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Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 (SOR/87-19)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2017-06-23. Previous Versions

Information To Be Provided — Variable Benefits

 The notification of consent of the spouse or common-law partner required under paragraph 16.2(2)(a) of the Act shall be made in Form 5.2 of Schedule IV.

  • SOR/2015-60, s. 15

Information on Plan Termination

  •  (1) The written statement required under paragraph 28(2.1)(a) of the Act shall be given in Form 2.1 of Schedule IV.

  • (2) The written statement required under paragraph 28(2.1)(b) of the Act shall be given in Form 2.2 of Schedule IV.

  • SOR/2015-60, s. 16

Report on Termination of Plan

 A report filed pursuant to subsection 29(9) of the Act on the termination of a plan or part of a plan shall be prepared

  • (a) by an actuary, accountant or other professional advisor, in the case of

    • (i) a defined contribution plan where the contributions under the plan are allocated to individual plan members, or

    • (ii) a defined benefit plan that is an insured plan; and

  • (b) by an actuary, in the case of any other plan.

  •  (1) For the purposes of this section, solvency deficit means the amount by which the solvency liabilities as at the date of termination of a plan or the valuation date, as the case may be, exceeds the sum of the solvency assets at that date and the amounts required to be paid under subsection 29(6) of the Act.

  • (2) For the purposes of subsection 29(6.1) of the Act,

    • (a) an employer shall pay an amount equal to the solvency deficit as at the date of termination of the plan either in a lump sum or by equal annual payments sufficient to liquidate the solvency deficit over a period of five years from the date of termination;

    • (b) the interest rate used to determine the annual payments is the same as the interest rate used to determine the solvency liabilities of the plan at the date of termination; and

    • (c) the annual payments shall be paid by equal monthly instalments no later than 30 days after the end of each month.

  • (3) The annual payment determined under paragraph (2)(a) that is to be paid in the plan year in which the plan is terminated may be reduced by the amounts required to be paid under subsection 29(6) of the Act.

  • (4) An actuarial report, filed after termination of the plan but before it is wound up, shall set out the remaining solvency assets, solvency liabilities, solvency deficit and remaining payments required to liquidate the solvency deficit as at the valuation date. The solvency assets and solvency deficit shall not include the face value of any letters of credit.

  • (5) If the present value of remaining payments determined in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) exceeds the remaining solvency deficit established as at the valuation date in accordance with the actuarial report referred to in subsection (4), the payments remaining to be made in respect of the solvency deficit are reduced pro rata.

  • (6) If the remaining solvency deficit established as at the valuation date in accordance with the actuarial report referred to in subsection (4) exceeds the present value of remaining payments determined in accordance with paragraph (2)(a), the remaining payments are increased pro rata such that the remaining payments will liquidate the remaining solvency deficit over the remainder of the five-year period beginning on the date of termination.

  • (7) Any solvency deficit that arises five or more years after the date of termination of the plan shall be immediately paid down.

  • (8) For the purposes of subsection 29(6.3) of the Act, the portion of the remaining amount that is attributable to the payments made under subsection 29(6.1) of the Act is equal to the lesser of

    • (a) the amount remaining in the pension fund at the date of winding-up, and

    • (b) the accumulated value at the date of winding-up, with interest at the rates earned by the pension fund, of the payments made under subsection 29(6.1) of the Act.

  • SOR/2011-85, s. 9

Electronic Communications

  •  (1) For the purposes of paragraph 31.1(1)(a) of the Act, the addressee may consent in writing, in paper or electronic form, or orally.

  • (2) Before an addressee consents, the administrator shall notify the addressee

    • (a) of the addressee’s right to revoke their consent at any time;

    • (b) of the addressee’s responsibility to inform the administrator of any changes the addressee makes to the designated information system, including any changes made to the contact information for the designated information system; and

    • (c) of the date when the consent takes effect.

  • (3) The addressee shall revoke their consent in writing, in paper or electronic form, or orally.

  • SOR/2015-60, s. 17

 If an electronic document is provided on a generally accessible information system, such as a website, the administrator shall provide to the addressee written notice, in paper or electronic form, of the electronic document’s availability and location.

  • SOR/2015-60, s. 17

 An electronic document is considered to have been provided to an addressee when it is entered into or made available on the information system designated by the addressee.

  • SOR/2015-60, s. 17
  •  (1) If an administrator has reason to believe that an addressee has not received an electronic document or the notice required under section 25.1, the administrator shall mail a paper copy of the document to the addressee.

