Back in the fall of 2011, an expert committee chaired by Alban D’Amours was mandated by the Quebec government to analyze the state of the Quebec retirement income system and to make recommendations on how to improve it in light of the new economic and demographic realities. The Committee released a voluminous report on April… Continue Reading
Category Archives: DB Plan Funding
Subscribe to DB Plan Funding RSS FeedPlan’s Funded Status Required to be Disclosed under Freedom of Information Request
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Plan AdministrationPension plan sponsors may be surprised to learn that information provided to pension regulators pursuant to statutory filing obligations could be more widely disclosed through an “access to information” request. In a recent decision, the B.C. Assistant Information and Privacy Commissioner ordered the B.C. Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM), which regulates B.C. registered pension plans, to… Continue Reading
Indalex: What Are the Pension Implications?
Posted in Bankruptcy, Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan FundingOn February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released its much anticipated decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers, a case which pitted the claims of pensioners against those of secured creditors in the context of the insolvency of the employer plan sponsor. The Supreme Court’s decision in Indalex largely overturned the… Continue Reading
Re Northern Sawmills Inc. – Court Considers Post-Indalex Pension Claims in Receivership
Posted in Bankruptcy, Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan FundingThis is another post-Indalex pension deficit priority case. Due to factual differences from Indalex, however, the pension claims were largely rejected. In the fall of 2008, Northern Sawmills Inc. idled its operations and laid off most of its employees. In January 2011, PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed as Receiver over the assets of Northern Sawmills Inc., pursuant… Continue Reading
Ontario Pension Plans Will be Permitted to Use Letters of Credit
Posted in DB Plan Funding, Pension ReformEffective January 1, 2013, certain Ontario employers will be able to use letters of credit to fund their pension plans’ solvency deficiencies. Provisions permitting letters of credit were added to the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (the PBA) in late 2010 when Bill 120 was passed, but they did not come into force pending the publication… Continue Reading
Alberta Introduces New Pension Legislation
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Innovation & Plan Design, Legislation & Regulations, Pension ReformAlmost four years after the Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards (JEPPS) submitted its final report with recommendations to fundamentally reform Alberta and British Columbia’s pension systems, the Alberta government has introduced Bill 10, Employment Pension Plans Act. Similar to B.C.’s Bill 38, which was passed earlier this year, Bill 10, if passed, will replace… Continue Reading
Régie Des Rentes Releases Unfavourable Position on Margins for Adverse Deviations
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Plan Administration, Regulator Policies & CommunicationsEffective December 31, 2010, revisions were made by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) to its Standards of Practice – Practice-Specific Standards for Pension Plans. In particular, the revised CIA Standards of Practice now provide that assumptions for going concern valuations are either best estimates or best estimates modified to incorporate margins for adverse deviations… Continue Reading
Alberta Extends Solvency Funding Relief
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Legislation & Regulations, Regulator Policies & CommunicationsFollowing up on the solvency funding relief for Alberta specified multi-employer pension plans (SMEPPs) which was passed last year, the Alberta government recently amended the Employment Pension Plans Regulation to also provide solvency funding relief to defined benefit plans which are not SMEPPs. Notably, the regulation does not require any form of member consent, or… Continue Reading
British Columbia Bill 38 Includes Some Novel Pension Reforms
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Innovation & Plan Design, Legislation & Regulations, Pension ReformOn April 30, 2012, British Columbia introduced Bill 38, Pension Benefits Standards Act, for first reading. If passed, the current British Columbia Pension Benefits Standards Act (PBSA) would be repealed and replaced in its entirety by Bill 38. Bill 38 marks the first significant amendments to British Columbia’s pension regime since the Joint Expert Panel… Continue Reading
Ontario Government Announces Consultation with Public Sector Plans
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Public Sector PlansFollowing up on its 2012 budget, the Ontario government announced that it will begin consultations on a new legislative framework for jointly sponsored public sector pension plans (JSPPs). As the government indicated previously, their focus is to make public sector pension plans "more sustainable for members and more affordable for taxpayers.” In addition, the Ontario… Continue Reading
Pension Plan Restructuring (Part I)
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Plan Conversions, Plan Wind-UpsThese days, many plan sponsors are looking to exit the defined benefit (DB) world – largely for the following reasons: they want to cut benefit funding and administration costs, as market volatility and low interest rates drive up solvency deficits and make planning more difficult; to achieve better planning and budgeting by making pension liabilities… Continue Reading
Ontario Budget: Implications for Private and Public Sector Pensions
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Innovation & Plan Design, Legislation & Regulations, Pension Reform, Plan Administration, Public Sector PlansThe Ontario government’s 2012 Budget, released yesterday, includes a number of announcements which will be of interest to administrators of both private and public sector pension plans. Some Good News for Private Sector Employers The government recognized that as a result of ongoing market volatility and low interest rates many private sector defined benefit plans… Continue Reading
