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Under the Rug: The Pitfalls of an “Operating Balance” Approach for Reporting Federal Employee Pension Obligations
Summary:
| Citation | Laurin, Alexandre, and William B.P. Robson. 2020. Under the Rug: The Pitfalls of an “Operating Balance” Approach for Reporting Federal Employee Pension Obligations. ###. Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute. |
| Page Title: | Under the Rug: The Pitfalls of an “Operating Balance” Approach for Reporting Federal Employee Pension Obligations – C.D. Howe Institute |
| Article Title: | Under the Rug: The Pitfalls of an “Operating Balance” Approach for Reporting Federal Employee Pension Obligations |
| URL: | https://cdhowe.org/publication/under-rug-pitfalls-operating-balance-approach-reporting-federal-employee-pension-obligations/ |
| Published Date: | November 24, 2020 |
| Accessed Date: | April 17, 2026 |
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For all media inquiries, including requests for reports or interviews:
- Alexandre Laurin and William B.P. Robson examine a proposed revamp of the federal statement of operations that would highlight an “operating balance” in addition to the annual surplus or deficit and the resulting change in the government’s accumulated deficit.
- The authors argue that the proposed presentation would move costs of federal employee pensions that were underreported in the past and are now coming to light “below the line”. Presenting an operating balance that does not include these costs, they say, could bias federal budgets toward larger deficits.
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