Home Julius Melnitzer

Annuities, funding policies among Quebec pension changes

Plan sponsors and administrators finally have guidance on Quebec’s supplemental pension plan legislation, two years after initial amendments on Jan. 1, 2016. The regulations, which came into force on Jan. 4, 2018, don’t differ significantly from the draft version circulated for consultation last summer. The key features address annuity purchases, funding policies and variable benefits. Read: New pension […]

  • January 15, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 13:00

2018 to be a busy year for pension reforms

If there’s one thing that’s clear about pension reform in 2018, it’s that sponsors will have their hands full, particularly in Ontario. “There’s no question in my mind that impending changes to Ontario’s pension laws will motivate administrators and service providers to up their game,” says Mary Picard, a partner at Dentons Canada LLP’s Toronto […]

  • January 3, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 14:20

ESG ventures ‘jeopardizing’ performance of California pension fund: think tank

Politically motivated investments in environmental, social and governance ventures are a key factor in the underperformance of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, according to a new report by the American Council for Capital Formation. “The ESG principles that have helped shaped CalPERS’ portfolio over the last four years are truly jeopardizing the retirement fund,” says […]

  • December 13, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 15:19

B.C. appeal court dismisses injured veterans’ pension claims

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has dismissed injured veterans’ pension claims against the federal government because they had “no chance of success.” “It’s difficult to understand the claim at all, at least not without completely reimagining our constitutional framework,” says David Rankin, an associate in Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s Toronto office. “The decision […]

  • December 6, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:00

Arbitrator upholds employer’s move to cut down on pharmacy visits

A recent arbitration decision underlines the pivotal role that collective bargaining agreement language plays in the extent to which employers and their insurers can make unilateral changes to benefits plans. “From the employer’s perspective, the less said about the benefits plan, the better,” said Brian Smeenk, a labour law expert at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP’s […]

  • November 27, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00

Incoming monetary penalties for Ontario pensions put spotlight on plan governance

The coming into force of an administrative monetary penalty regime under Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act on Jan. 1, 2018, will change the risk profile for plan sponsors and administrators, necessitating a review of governance and compliance policies. Current enforcement tools, primarily compliance orders and fines of up to $100,000 for a first offence and $200,000 […]

  • October 20, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00

Sears liquidation a vindication for pensioners’ move to force DB windup

Sears Canada Inc.’s announcement on Tuesday that it will seek a liquidation order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice appears to vindicate the earlier decision of the company’s employees and retirees to seek a windup of the company’s defined benefit pension plan at the earliest opportunity. “While you might not want to seek a […]

  • October 11, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:15

Can the feds overcome opposition to pass target-benefit pension bill?

One year after the federal government unveiled legislation that would allow federally regulated employers to offer target-benefit pension plans, the proposal has stalled in the House of Commons but it’s apparently still very much alive. “The gist of Bill C-27 is to permit target-benefit plans to operate as a design option alongside defined benefit plans […]

  • October 10, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:57

Court decision in Wabush restructuring the ‘worst-case scenario’ for pensioners

A Quebec Superior Court decision refusing to give priority to pension contribution deficiencies in the context of a mining company’s restructuring has ramped up the uncertainty around the windup of Sears Canada Inc.’s defined benefit plan. Earlier this month, Justice Stephen Hamilton ruled that the deemed trust that gives priority to pension claims under Newfoundland […]

  • September 20, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 17:02

Yellow Pages to pay $117K for favouring ‘pension eligible’ staff for severance packages

An arbitrator has ordered Yellow Pages Group Co. to pay an employee $102,000 for breaching a collective agreement and an additional $15,000 for a Human Rights Code violation after finding the company discriminated against the worker when it refused to grant a voluntary severance package because of her relative youth and instead favoured older, “pension eligible” […]

  • August 18, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00