Mark Lasee and Marc Lieberman, partners in the Scottsdale office of Kutak Rock LLP, recently published an editorial in Pensions and Investments online magazine about the impact of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's (GASB's) new pension rules on government bond ratings.

In the article, Lasee and Lieberman explain GASB’s new pension rules in GASB Statements 67 and 68 and the widespread fear that these changes could result in severe credit rating downgrades. The changes, effective June 15, mandate that governmental balance sheets reflect unfunded pension liabilities.

They believe the perceived impact of these changes on government credit ratings is grossly exaggerated. Because a legion of state and local plans are underfunded, there is little doubt the new GASB reporting rules will add substantial liabilities to governmental balance sheets. Lasee and Lieberman conclude that the new GASB reporting standards changes do not affect reality; they merely provide a different means of reporting it.

Lasee and Lieberman work in the public pension/alternative investments group of Kutak Rock LLP.

To read the full article, please click here.