FASB Update

The FASB released information from its Jan. 18th board meeting. The meeting focused on Pensions and leveraged leases. There would be a number of changes to Pension disclosures:

The disclosure requirements of FASB Statement No. 132 (revised 2003), Employers’ Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, would be revised as follows:

• The existing requirement to disclose a reconciliation of the over- or underfunded status to amounts recognized in the statement of financial position would be eliminated (paragraph 5(c) of Statement 132(R)).
  
• The existing requirement to disclose information about a recognized additional minimum liability would be replaced with a requirement to disclose the nature and amount of changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in net income and in other comprehensive income of each period (paragraph 5(i) of Statement 132(R)).
  
• Disclosure would be required in the postretirement benefits footnote of the accumulated amount of changes in plan assets and benefit obligations that have been recognized in other comprehensive income and will be recycled into net income in future periods.
  
• The examples in Statement 132(R) would be amended to clarify and illustrate the existing requirement to disclose the current and noncurrent portion of postretirement benefit plan assets and liabilities.
  
• The current requirement to disclose the measurement date (if other than the reporting date) would be eliminated when the measurement date change is effective (paragraphs 5(k) and 8(j) of Statement 132(R)).
  
• Disclosure would be required of the amount of estimated net actuarial gains and losses and prior service costs that will be amortized from accumulated comprehensive income into net income over the next fiscal year.