AASB 119 - Employee Benefits - September 2011
Actuarial assumptions: discount rateActuarial assumptions: discount rate
Start here
Get a plain-English read of Actuarial assumptions: discount rate
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in AASB 119 - Employee Benefits - September 2011.
Actuarial assumptions: discount rate
83 The rate used to discount post-employment benefit obligations (both funded and unfunded) shall be determined by reference to market yields at the end of the reporting period on high quality corporate bonds. For currencies for which there is no deep market in such high quality corporate bonds, the market yields (at the end of the reporting period) on government bonds denominated in that currency shall be used. The currency and term of the corporate bonds or government bonds shall be consistent with the currency and estimated term of the post-employment benefit obligations.
Aus83.1 Notwithstanding paragraph 83, in respect of not-for-profit public sector entities, post employment benefit obligations denominated in Australian currency shall be discounted using market yields on government bonds.
84 One actuarial assumption that has a material effect is the discount rate. The discount rate reflects the time value of money but not the actuarial or investment risk. Furthermore, the discount rate does not reflect the entity-specific credit risk borne by the entity’s creditors, nor does it reflect the risk that future experience may differ from actuarial assumptions.
85 The discount rate reflects the estimated timing of benefit payments. In practice, an entity often achieves this by applying a single weighted average discount rate that reflects the estimated timing and amount of benefit payments and the currency in which the benefits are to be paid.
86 In some cases, there may be no deep market in bonds with a sufficiently long maturity to match the estimated maturity of all the benefit payments. In such cases, an entity uses current market rates of the appropriate term to discount shorter-term payments, and estimates the discount rate for longer maturities by extrapolating current market rates along the yield curve. The total present value of a defined benefit obligation is unlikely to be particularly sensitive to the discount rate applied to the portion of benefits that is payable beyond the final maturity of the available corporate or government bonds.