This PERiScope article in the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statements No. 67 and 68 miniseries discusses the allocation of financial reporting liabilities for cost-sharing multiple employer plans.

Under the new GASB 67/68 rules, a cost-sharing multiple-employer pension plan is a plan that is used to provide pensions to employees of more than one employer, and plan assets are pooled such that they can be used to pay the benefits of the employees of any employer. Other plan types defined under the new GASB statements include single employer plans (where a plan involves only one employer), and agent employer plans (where assets of one employer may not legally be used to pay the benefits of the employees of any other employer). For cost-sharing plans, a “proportionate share” for each employer must be developed to distribute the aggregate plan liability and expense among the employers’ financial statements. An individual employer’s proportionate share will almost certainly change from measurement date to measurement date, and the financial impact of this change must be quantified. In addition, to the extent that an employer makes actual contributions during the year that are different from its allocated proportionate share of contributions, this difference must also be tracked and accounted.