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NOTE 11— OTHER POST - EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS PLAN (CONTINUED) D. Funded Status and Funding Progress As of January 1, 2009, the most recent actuarial valuation date, the plan was zero percent funded. The actuarial accrued liability for benefits was $553,972 and the actuarial value of assets was $0, resulting in an unfunded actuarial accrued liability (UAAL) of $553,972. The covered payroll (annual payroll of active employees covered by the plan) was $6,067,829, and the ratio of the UAAL to the covered payroll was 9.13 %. Actuarial valuations of an ongoing plan involve estimates of the value of reported amounts and assumptions about the probability 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 ARC's of the employer are subject to continual revision as actual results are compared with past expectations and new estimates are made about the future. The Schedule of Funding Progress immediately following the notes to basic financial statements presents multi -year trend information about whether the actuarial value of plan assets is increasing or decreasing over time relative to the actuarial accrued liabilities for benefits. E. Actuarial Methods Projections of benefits for financial reporting purposes are based on the substantive plan (the plan as understood by the employer and the plan members) and include the types of benefits provided at the time of each valuation and the historical pattern of sharing of benefit costs between the employer and plan members to that point. The 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, consistent with the long -term perspective of the calculations. F. Actuarial Assumptions OPEB benefits were calculated under the Projected Unit Credit cost method with a 30 -year amortization of unfunded liability (open basis). OPEB benefits were attributed linearly to each assumed decrement age based on the ratio of a participant's accrued service on the valuation date to their projected service at each decrement age. The actuarial assumptions included a 4 percent investment rate of return (net of administrative expenses) based on the City's own investments and an annual healthcare trend rate of 10.0 percent initially, reduced by decrements to an ultimate rate of 5.0 percent after 10 years. Both rates include a 3.0% inflation assumption. NOTE 12 — FLEXIBLE BENEFIT PLAN The City has a flexible benefit plan which is classified as a "cafeteria plan" (the Plan) under § 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. All full -time and part-time regular employees of the City are eligible. Eligible employees can elect to participate by contributing pre -tax dollars withheld from payroll checks to the Plan for health and dental care, dependent care, life insurance premiums, and disability insurance benefits. Payments are made from the Plan to participating employees upon submitting a request for reimbursement of eligible expenses actually incurred by the participant. Before the beginning of the plan year, which is from January 1 to December 31, each participant designates a total amount of pre -tax dollars to be contributed to the Plan during the year. At December 31, the City is contingently liable for claims against the total amount of participants' annual contributions to the health and dental care portion of the Plan, whether or not such contributions have been made. 83