  • (2) The mailing of a paper copy does not affect when the electronic document is considered to have been provided under section 25.2.

  • SOR/2015-60, s. 17

General

  •  (1) A pension benefit that is being paid under a plan shall not be reduced as a consequence of an increase in the benefits being paid under the Old Age Security Act, the Canada Pension Plan or a provincial pension plan as defined in section 3 of the Canada Pension Plan.

  • (2) A pension benefit to which a plan member or former member is entitled under a plan shall not cease or be reduced as a consequence of the eligibility of that plan member or former member on account of age for a benefit payable before the age of 65 under the Old Age Security Act, the Canada Pension Plan or a provincial pension plan as defined in section 3 of the Canada Pension Plan, unless the plan member or former member has made an election to vary the pension benefit under subsection 16(6) of the Act.

 For the purposes of the Act,

  • (a) a pension benefit granted after December 31, 1986 in respect of membership in a plan prior to January 1, 1987 shall be attributed to membership in the plan after December 31, 1986; and

  • (b) where a pension benefit is based on a rate of remuneration of a plan member as of the date the plan member retires, or is based on an average of the rates of remuneration of a plan member over a specified and limited period, up to and including the date the plan member retires, the portion of the pension benefit attributable to membership in a plan after December 31, 1986 is

    • (i) the pension benefit,

    less

    • (ii) the pension benefit calculated as of December 31, 1986 using the rate of remuneration of the plan member as of the date the member ceases membership in the plan or retires, or the average of the rates of remuneration of the plan member over a specified and limited period, as of the date the member ceases membership in the plan or retires, as the case may be.

 Where a plan provides for pension benefits for an employee who is not employed in included employment and the employee is employed in a designated province referred to in section 3, the plan is exempt from the application of the Act in respect of any benefits for the employee.

 A pension plan that was established by a provincial statute in respect of a work, undertaking or business that is within the exclusive legislative authority of that province and in which an employee who is employed in included employment participates is exempt from the application of the Act.

  • SOR/93-109, s. 7

 A pension plan that was established in respect of a telephone company that was not registered under the Act or under the Pension Benefits Standards Act, chapter P-7 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985 before August 14, 1989 is exempt from the application of the Act in respect of any benefits that are derived from membership in the pension plan before that date.

  • SOR/93-109, s. 7

 Section 18 of the Act does not apply in respect of an amount of a pension benefit credit that exceeds the maximum transfer that may be made from a pension plan to another pension plan or to a registered retirement savings plan under the Income Tax Act.

  • SOR/93-109, s. 7
  •  (1) Where a plan provides pension benefits for a plan member or former member who has ceased to be a resident of Canada for at least two calendar years and has ceased employment with the employer who is a party to the plan or ceased membership in a multi-employer pension plan, the pension benefits or pension benefit credits applicable to that member or former member are exempt from the application of section 18 of the Act.

  • (2) For the purposes of this section, a plan member or former member shall be deemed to have been a resident of Canada throughout a calendar year if that member or former member has sojourned in Canada in the year for a period of, or periods the total of which is, 183 days or more.

  • SOR/94-384, s. 6

 A supplemental pension plan is exempt from the application of the Act if, under the terms of the pension plan to which it is supplemental, all the members of the supplemental pension plan are entitled to benefits at least equal to the maximum benefit or contribution limit under the Income Tax Act.

  • SOR/94-384, s. 6
  • SOR/2002-78, s. 16

 Bridging benefits are exempt from the application of sections 22 and 23 of the Act.

  • SOR/94-384, s. 6

 An employee who is receiving a pension benefit from a plan is exempt from the application of sections 14 and 15 of the Act in respect of that plan.

 The Superintendent may request an administrator to provide to the Superintendent an up-to-date consolidation of a plan and any amendments thereto.

Forms

 A written consent referred to in paragraph 16.1(3)(b) of the Act shall be in the form set out in Form 6 of Schedule IV.

  • SOR/2009-100, s. 2

 A written agreement referred to in subsection 22(5) of the Act shall be in the form set out in Form 4 of Schedule II.

 A notice of objection referred to in subsection 32(1) of the Act shall be in the form set out in Form 5 of Schedule II and shall be served by registered mail or delivery to the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

  • SOR/2002-78, s. 17

 A notice of appeal referred to in subsection 33(2) of the Act shall be in the form set out in Form 6 of Schedule II.

 

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