On July 9, 2014 the House Pensions Committee held an interim hearing to discuss new reporting requirements proposed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and to hear updates regarding multiple public pension systems in the state.
The two new GASB statements establish a financial framework for public pension system reporting which include new accounting methods and ways to account for liability. Chris Hanson with the state Pension Review Board reported that the PRB has adopted new guidelines for actuarial soundness of public pension systems which include a minimum funding standard of 40 years to amortize unfunded liabilities. The committee also received testimony from multiple pension systems including the Teacher Retirement System, Employee Retirement System, Texas Municipal Retirement System and multiple municipal pension funds.
