GFOA of the US & Canada

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 45, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers for Postemployment Benefits Other than Pensions, will require that the cost of other postemployment benefits (OPEB) be recognized sooner (as promised benefits are being earned) rather than later (when promised benefits are actually paid). However, the real issue is not the new accounting for OPEB as such, but the underlying budgetary challenge that the new accounting should help bring into focus: Namely, how governments are to finance the cost of OPEB, especially in an environment characterized by an increasing retirement-age population and escalating health-care costs.

Governments need to take deliberate steps to ensure that any OPEB that they offer are sustainable over the long term (i.e., benefits are, and reasonably may be expected to remain, affordable to the government, as well as being competitive and sufficient to meet employee needs). Recognizing that this challenge includes many decision points, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) designed the OPEB toolkit to be an online resource for decision making. The tools – a collection of templates, sample documents, video presentations, case studies and informational resources – are rooted in the experiences of GFOA members and based on GFOA recommended practices. While the toolkit is not designed to provide users with an immediate solution to their OPEB challenges, it is meant to provide directed guidance to help government officials understand the questions to ask and the decisions that need to be made. 

More GFOA Resources

Elected Official's Guide to OPEB  

 Click Image to view a 7 Minute Video Presentation