On September 7, 2012, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions set the basic rate for the Office year beginning on April 1, 2013 at $10.00, pursuant to the Assessment of Pension Plans Regulations. This rate applies to pension plans with a year-end between October 1, 2012, and September 30, 2013 and for newly…
Practice Area: Pension, Benefits & Executive Compensation
Survivor Benefits Amendments Proclaimed in Force October 1, 2012
On September 8, 2012, amendments to section 44 of the Pension Benefits Act were proclaimed in force effective October 1, 2012. Specifically, the amendments clarify (1) that survivor benefits can be reduced on the death of either spouse, and (2) that consent will be required in order to commute small survivor benefits where the member…
Québec VRSPs Bill Expires on Order Paper
As previously reported, in its March 2012 Budget the Québec government signalled its commitment to establish Voluntary Retirement Savings Plans (“VRSPs”), mandatory group pension plans that all employers in Québec employing at least five employees would have been required to implement, if they did not already provide a retirement savings plan for employees. The VRSPs…
Pension Assignments Must be Clear and Unambiguous
On July 27, 2012, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that if a pension plan member wishes to assign an interest in his or her pension entitlement to a former spouse, the language of the separation agreement or divorce order must be clear and unambiguous. Since the language of the separation agreement and divorce…
Ministry of Finance Publishes New Income Tax Proposals For Public Commentary
On August 14, 2012, the Ministry of Finance published new legislative proposals relating to the Income Tax Act and Regulations for public commentary. The proposals, which are designed to implement a range of Budget-related initiatives announced by the federal government earlier this year, include measures that would, if adopted, include an employer’s contributions to a…
Federal Government Publishes Pooled Registered Pension Plan Regulations
On August 10, 2012, the federal government published proposed regulations to support the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (“PRPP Act”). The Pooled Registered Pension Plan Regulations provide supporting details for the provisions of the PRPP Act respecting: the licensing conditions for a Pooled Registered Pension Plan (“PRPP”) administrator; the management and investment of funds in…
2012 Summer Edition
FOCUS ON RIGHTS Charter rights – three decades later LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS Freedom of association under the : snake or tree? Pensions poised to take a leading role in employee terminations PROFILE The spice of life Download PDF
Letters of Credit Regulation Proposed to Implement Pension Reform Measures
On July 30, 2012, the Ontario Ministry of Finance posted details of a proposed, supporting regulation to implement the new framework for letters of credit under the yet to be proclaimed section 55.2 of the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”). As noted in our “Pension Reform Measures in Ontario Have Arrived” FTR Now of July 27,…
Pension Reform Measures in Ontario have Arrived
Until recent years, the statutory framework governing occupational pension plans for Ontario employees had remained largely unchanged for 20 years. Then, in 2010 the Ontario government passed two significant pension reform Bills: Bill 236 and Bill 120. There have been four subsequent Bills which made further changes to the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”). On July…
Temporary solvency relief extended for specified Ontario MEPPs
The Ontario government filed regulatory amendments extending temporary solvency relief another five years for specified Ontario multi-employer pension plans (“SOMEPPs”). O. Reg. 203/12 amends sections 6.01(2), 6.0.3(2) and 6.04(1)(b) of General Regulation 909 to extend the solvency funding relief to valuations dated on or before August 31, 2017, and is now in force. We anticipate…