When the federal government introduced legislation to create pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) in November 2011, it proudly boasted that PRPPs would provide Canadians with an “accessible, straightforward and administratively low-cost retirement savings option.” The intent of the voluntary retirement savings vehicle (which holds assets from multiple participating employers and from self-employed individuals who choose to participate) is to help those in the private sector with no employer-sponsored pension plan to save for retirement.
The only news around pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) today seems to be coming from the federal Department of Finance, Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance)in particular, who has been stewarding the PRPP initiative.
The federal government has created the pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) in the hopes that provinces would each adopt a bill creating a similar product for their own pension jurisdiction.
A new report released by the C.D. Howe Institute today says that Ottawa should rethink the tax rules for pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) if they want the retirement savings vehicle to be effective.
Pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) will be attractive to employers that wish to shed the risks associated with the fiduciary obligations for employers that offer traditional retirement programs. The new draft PRPP regulations, released on August 13, further stack the deck in favour of employer abandonment of RPP sponsorship by baldly permitting employers to demand, or PRPP providers to offer, inducements to transfer membership and assets from traditional plans to a PRPP.
The pooled registered pension plan (PRPP)—proposed by the federal government in response to the lack of pension coverage across Canada—may also help to resolve employers’ concerns about the costs and administrative burden of offering retirement savings plans to employees.
The federal government has prepublished regulatory proposals to address provisions of the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (Bill C-25), says Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance).
Standard Life has launched a new website offering information on pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) and its Quebec counterpart, voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs).
The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) is calling on the provinces and territories to enact legislation that would provide access to pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) for small businesses and the self-employed.
Bill C-25, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, received Royal Assent yesterday, moving the legislation another step closer to becoming law. Federal tax legislation still needs to be passed, and regulations will soon be published to address provisions of the Act.