Many companies have switched their defined benefit plans to cash-balance plans. Now, a couple of federal court rulings involving a few companies have cast serious doubt on the future viability of cash-balance plans. The courts declared that the companies violated age discrimination laws and miscalculated payouts. These rulings are being appealed. If the appeals fail, cash-balance plans may become illegal and abandoned by companies. Related to this issue, the FASB has a project underway that would interpret FASB Statement No. 87 and address the measurement of obligations under cash-balance plans. EITF Issue No. 03-4, Accounting for Cash Balance Pension Plans, contains some accounting guidance on these plans, but EITF Issue No. 03-4 is still open and only parts of it have been ratified. If your client has a cash-balance pension plan, you should keep abreast of this ongoing issue and FASB project.