As previously reported, the pension reforms in British Columbia will come into force on September 30, 2015. Amendments to plans registered in British Columbia which reflect the new legislative requirements must be filed by December 31, 2015. While likely to follow suit, the Ontario pension regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, has not yet…
Practice Area: Pensions, Benefits & Compensation
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…
IPEBLA’s International Pension Lawyer Journal Publishes an Article by Susie Taing
Hicks Morley’s Susie Taing authored the article entitled, “Target Benefit Plans in Canada: Redistributing the Allocation of Risk“, in volume 83 of IPEBLA’s journal, International Pension Lawyer. In this article, Susie discusses how the Canadian pension industry has looked to the use of target benefit plans as a plan design to redistribute risk between the parties…
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…
Committee To Hold Public Hearings on ORPP Bill
The Standing Committee on Social Policy will hold public hearings in Toronto on Bill 56, the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act, 2015 (“ORPP Bill”) commencing March 23, 2015. Hearing dates will continue on March 24, March 30 and March 31, 2015. Interested persons who wish to be considered to make an oral presentation on Bill…