Timminco Limited: CCAA Court Considers Fiduciary Obligations Post-Indalex
Posted in Bankruptcy, Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan FundingTimminco Limited is among the first reported cases to be released following the Ontario Court of Appeal’s April 7, 2011 decision in Re Indalex. There are two Timminco decisions – Timminco 1 and Timminco 2. Indalex Recap Recall, that in Indalex, contrary to widely accepted principles governing pensions under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the… Continue Reading
OSFI Provides More Guidance re Letters of Credit
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Pension Reform, Regulator Policies & CommunicationsOver the past two years we have seen a number of amendments to federal pension legislation with respect to the funding of defined benefit (DB) plans (see April 1, 2010 and December 17, 2010 posts). These reforms include amendments permitting plan sponsors to use letters of credit in lieu of making solvency payments to a… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Of Canada To Hear Indalex Appeal
Posted in Bankruptcy, Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan FundingThe Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Re Indalex. In its April 2011 ruling, the Court of Appeal held that the entire amount an employer is required to contribute to fund a pension plan wind-up deficiency under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (PBA)… Continue Reading
Quebec Announces Extension of Solvency Funding Relief for DB Plans
Posted in Bankruptcy, Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Pension ReformBack in 2009, the Quebec government adopted measures to alleviate the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the funding of defined benefit (DB) plans. These measures allowed an employer to instruct a plan’s pension committee to implement one or more of the following measures for the first complete actuarial valuation dated after December 30,… Continue Reading
CAPSA Guidelines re Prudent Investments and Funding Policies
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, DC Plans, Investments, Plan AdministrationThe Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) has been working away at providing pension plan administrators with guidance regarding pension plan investing and funding. As we reported earlier, CAPSA released draft guidelines this past spring. Those guidelines were released on November 15, 2011 in final form: Guideline No.6 – Pension Plan Prudent Investment Practices… Continue Reading
CAPSA Agreement re Multi-Jurisdictional Plans – Implications for Ontario and Quebec Administrators
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Plan AdministrationEffective July 1, 2011, the administration of Ontario and Quebec registered pension plans with members in both jurisdictions is subject to the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans (the Agreement). The Agreement sets out a framework for the regulation and administration of multi-jurisdictional pension plans (MJPP), including: The rules of… Continue Reading
Ontario Makes Changes to Pension Funding Requirements
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Legislation & Regulations, Pension Reform, Public Sector PlansThe Ontario government recently filed regulations under the Pension Benefits Act (the PBA), which implement funding changes for jointly sponsored pension plans (JSPPs) and certain public sector plans, as well as more general changes applicable to all defined benefit (DB) plans.
Ontario Budget: Pension Reform Will Continue
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Legislation & Regulations, Pension Reform, Plan AdministrationIn this week’s Budget announcement, the Ontario government confirmed that work continues on its pension reform initiatives. While a number of the government’s announcements focus on the administration, investment and funding of single and multi-employer pension plans, the government also reiterated its desire to make changes at the “macro” level through support of modest phased… Continue Reading
CAPSA Releases Draft Guidelines on Prudence Standard and Funding Policies
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Plan Administration, Regulator Policies & CommunicationsAs we reported in an earlier post, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) published a consultation paper in late 2009 entitled “The Prudence Standard and the Roles of the Plan Sponsor and Plan Administrator in Pension Plan Funding and Investment”. Following up on this consultation paper, CAPSA recently released draft guidelines on funding… Continue Reading
Ontario Announces Temporary Solvency Funding Relief for Public Sector Plans
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Pension Reform, Public Sector PlansLate last week, the Ontario government announced that it would provide temporary solvency funding relief to certain public sector and broader public sector (BPS) pension plans. Obtaining such relief, however, will not be an easy matter. The government has made it clear that in an effort to ensure that these plans are sustainable in the… Continue Reading
OSFI Releases Guide re Intervention Process
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Plan Administration, Regulator Policies & CommunicationsThe Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) recently released the “Guide to Intervention for Federally Regulated Private Pension Plans” (the Guide), which outlines the varying degrees of scrutiny that federally regulated plan administrators can expect from OSFI and the circumstances under which intervention measures may be taken.
Bill 120 Changes Regarding Pension Plan Funding
Posted in Canada Pensions & Benefits Law, DB Plan Funding, Legislation & Regulations, Pension ReformIn this post, I will discuss important pension plan funding changes implemented by Bill 120, Securing Pension Benefits Now and for the Future Act, 2010. (Previous posts have considered some of the more controversial aspects of Bill 120, namely, changes to the rules regarding surplus withdrawals, contribution holidays and plan expenses.) Like many aspects of… Continue Reading