The Ontario government has filed O. Reg. 235/14, which amends the Pension Benefits Regulation (PBR) to include provisions on the content and timing requirements for biennial benefit statements for retired members and former members with vested entitlements, and content and filing requirements for Statements of Investment Policies and Procedures (SIPPs), says an Eckler Special Notice.
The regulation is largely unchanged from the draft version released in October.
Eckler says the regulation’s provisions regarding statements to retired and former members include the following notable changes from the draft version:
- New pension plans registered after Jan. 1, 2015, now have 18 months following the end of the plan’s first fiscal year to send out statements. The draft regulation on Statements to Retired and Former Members stated that such plans must send out their first statements within six months of their first fiscal year end.
- Statements to former and retired members of multi-employer pension plans with employer contributions limited to a fixed amount set out in a collective agreement are no longer required to explain that pensions may be reduced if the fixed contribution amounts are not sufficient to provide the benefits under the plan. These plans must still explain that benefits may be reduced on plan windup if assets are not sufficient to meet liabilities.
The firm notes that the the SIPP portion of the regulation contains no significant changes from the draft regulation on content and filing requirements for SIPPs.
Existing pension plans must send their retired and former members their first benefit statements no later than July 1, 2017. Subsequent statements must be sent every two years, within six months after the plan’s fiscal year end.
By Jan. 1, 2016, plan administrators must ensure that their SIPPs are updated to reflect whether, and to what extent, they address environmental, social and governance factors. Existing plans must also file their SIPPs with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario within 60 days of this date. Plans that are registered on or after Jan. 1, 2016, must file their SIPP within 60 days of the plan’s registration date. Also, plan administrators must file updated SIPPs within 60 days following any amendments to the document.
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