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Pension Benefits Regulations
made under Section 139 of the
Pension Benefits Act
S.N.S. 2011, c. 41
O.I.C. 2015-133 (effective June 1, 2015), N.S. Reg. 200/2015
amended to O.I.C. 2023-182 (effective June 29, 2023), N.S. Reg. 122/2023
Effective April 1, 2025, these regulations are amended by N.S. Reg. 232/2024.
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.
Part 1: Interpretation and Application
Calculation of actuarial gain or loss
Calculation of going concern assets
Calculation of going concern excess
Calculation of going concern unfunded liability
Calculation of solvency assets
Calculation of solvency asset adjustment
Determination of solvency liabilities
Determination of solvency deficiency of plan providing defined benefits
Book value substituted for market value in calculations
Provision for Adverse Deviations
Definitions and interpretation for determining provision for adverse deviations
Calculation of provision for adverse deviations
Combined target asset allocation for provision for adverse deviations
Value of “B” in formula for provision for adverse deviations
Jointly Sponsored Pension Plans
Additional criteria for jointly sponsored pension plans
Administrator’s statement about criteria for jointly sponsored pension plan
Specified Multi-Employer Pension Plans
Specified multi-employer pension plan class of plans
Eligibility criteria for specified multi-employer pension plans
Election to be specified multi-employer pension plan
Exemptions from the Act and Regulations
Exemption respecting plans for connected persons
Notice that exemption no longer applicable
Amendment to avoid revocation of registration under federal Income Tax Act
Pension plans maintained for employees of 2 or more employers
Nova Scotia Health Employees Pension Plan not a multi-employer pension plan
Nova Scotia Health Employees’ Pension Plan not a jointly sponsored pension plan
Ensuring no conflict of interest for multi-employer pension plan
Notices and summaries of contributions not required for certain multi-employer pension plans
Exemption from registration or audit under reciprocal agreement
Designated jurisdictions prescribed
Effective dates of multi-jurisdictional pension plan agreements
Part 2: Pension Plan Administration
Registration of Pension Plans and Amendments, and Filing of Agreements
Application for registration of pension plan
Application for registration of amendment to pension plan
Notice and explanation of pension plan amendment
Valuation report on amendment to pension plan
Amendments that are permitted only if cost of amendments paid into pension fund
Filing of reciprocal transfer agreements
Requirements for reciprocal transfer agreements
Notice and information about establishing advisory committee
Voting on establishing advisory committee
Notice concerning result of vote to establish advisory committee
Nominating advisory committee representatives
Voting on advisory committee representatives
Notice of results of vote on advisory committee representatives
Term of office for advisory committee
Participating on advisory committee
Advisory committee procedure, governance and operations
Superintendent’s power to appoint administrator
Pension Fund Investment and Administration
Definitions for Sections 47 to 50—incorporation of federal investment regulations
Investment of plan assets must be in accordance with regulations and federal investment regulations
Statement of investment policies and procedures
Designated jurisdictions—alternate corresponding provisions
Reporting to the Superintendent
Pension plan that provides only defined contribution benefits exempted
Valuation reports at regular intervals
Valuation reports for multi-employer pension plans
Solvency concerns indicated in initial or review valuation report
Valuation report for plan that ceases to be designated plan or individual pension plan
Time period for filing valuation reports
Reports and certificates to be prepared by actuary, accountant or other authorized person
Use of actuarial methods and assumptions in preparing valuation and wind-up reports
Actuarial information summary to accompany valuation report
Copy of report to agent of administrator
Filing annual information return
Financial statements required to be filed for pension funds
Content and preparation of financial statements
Auditor’s report on financial statements
Auditor’s duty to report to administrator and Superintendent
Extension of time limit for filing of document
Information to Members and Others
Member and eligible member information
Information to be provided where plan permits optional contributions
Information to be provided before variable benefits account established
First annual statement on or after April 1, 2020
Annual statement to variable benefits participant
Statement on termination of employment or membership
Statement to variable benefits participant on transfer from variable benefits account
Statement after death of variable benefits participant
Notification of options to retiring member
Retirement statement to member
Information required to be available on request
Inspection of filed records of pension plan and pension fund
Records Respecting Pension Plans
Part 3: Funding of Pension Plans
Employer contributions and employee contributions set out in pension plan
Minimum contributions to pension plan
Sufficiency of contributions on and after April 1, 2020
Sufficiency of contributions for specified multi-employer pension plan
Contributions made to a jointly sponsored pension plan
