IPSAS 39, Employee Benefits

IPSAS^® 39, Employee Benefits, will replace IPSAS 25, Employee Benefits, on January 1, 2018, with earlier adoption encouraged.

This limited-scope project was part of the IPSASB’s strategy to maintain its existing standards. IPSAS 39 reflects amendments made by the International Accounting Standards Board to its equivalent standard, International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19, Employee Benefits, up to December 2015.

The main differences between IPSAS 39 and IPSAS 25 are:

• Removal of an option that allowed an entity to defer the recognition of changes in the net defined benefit liability (the “corridor approach”);
• Introduction of the net interest approach for defined benefit plans;
• Amendment of certain disclosure requirements for defined benefit plans and multi-employer plans;
• Simplification of the requirements for contributions from employees or third parties to a defined benefit plan when those contributions are applied to a simple contributory plan that is linked to service; and
• Removal of the requirements for Composite Social Security Programs.