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RE:  GASB may change member health care benefits

Feds accounting standards may change your health care benefits

“Our school districts pay for retiree health care on a pay-as-you-go basis, paying for the bill when it's due,” explains MSTA researcher Dan Gottheimer. “Recent accounting changes from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) will pressure school districts to use accrual-basis accounting—an accounting method that recognizes an employer's costs when a commitment to pay is made, not when the payment is actually made.”

Because the change could show a deficit in the school district's balance sheet, it may affect how they approach negotiations with MSTA's affiliates.  “The pressure will be on school districts and other employers to reduce retiree health care costs,” adds Gottheimer, “or cut back on health care by making them set money aside for future retirees.”

It's important that MSTA members understand the new standards and insist that journalists, school administrators, and government officials do the same.