Previous year credit balance used to reduce employer payments
Funding of escalated adjustments
When and how payment of contributions to be paid
Contributions for provision for adverse deviations may be made to reserve account
Time limits for contributions under pension plans that are subject to collective agreements
Offset on conversion of plan to defined contribution benefit
Restrictions on reductions or suspensions of contributions
Special payments if going concern excess
Administrator’s and agent’s notice that contributions not paid
Minimum amount of special payments
Interest payments required for employers who provide letter of credit
Alternative determination of special payments for jointly sponsored pension plans
Adjustment of special payments for solvency excess
Adjustment of special payments for solvency excess—solvency deficiency
Special Payments—Temporary Exceptions
Special payments—temporary exceptions
Letter of credit deemed to apply to solvency deficiency
Prescribed requirements for letters of credit
Prescribed person or entity provided letter of credit
Deadlines for providing letters of credit
When trustee must demand payment of amount of letter of credit
Notification by trustee if payment demanded under letter of credit
Notification by trustee if issuer of letter of credit fails to pay on demand
Part 4: Membership, Benefits and Interest
Prescribed classes of employees
Variations and Reductions for CPP, QPP and OAS
Variation of pension benefits for CPP or QPP entitlements
Calculating reduction when integrating retirement benefits with CPP, QPP and OAS
Reduction of bridging benefits
Application for withdrawal from pension plan in circumstances of shortened life expectancy
Exercising entitlement to pre-retirement death benefit under subsection 67(1) or (2) of Act
Exemption from reduction in pre-retirement death benefit entitlement
Offset in relation to pre-retirement death benefits
Commuted Value and Limits on Transfers
Commuted value of pension benefits and ancillary benefits for transfer
Calculating portion of commuted value available for transfer
Limits on transferring commuted value of pension benefits
Balance of transfer if less than 100% of commuted value transferred
Exemptions to limits on transfers
Benefits that result from voluntary contributions for past service
Reciprocal transfer agreement—50% rule
Entitlement to excess amount of commuted value of converted benefits
Additional prescribed ancillary benefits
Bridging benefits not taken into account
Purchase of Annuity from Insurance Company
Definitions for Sections 144A to 144F
Notice of intended purchase of annuity
Prescribed requirements for contract
Prescribed requirements for purchase
Record of purchase kept by administrator
Notice required on filing actuarial certificate for discharge of administrator
Notice required on filing new actuarial certificate for discharge of administrator
Definition of phased retirement option
Application for phased retirement option
Participation in phased retirement option
Definitions for Sections 149 to 151
Pension plan provisions for variable pension benefits
Additional transfers to, and transfer from, variable benefits account
Maximum amount of variable pension benefits payable
Definitions for crediting interest on contributions—Sections 154 to 158
When contribution interest accrues
Interest rates for defined contribution pension plan
Interest rates for defined benefit pension plan
Interest for pension plans that provide both defined contribution benefits and defined benefits
Interest rate on termination of employment or membership
Interest on commuted value of former member’s deferred pension or retired member’s pension
Interest on ordered repayment of money or return of assets
Interest on commuted value on wind-up of plan
Withdrawing Surplus from Pension Plan
Notice of application to withdraw surplus from continuing pension plan
Application to withdraw surplus from continuing pension plan
Determining surplus for continuing pension plan
Notice of application to withdraw surplus from plan being wound up
Application to withdraw surplus from plan being wound up
Notice of intention to enter into agreement for payment of surplus to employer
Payments in accordance with election re surplus
Number of persons for purposes of agreement regarding payment of surplus to employer
Withdrawal of surplus from a reserve account on full wind-up of pension plan
Part 5: Wind-up of Pension Plans
Statement of member entitlements on wind-up
Payments in accordance with election on wind-up
Prescribed circumstances for ordering wind-up
Additional information with wind-up report
Minimum commuted value as of effective date of wind-up
Payments exempt under subsection 94(3) of Act
Payments out of pension plan on wind-up
Reduction in benefits on wind-up
Documents required to be filed within 6 months of wind-up
Notice of distribution of all assets of pension plan
Payment of outstanding amounts on wind-up
Payments on wind-up of pension plan other than jointly sponsored pension plan
Payments of any additional amounts on wind-up of jointly sponsored pension plan
Administrator’s responsibilities during wind-up if additional funding required
Vote on whether to make election to exclude
Last date for accepting election forms
Prohibition against identifying persons who submit election forms
Successful election to exclude
Part 6: Withdrawals and Transfers
Withdrawals and Transfers from Pension Plans
Direction to administrator to exercise entitlement under subsection 61(5) of Act
