Administration February 15, 2008

FASB Proposes Greater Disclosure of Plan Asset Risk

February 15, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - In a February 13 meeting the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) presented proposals for amending Statement No. 132 Employers' Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits.
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According to a Board meeting handout, the proposed amendments would:

  • Provide a principle for disclosing categories of plan assets and specific examples of categories that an employer would provide in complying with the principle,
  • Require further disclosure of categories or subcategories for concentrations of risk in plan assets, and
  • Require certain disclosures about fair value measurements of plan assets similar to FASB Statement No. 157, Fair Value Measurements.

In the handout, FASB explains that Statement 132 requires disclosure of the percentage of fair value of total plan assets “for each major category of plan assets, which shall include, but is not limited to, equity securities, debt securities, real estate, and all other assets for each major category of plan assets.” FASB said users have expressed concerns that these asset categories are not specific enough to determine the risks associated with the types of assets held in a plan.

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FASB proposed that Statement 132 be amended to require disclosure of asset categories based on the risks and expected long-term rate of return associated with each asset category. The asset categories are to include, but not be limited to, equity securities; debt securities issued by national, state, and local governments; corporate debt securities; mortgage-backed securities; derivatives; and real estate, and all other assets.

The proposal also suggested plans disclose significant investments in one company, industry, country, or type of security.

Finally, FASB suggested amending Statement 132 to require employers to disclose input assumptions used in calculating the fair value of plan assets.

The meeting handout is here .

Products February 14, 2008

New 403(b) Solution Consolidates Vendor Management

February 14, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - 403b ASP, a division of 401k ASP, has introduced a 403(b) Plan management solution that allows plan sponsors to manage their plans in one system while continuing to work with multiple investment providers.
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In a press release, company co-founder James Olson said the solution uses Open Architecture Plus – the centerpiece of which is “403(b) FundSource – an open architecture mutual fund platform that allows participants to appoint an authorized agent to assist them one-on-one with their investments.” The new solution also can interface electronically among the plan’s approved investment providers in 403(b) ASP’s (b)ridge data exchange program for sending contributions and receiving pertinent information for the management of the plan.

Four online gateways – Plan Sponsor, Plan Participants, Financial Advisors, and Service Providers – provide access to the platform. Each gateway facilitates a different plan function or account view – all under the oversight of the plan sponsor, according to the release.

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The platform is configured based on the written plan document provisions and allows for the designation of internal or external plan administration personnel and approved investment service providers.

Firms interested in participating in this program should contact James Olson at (813) 874-0671, ext. 204.

Additional information is also available at  www.403basp.com .

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