New Brunswick Pension Task Force Seeks Submissions

The New Brunswick Task Force on Protecting Pensions has released a briefing note, outlining its plan to examine the pension risk management practices and regulatory structures being adopted by other jurisdictions, and to review written submissions “that promote and protect pension coverage”.

As I discussed in an earlier blog post, New Brunswick was the fifth jurisdiction in Canada to appoint an expert panel to review pensions when it announced the formation of the Task Force last fall. The Task Force has indicated that it intends to issue an interim report, based on its initial review and stakeholders’ submissions, in the fall of 2011, and that it will present recommendations to the New Brunswick government aimed at encouraging risk management and risk sharing and ensuring the long-term sustainability of New Brunswick pension plans. Written submissions are due by September 19, 2011 and may be sent via e-mail to: pensions-retraite@gnb.ca.

There will be an opportunity for further stakeholder feedback following the release of the interim report. The Task Force expects to review and evaluate the feedback it receives and issue its final report in the spring of 2012.

Are You Amending Your 401(k) or Pension Plan? A Court Reminds Us to "Do It Right" or Else

A recent decision provided a wake up call for plan sponsors and plan committees: the court set aside a plan amendment in an ongoing challenge to the elimination of Nabisco stock as an investment choice in the RJR Tobacco plan. We have previously written about the importance of following plan procedures when implementing changes, but this new decision starkly lays out the risks of ignoring the ERISA requirements and suggests some best practices to follow when making plan amendments.

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