Direction to administrator to transfer into registered retirement savings arrangement
Transfers to a retirement savings arrangement under clause 61(1)(b) of Act
Transfers of excess amount into LIRA or LIF
Life Annuities, LIRAs and LIFs
Contracts establishing and governing LIRAs
Administrator’s duties respecting transfers to LIRAs
Conditions for transferring assets from LIRAs
Contracts establishing and governing LIFs
LIF filing requirements and Superintendent’s list
Administrator’s duties respecting transfers to LIFs
Conditions for transferring assets from LIFs
Withdrawals from LIRAs and LIFs
Definitions for circumstances of financial hardship—Sections 212 to 230
Prescribed circumstances of financial hardship
LIRA or LIF contract terms applicable to application
Declaration about a spouse for withdrawal from LIRA or LIF
Mortgage default circumstance application information
Medical expenses circumstance application information
Rental default circumstance application information
Reduced income circumstance application information
Financial institution may require additional information
Financial institution entitled to rely on information
Stale-dated document not valid for application
Only 1 application in calendar year
Calculating maximum consented amounts
Consented amount may be lower than requested
Subsequent applications prohibited if funds withdrawn
Owner authorized to receive payment
Withdrawal from LIRA or LIF in circumstances of shortened life expectancy
Withdrawal from LIRA or LIF in circumstances of non-residency
Withdrawal of small amounts from LIRA or LIF at age 65
Part 7: Division of Pension Entitlement and Compliance with Attachment
Division of Pension Entitlement Between Spouses
Definitions for division of pension entitlement—Sections 235 to 252
Application of Sections 234 to 252
Matrimonial Property Act settlements
Separation date specified in court order or domestic contract
Information about pension plan, LIRA or LIF provided to spouse
Notice to member, former member or retired member of spouse’s request
Information to be provided to limited member
Transfer of proportionate share out of pension plan
Limited member’s separate pension resulting from division of defined benefit
End of entitlement to limited member’s proportionate share
Death of member, former member or limited member entitled to defined benefit
Calculation of proportionate share of defined contribution benefit
Calculation of proportionate share of LIRA or LIF
Adjustment of a member’s or former member’s defined benefit
Notice to spouse if member’s, former member’s or retired member’s interest may be affected
Administrative fees incurred to satisfy entitlement of spouse
Costs of complying with attachment under Maintenance Enforcement Act
Part 8: Asset Transfers Between Pension Plans
Interpretation and Application for Part 8
Definitions for Sections 107, 108 and 110 of the Act and this Part
Determining commuted value of benefits
Effective date of transfer of assets upon sale of business
Effective date of transfer of assets upon establishment of successor pension plan
Deadline for completing transfer of assets
Application of Sections 262 to 269
Amount of assets to be transferred
Solvency ratio condition for Superintendent’s consent to transfer of assets
Special payments to continue to be made by original employer
Content required in certain valuation reports
Restriction on reducing successor pension plan accrued benefits
Amount of accrued pension benefits under successor pension plan
Transfers of excess amounts into LIRA or LIF under subsection 107(8) of the Act
Notices about transfers of assets with respect to defined benefits
Transfers of Defined Contribution Benefits
Application of Sections 271 and 272
Amount in individual accounts must not be less after transfer
Notices about transfers of assets with respect to defined contribution benefits
Election to Transfer Assets Upon Sale of Business
Applicability of provisions to transfer of assets that requires transfer consent
Information to be included in election form
Last date for accepting election forms
Copies of notices and election form to bargaining agent and advisory committee
Applicant to keep election forms
Updated Notices for Persons Not Eligible to Transfer Assets
Updated notices for persons not eligible to transfer assets
Information to be included in application for consent to transfer of assets upon sale of business
Combining valuation reports for consent to transfer of assets upon sale of business
Applying for Superintendent’s consent to transfer of assets
Certificate respecting election process
Notice re completion of transfer of assets
Schedule 1: Permitted Investments [repealed]
Providing copy of trust agreement
Matters that must be included in letter of credit
Matters that must be included in trust agreement
Schedule 3: Nova Scotia LIRA Addendum
Transferring assets from LIRAs
Information to be provided by financial institution on transfers of assets of LIRAs
Information to be provided annually by financial institution
Waiver of entitlement to death benefits by spouse
Information to be provided by financial institution on death of owner
Schedule 4: Nova Scotia LIF Addendum
Periodic payments of income out of LIFs
Amount of income payments from LIFs
Pro-rating amount of withdrawal if initial fiscal year less than 12 months
Maximum annual life income from LIF that does not provide for temporary income
Withdrawal of temporary income from LIFs
Maximum temporary income for fiscal year
Maximum life income withdrawal from LIFs
Maximum annual income payable if financial institution guarantees rate of return of LIFs
Information to be provided annually by financial institution
Information to be provided by financial institution on transfer of balance of LIFs
Information to be provided upon transfer of additional amounts to LIFs
Waiver of entitlement to death benefits by spouse
Information to be provided by financial institution on death of owner
Schedule 5: Life Income Fund—Factor F
Schedule 6: Life Income Fund—Temporary Income Factor D
Schedule 7: Information Required for Application for Superintendent’s Consent to Transfer of Assets
Transfers of Assets on Sale of Business (S. 108 of Act)
Information required in application for Superintendent’s consent—defined benefits
Information required in application for Superintendent’s consent—defined contribution benefits
Transfers of Assets on Establishment of Successor Plan (S. 110 of Act)
Information required in application for Superintendent’s consent—defined benefits
Information required in application for Superintendent’s consent—defined contribution benefits
Transfers of Assets With Respect to Defined Benefits
Information for notices to members eligible to transfer assets—defined benefits
Information for notices to members and others not eligible to transfer assets—defined benefits
Information for notices to bargaining agents and advisory committees—defined benefits
Transfers of Assets With Respect to Defined Contribution Benefits
Information for notices to members eligible to transfer assets—defined contribution benefits
Information for notices to bargaining agents and advisory committees—defined contribution benefits
Statements about Accessing Documents Filed with Superintendent
Information to be included in notices about accessing filed documents
Statements about Transfers of Assets When Transfer Consent Required
Information to be included in notices when transfer consent required
Transfers of Assets With Respect to Defined Benefits
Information for notices to members eligible to transfer assets—defined benefits
Information for notices to bargaining agents and advisory committees—defined benefits
Transfers of Assets with Respect to Defined Contribution Benefits
Information for notices to members eligible to transfer assets—defined contribution benefits
Information for notices to bargaining agents and advisory committees—defined contribution benefits
Part 1: Interpretation and Application
1 These regulations may be cited as the Pension Benefits Regulations.
2 (1) In these regulations,
“Act” means the Pension Benefits Act;
“actuarial gain” means a gain as calculated under Section 3;
“actuarial loss” means an actuarial loss as calculated under Section 3;
“actuary” means a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries;
“amount equal to the provision for adverse deviations” is as defined in Section 12A;
“annual information return” means the annual information return required to be filed under subsection 31(1) of the Act;
“annual statement to members” means the written statement required to be sent under Section 40 of the Act and in accordance with Section 74;
“approved form” means a form that the Superintendent has approved and requires to be used under subsection 137(1) of the Act, which the Superintendent may make available through the Pension Regulation Division or on its website;
“book value” of an asset, means the cost of acquisition to the person acquiring the asset, including all direct costs associated with the acquisition;
“Canadian Institute of Actuaries Standards of Practice” means the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Standards of Practice developed and adopted by the Actuarial Standards Board, as amended, and published by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and made available to the public from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ offices or on their website;
“certified copy” of a document to be filed or submitted to the Superintendent under these regulations, means a copy that is certified to be a true copy of the original document by
(i) the person required or permitted to file or submit it, or
(ii) an authorized official of the person referred to in subclause (i);
“cost certificate” means a cost certificate prepared in accordance with Sections 60 and 61;
“CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting” means the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting, as amended, published by the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada and made available to the public from the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada offices or on their website;
“CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance” means the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance, as amended, published by the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada and made available to the public from the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada offices or on their website;
“CPP” means the Canada Pension Plan (Canada);
“deferred life annuity” means a life annuity under Section 199, that
(i) commences payments no earlier than one year after its purchase,
(ii) provides for equal periodic payments or periodic payments that have been varied by reference to
(A) the amount of any pension payable under the Old Age Security Act (Canada),
(B) the amount of any pension payable under either the Canada Pension Plan (Canada) or a provincial pension plan as defined in Section 3 of the Canada Pension Plan (Canada),
(C) the Consumer Price Index for Canada as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act (Canada), or
(D) the value of the assets held in a segregated fund, and
(iii) is issued by a person authorized to carry on a life insurance business in Canada;
“designated plan” means a pension plan that is a designated plan for the purposes of the federal Income Tax Regulations;
“domestic contract” means a written agreement referred to in and for the purpose of Section 74 of the Act, or Section 14 of the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, that provides for a division between spouses of any pension benefit, deferred pension, pension, LIRA or LIF and includes a marriage contract as defined in the Matrimonial Property Act;
“employee contributions” means all sums received by an employer from an employee or deducted from an employee’s pay as the employee’s contributions to a pension plan;
“employer contributions” means all contributions made by an employer, or by a person or entity required to make contributions on behalf of an employer, into a pension fund or to an insurance company, as the employer’s contributions to a pension plan;
“escalated adjustment” means an adjustment made to a deferred pension of a former member or to the pension of a retired member that
(i) is not capable of being determined with certainty at the time the plan or a relevant amendment to the plan is submitted to the Superintendent for registration because the adjustment is related to the investment earnings of the pension fund or to future changes in a general wage or price index, or
(ii) is an increase in the pension or deferred pension at a fixed annual percentage rate specified in the plan;
“federal Income Tax Act” means the Income Tax Act (Canada) and, unless specified otherwise, includes the regulations made under that Act;
“federal Income Tax Regulations” means the Income Tax Act Regulations (Canada) made under the federal Income Tax Act;
“federal investment regulations” is as defined in Section 47;
“financial institution” means any of the following:
(i) a bank,
(ii) a body corporate to which the Trust and Loan Companies Act applies,
(iii) a cooperative credit society to which the Co-operative Associations Act applies,
(iv) an insurance company to which the Insurance Act applies,
(v) a trust, loan or insurance corporation incorporated by or under an Act of the legislature of a province,
(vi) a cooperative credit society incorporated and regulated by or under an Act of the legislature of a province,
(vii) an entity that is incorporated or formed by or under an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province and that is primarily engaged in dealing in securities, including portfolio management and investment counselling, or
(viii) a foreign institution;
“fiscal year” of a pension plan means a period of no longer than 12 months and, unless otherwise stated in documents that create and support the plan, is deemed to be the period from January 1 to December 31, inclusive;
“foreign institution” means, for the purposes of the definition of “financial institution”, an entity that meets all of the following criteria:
(i) it is incorporated or formed otherwise than by or under an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province,
(ii) it is engaged in any of the following:
(A) the business of banking,
(B) the trust, loan or insurance business,
(C) the business of a cooperative credit society,
(D) the business of dealing in securities,
(E) the business of providing financial services as its primary business;
“former regulations” means the Pension Benefits Regulations, N.S. Reg. 164/2002, made under the former Act;
“going concern assets” means the value of the assets and special payments in respect of a pension plan, as calculated under Section 4;
“going concern excess” means the going concern excess calculated under Section 4A;
“going concern liabilities” means the present value of the accrued benefits of a pension plan determined on the basis of a going concern valuation;
“going concern unfunded liability” means the going concern unfunded liability calculated under Section 4B;
“going concern valuation” means a valuation of the assets and liabilities of a pension plan using actuarial methods and assumptions that are consistent with accepted actuarial practice for the valuation of a continuing pension plan;
“going concern valuation interest rate” means, unless otherwise stated in these regulations, the interest rate used to value the liabilities of the pension plan in a going concern valuation;
“government” means Her Majesty in right of Nova Scotia, an agent of Her Majesty or a municipality;
“immediate life annuity” means a life annuity under Section 199 that commences payments within 1 year of its purchase and otherwise meets the requirements of subclauses (ii) and (iii) of the definition of “deferred life annuity”;
“individual pension plan” means a pension plan that is an individual pension plan for the purposes of the federal Income Tax Regulations;
“insured pension plan” means a pension plan in which all benefits are paid by means of an annuity or insurance contract issued by a person authorized to carry on a life insurance business in Canada and under which the person is obligated to pay all the benefits set out in the plan;
“letter of credit” means a letter of credit provided by an employer instead of making payments into a pension fund with respect to a solvency deficiency, in accordance with Section 77 of the Act, Sections 116 to 124 and Schedule 2: Letters of Credit;
