Sarasota County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2019

Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2019 Sheriff’s Retiree Health Care Plan Sheriff’s Retiree Health Care Plan (Sheriff’s Plan) provides postemployment health care benefits in accordance with Section 112.0801, Florida Statutes, to all employees who retire from the Sheriff. The Sheriff is required to provide health care coverage at cost to all retirees but does not have to pay any portion of the premium for the retiree to participate in the Sheriff’s group health care plan. The liability, expense, deferred outflows of resources for other postemployment benefits, calculated in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 75 Accounting and Financial Reporting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions , are reported in the financial statements of the County. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 112.0801 Florida Statutes, any employee who retires and immediately begins receiving benefits from the Florida Retirement System (FRS) has the option of paying premiums to continue in the Sheriff’s healthcare plan at the same cost that is applicable to active employees. The retiree’s cost is partially offset by a subsidy from the Florida Retirement System equal to $5 per month for each year of creditable service, with a minimum of $30, and a maximum of $150 per month. Coverage can be continued for the spouse after the death of the retiree, at a retiree’s single person subsidized rate, if elected. As of the most recent valuation date, the Sheriff’s Plan had 955 active members and 149 retirees and beneficiaries. The Sheriff has the authority to establish and amend funding policy. The Sheriff’s Plan is currently being funded on a pay-as-you go basis. There are no assets accumulated in a trust that meet the criteria in GASB 75 for the Sheriff’s Plan as of fiscal year end. The Sheriff’s Plan remains open to new entrants. Total OPEB liability The Sheriff’s Plan total OPEB liability was measured as of September 30, 2019 and was determined by an actuarial valuation as of December 31, 2018. Actuarial assumptions and other inputs Actuarial valuations of an ongoing plan involve estimates of the value of reported amounts and assumptions about the probability of occurrence of events far into the future. Examples include assumptions about future employment, mortality, and the healthcare cost trend. Amounts determined regarding the funded status of the plan and the annual required contributions of the employer are subject to continual revision as actual results are compared with past expectations and new estimates are made about the future. Calculations for financial reporting purposes are based on the benefits provided under terms of the plan as understood by the employer and the plan members in effect at the time of each valuation and on the pattern of sharing of costs between the employer and plan members to that point. The projection of benefits for financial reporting purposes does not explicitly incorporate the potential effects of legal or contractual funding limitations on the pattern of cost sharing between the employer and plan members in the future. Actuarial calculations reflect a long-term perspective. Consistent with that perspective, actuarial methods and assumptions used include techniques that are designed to reduce the effects of short-term volatility in actuarial accrued liabilities and the actuarial value of assets. 138