Changes to the Federal Pension Investment Rules

In March 2015, the federal government published final regulations amending investment rules under the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 (“Regulations”). These reforms apply to federally registered pension plans and to pension plans registered in provincial jurisdictions that have adopted Schedule III of the Regulations, as amended (the “Federal Investment Rules” or “FIR”). As we previously…

B.C. Pension Reforms Effective September 30, 2015

Effective September 30, 2015, British Columbia’s new Pension Benefits Standards Act (“PBSA”) and supporting regulation, the Pension Benefits Standards Regulation (the “New Regulation”), will come into force, at last implementing key legislative changes originally passed by the British Columbia government in the spring of 2012. Plans must be administered to reflect the new legislative requirements…

Ontario Budget 2015

On April 23, 2015, the Ontario Minister of Finance tabled the 2015 provincial Budget, “Building Ontario Up” (“Budget”), and Bill 91, Building Ontario Up Act (Budget Measures), 2015 (“Bill 91”), omnibus legislation designed to implement some of the proposals contained in the Budget. In this FTR Now, we highlight some of the key proposals that…

2015 Ontario and Federal Budgets Released

On April 23, 2015, the Ontario government tabled the 2015 provincial Budget, “Building Ontario Up” (“Budget”) and Bill 91, Building Ontario Up Act (Budget Measures), 2015 (“Bill 91”), supporting omnibus legislation designed to implement some of the proposals contained in the Budget. We are in the process of reviewing the Budget and Bill 91, and…

Federal Budget 2015

On April 21, 2015, the Minister of Finance tabled the 2015 Federal Budget, “Strong Leadership: A Balanced-Budget, Low-Tax Plan for Jobs, Growth and Security.” This FTR Now focuses on some of the key proposals that are of particular interest to employers, human resources professionals and pension plan administrators. These include: changes to registered retirement income…

FSCO Updates Form 1 (Pension Plan Registration), Asset Transfer FAQs

On April 7, 2015, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) published a revised Application for Registration of a Pension Plan, Form 1 and added new frequently asked questions for plan administrators (“FAQs”) with respect to Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plan Asset Transfers, among other things.  The Form 1 has been updated to provide FSCO with additional…

Government Issues BPS Compensation Information Directive

On March 24, 2015, the Management Board of Cabinet issued the Broader Public Sector Compensation Information Directive (the “Directive”) under the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014 (the “BPSECA”). The Directive came into effect on April 1, 2015. In this FTR Now, we will briefly review the Directive and its role within the scheme…

New BPS Compensation Restraint Law to Come Into Force March 16

The Ontario government’s new compensation restraint legislation – the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014 (or "BPSECA") – will come into force on Monday, March 16, 2015. While the proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor has not yet been published in The Ontario Gazette, it is listed in the government’s online listing of proclamations and…

Ontario Proposes PBA Regulations For Merging or Converting SEPPs into JSPPs

On January 20, 2015, the Ontario government released proposed new regulations (“proposed Regulations”) under the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) for public comment. The proposed Regulations are designed to facilitate the merger of broader public sector (“BPS”) single employer pension plans (“SEPPs”) and jointly-sponsored pensions plans (“JSPPs”), either through (a) a transfer from the SEPPs to…