Kommunernas dolda pensionsskuld

Sammanfattning: Background: In 1998 it was stated that Swedish municipalities would report the pension liabilities according to the mixed model where the pension liabilities before 1998 was moved from the balance sheet. The mixed model has been criticized by economists for not showing the total pension liabilities. To remove some of the liabilities in the municipalities balance sheets means that the solvency improves. Some municipalities have decided to go against the municipal accounting law and recognize all of the pension liability as a liability according to the full funding model. When two accounting models are being used the comparison of the municipalities' financial statements is much harder. Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to study the reason why some municipalities apply full funding model rather than the mixed model. The study will also examine how the municipality’s solvency change when applying the mixed model and full funding model. The study also aimed to investigate whether there are patterns for those municipalities that use the full funding model. The size of the pension liability varies between municipalities, that’s why another purpose of this study was to examine whether there is any correlation between the size of the municipality, the number of residents, average age in the municipalities and the size of pension liabilities. Method: A qualitative and quantitative method has been used. A questionnaire was sent to the municipalities that use the full funding model and to municipalities that use the mixed model. Conclusion: The study showed that the main reason why municipalities applied the full funding model was that they like to give a true and fair view of the munipalities financial position. The study showed that the mixed model does not give a true and fair view of the solvency in the municipalities using the mixed model. The full funding municipalities were located in southwestern of Sweden and they had a good economy. Furthermore, the study showed that there is a connection with the average age and size of pension liabilities.