The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is calling for feedback and comments on plans for amendments to the accounting rules on defined benefit plans under IAS 19, Employee Benefits .

The four-month consultation has been issued in response to widespread concerns about the complexity of applying certain requirements of IAS 19, particularly issues around accounting for contributions from employees and third parties to defined benefit plans.

The decision also follows intervention from the IFRS Interpretations Committee, which recommended that the IASB amends the standard.

The proposed amendments are designed to provide a more straightforward alternative for this accounting when the contributions payable in a particular period are linked solely to the employee's service rendered in that period.

The proposed guidance would be applicable, for example, to accounting for employee contributions that are calculated according to a fixed percentage of salary.

The closing date for comments is 25 July 2013.

The exposure draft is available HERE

For comment and analysis on the key issues, read IAS 19: Pension reforms by Kenneth Donaldson, head of actuarial consulting, Capita Employee Benefits. Click HERE

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