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March 04, 2009

IASB move 'will kill final salary pensions'...


Draft accounting changes proposed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will prove to be the death of final salary pension schemes, according to one expert.

Marcus Hurd, head of corporate solutions at Aon Consulting, believes that, had the changes been in place for 2008, final salary funds would have faced a net annual loss of £85 billion.

He explained that the move is "another hammer blow" for final salary pensions.

"Over the last few years they have had to deal with ballooning deficits and significant asset losses, but now the IASB has seemingly killed off any last chance of keeping this type of pension alive," he said.

In its discussion paper, Preliminary Views on Amendments to International Accounting Standards 19 Employee Benefits, the IASB proposes that firms should separate the components of defined benefit obligations and in plan assets.

The IASB also decided entities should disclose these components in their income statements.

Earlier this week, the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, which oversees the IASB, announced that its work will now be monitored by a board made up of representatives from global regulators.

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