New pension laws: problems or solutions?
Article Abstract:
The Pension Reform Act of 1987 has resulted in several new bills being introduced which are designed to protect employee pension benefits from employers attempting to reduce costs or obtain capital in times of financial need, and from employees failing to provide continued coverage when changing jobs. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) also has released statements regarding the treatment of pensions. Currently, employers may drop pension plans that require all assets to be used for the benefit of the employee, and take control of the funds. When employees quit a job, they can receive a lump-sum payment for the vested pension amount. The employees often do not reinvest the money in another retirement plan. The proposed laws would prohibit companies from assuming control of the assets of a terminated pension program, and require lump-sum pension payments to be transferred to a new employer to ensure a retirement fund when the employee retires.
Publication Name: The Woman CPA
Subject: Women's issues/gender studies
ISSN: 0043-7271
Year: 1990
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SFAS 87: what effect so far?
Article Abstract:
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in 1985 issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No 87, 'Employer's Accounting for Pensions,' superceding Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinion No 8, 'Accounting for the Cost of Pension Plans,' and SFAS No 36, 'Disclosure of Pension Information.' To analyse the effect of the changes in calculating pension expense, the annual reports of 100 publicly traded companies with defined benefit plans were examined for the year SFAS 87 took effect. The goals of FASB in implementing SFAS 87 were: to provide a better method for measurement of annual pension cost on the income statement; improve pension disclosure; and refine the reporting of financial position. Based on the study results, FASB appears to have accomplished the first two goals, while evidence of success on the third goal is inconclusive.
Publication Name: The Woman CPA
Subject: Women's issues/gender studies
ISSN: 0043-7271
Year: 1990
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SFAS 87 - improvement in pension disclosure?
Article Abstract:
The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 87 was issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board with the expectation that consistent pension reporting will make pension information more useful and understandable to financial statement users. However, certain SFAS requirements like the reconciliation of funded status to balance sheet amount, make pension disclosure more complex especially for financial statement users who have no pension expertise. The usefulness of SFAS 87 in pension reporting is evaluated.
Publication Name: The Woman CPA
Subject: Women's issues/gender studies
ISSN: 0043-7271
Year: 1991
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