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We are pleased to announce that OEBB has coordinated an offering for GASB 45 actuarial valuation services on behalf of its member entities. As previous communications to the OEBB Business Manager’s listserv have indicated, the Department of Justice recently ruled that OEBB does not maintain legal authority to contract for GASB 45 actuarial services for its member entities. Over the past two months we have pursued a solution to provide entities with a group valuation option as they prepare for year-end reporting. These services will be provided through an existing contract held by City County Insurance Services (CIS). The CIS contract is with the actuarial firm Milliman, Inc - a leading national actuarial firm - and the engagement will be managed by Milliman's Portland office. This offer allows OEBB member entities to participate in a "group" valuation designed to comply with GASB standards at a lower price than would be available on an individual basis. Please note that this is an option for your entity to consider, not a requirement of OEBB.
If you are not the person responsible for your entity's financial reporting, we encourage you to share this information with your finance officials.
Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, many governments that offer post-retirement health care or other insurance will have to begin reporting the liability for these “Other Post Employment Benefits” (OPEB) on their financial statements. This reporting requirement comes from Statement 45 of the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). For some smaller entities (which your auditor may know as "Phase 3" entities), the reporting requirement begins on June 30, 2010. This project will be designed to accommodate entities which require reporting beginning either June 30, 2009 or June 30, 2010, and with some transition work and auditor review, may be applied to the largest school districts, which began reporting for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.
More information about this GASB 45 project, including information on the services offered and estimated pricing can be found in the links below.
Every entity that wishes to have Milliman provide GASB 45 services will also be asked to enter into an agreement with Milliman that describes the services they will provide and their cost. The agreement is available through the link shown above. OEBB will assist all member entities in providing census data related to OEBB sponsored plans regardless of the actuarial firm you have chosen to work with. However, any questions related to your entities’ GASB requirements should be directed to your actuarial consultant or auditors.
OEBB’s intent is to give you another option and leverage the size of our group to reduce the administrative burden as well as costs associated with securing these services. We are acting as a conduit to the services of Milliman, Inc. via the CIS contract and while we are unable to offer consultation or guidance on your GASB obligation we’ll do whatever we can to make the data gathering as efficient as possible for you. If you have questions on how to get started please refer to the OEBB web site which contains the comprehensive information you see below in this e-mail.
If you are unable to find an answer to your question in these materials you can submit the question to the Milliman mailbox: GASB45OEBBMembers@milliman.com or you are always welcome to contact me: Ali Hassoun--OEBB Financial Coordinator at 503-378-4741 or via E-mail: ali.hassoun@das.state.or.us
This Web page contains complete steps to get your entity enrolled in Milliman's GASB 45 services.
1) First, please review the following Questions and Answers regarding GASB 45 services including sample valuation reports:
GASB Frequently Asked Questions
2009 Sample Valuation Report
2008 Sample Valuation Report
2) Here is the Agreement with Milliman which will get your entity enrolled in this project. Also provided is an invoice for the initial deposit required to commence work:
Entity Agreement with Milliman
Invoice
3) This Excel model will assist in estimating the cost of your GASB 45 valuation:
Cost Estimator
4) Follow this link to a survey which will ask you about the postemployment benefits other than pensions sponsored by your entity. You must complete this survey to enroll in this GASB 45 project. You may complete the survey without obligation, and prior to signing the contract. The survey will not request any confidential information.
This is an online survey, the length of which will depend on the responses to the questions. If your entity has all of its health coverage with OEBB and does NOT contribute to retiree medical or life benefits, your survey will be very short; for other entities, it may be much longer.
We encourage you to print out the survey prior to taking the online version. If your entity contributes to retiree benefits, it's particularly important to review the survey in advance; to be sure you have the necessary information. The printable version can be found at: http://www.cciservices.com/uploaddocs/GASBSurveyPrintout.pdf
IMPORTANT: This GASB 45 project needs to be completed as quickly as possible. Accordingly, Milliman established an initial enrollment deadline of August 12, 2009. However, entities which have not yet enrolled may still do so. Milliman will generally agree to serve entities who respond after the August 12 deadline, but reserves the right to charge reasonable amounts (perhaps 5 - 10% of base valuation fees, depending upon the circumstances) to late-responding entities to cover the additional time and expense required to go back and re-run processes. Late-responding entities may also receive their recommendations and reports from Milliman at a later time than entities who respond in a timely manner.
If you need further information:
Milliman will be hosting introductory webinars for this project on Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, August 5 at 10 a.m. PST. Please review the Q&A document prior to attending the webinar. To sign up for the webinar, or for other questions and inquiries, please contact Milliman at GASB45OEBBMembers@milliman.com
If you have questions about the engagement itself or OEBB's role, please contact: Ali Hassoun--OEBB Financial Coordinator at 503-378-4741 or via E-mail: ali.hassoun@das.state.or.us
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