U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report

program. DOL initially pays valid claims and bills the employing Federal agency. DOL calculates the actuarial liability for future workers’ compensation benefits and reports to each agency its share of the liability. P. Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund The Department manages the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund (FSRDF). To ensure it operates on a sound financial basis, the Department retains an actuarial firm to perform a valuation to project if the Fund’s assets together with the expected future contributions are adequate to cover the value of future promised benefits. To perform this valuation the actuary projects the expected value of future benefits and the stream of expected future employer and employee contributions. The valuation serves as a basis for the determination of the needed employer contributions to the retirement fund and is based on a wide variety of economic assumptions, such as merit salary increases and demographic assumptions, such as rates of mortality. Since both the economic and demographic experience change over time, it is essential to conduct periodic reviews of the actual experience and to adjust the assumptions in the valuation, as appropriate. The Department’s actuary completes an Actuarial Experience Study approximately every five years to ensure the assumptions reflect the most recent experience and future expectations. The Department’s last study was completed in 2018. The economic assumptions changes from the experience study are different from the economic assumptions changes determined under SFFAS No. 33 Pensions, Other Retirement Benefits, and Other Postemployment Benefits . See Note 9, After-Employment Benefit Liability , for the Department’s accounting policy for FSRDF retirement-related benefits and the associated actuarial present value of projected plan benefits. Q. Foreign Service Nationals’ After-Employment Benefits Defined Contributions Fund (DCF): This fund provides retirement benefits for FSN employees in countries where the Department has made a public interest determination to discontinue participation in the Local Social Security System (LSSS) or deviate from other prevailing local practices. Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Section 3968, Local Compensation Plans, provides the authority to the Department to establish such benefits as part of a total compensation plan for these employees. Defined Benefit Plans: The Department has implemented various arrangements for defined benefit pension plans in other countries, for the benefit of some FSN employees. Some of these plans supplement the host country’s equivalent to U.S. social security, others do not. While none of these supplemental plans are mandated by the host country, some are substitutes for optional tiers of a host country’s social security system. The Department accounts for these plans under the provisions and guidance contained in International Accounting Standards (IAS) No. 19, Employee Benefits . IAS No. 19 provides a better structure for the reporting of these plans which are established in accordance with local practices in countries overseas. Lump Sum Retirement and Severance: Under some local compensation plans, FSN employees are entitled to receive a lump-sum separation payment when they resign, retire, or otherwise separate through no fault of their own. The amount of the payment is generally based on length of service, rate of pay at the time of separation, and the type of separation. R. International Organizations Liability The United States is a member of the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations and supports UN peacekeeping operations. As such, the United States either contributes to voluntary funds or an assessed share of the budgets and expenses of these organizations and activities. These payments are funded through congressional appropriations to the Department. The purpose of these appropriations is to ensure continued American leadership within those organizations and activities that serve important U.S. interests. Funding by appropriations for dues assessed for certain international organizations is not received until the fiscal year following assessment. These commitments are regarded as funded only when monies are authorized and appropriated by Congress. For financial reporting purposes, the amounts assessed, pledged, and unpaid are reported as liabilities of the Department. Additional information is disclosed in Note 10. 76 | U ni ted S tates D epartment of S tate 2020 A gency F inanci al R eport FINANCIAL SECTION | NOTES TO THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS