FASB completes project on improvement of employer disclosures for multiemployer pension plans

21 September 2011

The FASB issued ASU No 2011-09, 'Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80): Disclosures about an Employer's Participation in a Multiemployer Plan'. This leads employers to provide more information about an employer's financial obligations to multiemployer pension plans.

Multiemployer pension plans are commonly used by an employer to provide benefits to union employees who may work for many employers during their working life, thereby enabling them to accrue benefits in a single pension plan for their retirement.

The revised disclosures will provide users of financial statements with ad­ditional information about the plans in which an employer participates, the level of an employer’s participation in the plans, and financial health of sig­nificant plans. The disclosures will also enable users of financial informa­tion to obtain additional information available outside the financial statements, including the funded status of the plan. The new standard eliminates the proposed disclosure of an employer’s withdrawal liability, which was the most controversial aspect of the Exposure Draft.

The new disclosures include:

• The amount of employer contributions made to each significant plan and to all plans in the aggregate. 
• An indication of whether the employer’s contributions represent more than five per cent of total contributions to the plan.
• An indication of which plans, if any, are subject to a funding improvement plan.
• The expiration date(s) of the collective bargaining agreement(s) and any minimum funding arrangements. 
• The most recent certified funded status of the plan, as determined by the plan’s so-called “zone status”, which is required by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. If the “zone status” is not available, an employer will be required to disclose whether the plan is:
  • Less than 65 per cent funded 
  • Between 65 per cent and 80 per cent funded
  • At least 80 per cent funded.
• A description of the nature and effect of any changes affecting comparability for each period in which a statement of income is presented.

Prior to the issuance of this Update, employers were required to disclose only their total contributions to all multiemployer plans in which they participate.

For public entities, the enhanced disclosures will be required for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2011. For non-public entities, the enhanced disclosures will be required for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012. Early application will be permitted.

Press release

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