By operating separate trusts for certain benefits, companies operating under GAAP can often greatly reduce their pension liability (Kossov 2010). Pension funds must then be sued only for the payment of retirement benefits (and the earning of interest), then, rather than being combined with other benefit programs funded or operated by the company as they often are now (Kossov 2010).

It is in the area of pension assets, however, that the greatest complexities and disagreements can be found in the current era. Pension assets are used to earn interest for future pension disbursements as well as to pay out current pension disbursements owed, and because a large part of the job is to grow the wealth pool that exists as quickly yet as safely as is possible, companies have long reported pension assets and expected returns on those assets as earnings, adjusting historical statements as real data becomes available but...
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