Draft FSCO Consultation Policy on Beneficiary Inquiries and Complaints
In an apparent effort to improve plan transparency, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has released a consultation policy to clarify a plan administrator’s responsibilities when responding to and managing inquiries and complaints from plan beneficiaries (Policy).
In addition to providing information already contained in the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario) (PBA) and other FSCO policies regarding the administrator’s responsibility to manage and administer the pension plan and the duty of care it owes to plan beneficiaries, the Policy provides some suggestions on how to effectively communicate with plan beneficiaries and provide timely responses to their inquiries and complaints.
For example, the Policy suggests that administrators be familiar with applicable legislation, including the PBA, employment standards legislation, privacy legislation, and family law legislation and provide certain information to beneficiaries, including:
- the name of a contact person;
- how to submit complaints and inquiries;
- the administrator’s expected timeframe for providing a response to inquiries and complaints (FSCO recommends 30 days);
- information relating to the administrator’s internal dispute resolution process (if one exists); and
- the beneficiaries’ right to make a submission to FSCO in cases where a complaint cannot be resolved by the administrator.
FSCO also recommends that administrators develop a written policy on managing inquiries and complaints in accordance with its "Guideline for Developing a Written Policy on Managing Inquiries and Complaints from Plan Beneficiaries".
FSCO acknowledges that, in some instances, service providers will deal directly with inquiries and complaints. It therefore recommends that all agreements between the administrator and the service provider address privacy concerns and provide instructions on how inquiries and complaints are to be processed on behalf of the administrator.
FSCO is seeking comments from interested parties on the Policy and the related guideline by February 11, 2011.
Administrators would be wise to review the recommendations made by FSCO contained in the Policy. Although most administrators may already have a procedure in place to deal with inquiries and complaints, the Policy may be a useful checklist from a “best practice” perspective. In addition, administrators may want to check with their service providers which handle beneficiary inquiries and complaints directly to ensure that they have procedures in place which comply with applicable legislation.
