Human Resources Legislative Update
Federal Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) Framework Now in Force
Date: December 17, 2012
On December 14, 2012, the federal government announced that the second and final tranche of the regulations under the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (“Act”) came into force on that day, following the conclusion of a period for public comment.
As previously reported, these supporting regulations address provisions of the Act, including:
- general requirements regarding the provision of information to plan members by employers and plan administrators;
- the requirements for unlocking funds in a pooled registered pension plan account for non-residency and shortened-life expectancy;
- the circumstances in which a member may receive variable payments from the funds in his or her account;
- the transfer options available to members from his or her account and the conditions upon which a member’s funds may be transferred;
- the use of electronic means to satisfy communication requirements under the Act; and
- other technical rules related to the implementation of the framework.
The Act and the first tranche of Regulations also came into force on December 14, 2012, with the result that the complete federal Pooled Registered Pension Plan framework, including the income tax rules which are applicable to both federally- and provincially-regulated PRPPs, is now in force.