.
| July 27, 2011 | Board Meeting—Redeliberations: Qualitative Disclosures, Effective Date, and Sweep Issues |
| June 29, 2011 | Board Meeting—Redeliberations: Outreach, Remaining Quantitative Disclosures, and Project Scope |
| May 31, 2011 | Board Meeting—Redeliberations: Quantitative Disclosures |
| March 9, 2011 | Board Meeting—Comment Letters and Plan for Redeliberations |
| November 10, 2010 | Board Meeting—Extension of Effective Date |
| April 14, 2010 | Board Meeting—Disclosure Requirements |
| March 17, 2010 | Board Meeting—Agenda Announcement |
Background Information
At the March 17, 2010 FASB Board meeting, the FASB chairman announced the addition of a new project aimed at expanding disclosures about an employer’s participation in a multiemployer plan (that is, pension and other postretirement benefits). The project was added in response to concerns raised by several constituents about the current disclosures for multiemployer plans. Among the concerns raised is the lack of information in the financial statements, beyond the contributions made, about an employer’s participation in a multiemployer plan. Additionally, several users have published reports highlighting these concerns, including the potential for increases in contributions as a result of plans being underfunded. The funded status of many of these plans deteriorated significantly during the financial crisis of 2008 when plan asset values dropped significantly.
It is envisioned that expanded disclosures would enable users of financial statements to better assess the risks a reporting entity faces by participating in a multiemployer plan.
*Contact Information
Peter Proestakes
Assistant Director
pcproestakes@fasb.org