What's New in Pension and Benefits – April 2021

  • April 12, 2021
  • Michael Long and Simon Laxon, Willis Towers Watson

Highlights of this newsletter include one pension-related item in the Ontario 2021 Budget relating to the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF), a number of new guidance documents and publications from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), policy updates from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and new FAQs and directives from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).

 

  1. LEGISLATION

PBA REGULATIONS TO BE AMENDED TO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL PBGF REPORTING

Ontario’s Budget 2021 notes that Regulation 909 under the Pension Benefits Act will be amended to require plan administrators to calculate and report their plan’s Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF) claim exposure. No timeline for this amendment was set out. A recent review found that the declining number of plans paying into the PBGF, due to ongoing consolidations and defined benefit plan closures, has concentrated risk among fewer employers.