“LIF” or “life income fund” means a registered retirement income fund that is a registered retirement savings arrangement as defined in clause 2(as) of the Act and meets the requirements in Sections 205 to 210 and Schedule 4: Nova Scotia LIF Addendum;
“life annuity” means a deferred life annuity or an immediate life annuity;
“LIRA” or “locked-in retirement account” means a registered retirement savings plan that is a registered retirement savings arrangement as defined in clause 2(as) of the Act and meets the requirements in Sections 200 to 204 and Schedule 3: Nova Scotia LIRA Addendum, and includes a registered retirement savings plan established under a contract made before January 1, 2003, for the purposes of a transfer under the former Act;
“lump sum benefit improvement contribution” means a lump sum contribution that was made before the date a valuation report is filed under subsection 31(1) to fund, in whole or in part, any increase in going concern liabilities or solvency liabilities, or both, because of an amendment to the pension plan;
“market value” means, in relation to an asset, the price that would be obtained in the purchase or sale of the asset in an open market under conditions requisite to a fair transaction between parties who are at arm’s length and acting prudently, knowledgeably and willingly;
“maximum funding valuation” means a maximum funding valuation as described in the federal Income Tax Regulations for the purpose of those regulations and the federal Income Tax Act;
“municipality” means a municipality as defined in the Municipal Government Act;
“normal cost” means , in relation to a pension plan, the cost of pension benefits and ancillary benefits allocated to the plan’s fiscal year, determined on the basis of a going concern valuation;
“OAS” means the Old Age Security Act (Canada);
“owner” means
(i) in relation to a LIRA, a person who is listed as eligible to purchase a LIRA in subsection 200(2), and who has purchased a LIRA,
(ii) in relation to a LIF, a person who is listed as eligible to purchase a LIF in subsection 205(2) and who has purchased a LIF,
(iii) in relation to a life annuity, any of the following:
(A) a former member, acting in accordance with clause 61(1)(c) of the Act, who has purchased a life annuity,
(B) a former member, acting in accordance with clause 61(1)(b) of the Act and clause 2(1)(d) of Schedule 3: Nova Scotia LIRA Addendum, who has purchased a life annuity,
(C) a former member, acting in accordance with clause 61(1)(b) of the Act and clause 15(1)(b) of Schedule 4: Nova Scotia LIF Addendum, who has purchased an immediate life annuity;
“pensionable earnings” means the earnings on which contributions to a pension plan are based in accordance with the documents that create and support the plan;
“physician” means 1 of the following:
(i) a physician who is licensed to practise medicine in a jurisdiction in Canada,
(ii) in respect of any of the following applications, a physician who is licensed to practise medicine in the jurisdiction in which the applicant resides:
(A) under subsection 69(2) of the Act and Section 129, an application for the withdrawal of money from a pension plan by a former member in circumstances of shortened life expectancy,
(B) under subsection 91(4) of the Act and Sections 212 to 230, an application for the withdrawal of money from a LIRA of [or] LIF by the owner in circumstances of financial hardship,
(C) under subsection 91(4) of the Act and Section 231, an application for the withdrawal of money from a LIRA or LIF by the owner in circumstances of shortened life expectancy;
“Pooled Registered Pension Plans Regulations” means the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Regulations made under the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act;
“prescribed fee” means the applicable fee prescribed by the Pension Benefits Act Fees Regulations made by the Minister under Section 136 of the Act;
“pre-retirement death benefit” means a pension entitlement of a spouse or other beneficiary or personal representative of a member, former member or retired member in accordance with Section 67 of the Act;
“previous year credit balance”, in relation to a valuation report or cost certificate, means the previous year credit balance determined in accordance with Section 102;
“provision for adverse deviations” is as defined in Section 12A;
“public accountant” means a public accountant licensed under the Public Accountants Act;
“QPP” means An Act Respecting the Quebec Pension Plan (Quebec);
“retirement savings arrangement” is a “prescribed retirement savings arrangement” as that term is used in the Act, and means a
(i) LIRA, or
(ii) LIF;
“solvency asset adjustment” means the solvency asset adjustment calculated under Section 6;
“solvency assets” means solvency assets calculated under Section 5;
“solvency deficiency” means a solvency deficiency determined in accordance with Section 9;
“solvency liabilities” means solvency liabilities determined in accordance with Section 7;
“solvency liability adjustment” means the amount specified by Section 8;
“solvency ratio” means the solvency ratio calculated under Section 8A;
“solvency valuation” means a valuation of the solvency assets and solvency liabilities of a pension plan in accordance with Section 10, using actuarial methods and assumptions that are consistent with accepted actuarial practice for the valuation of a pension plan, determined on the basis that the plan is being wound up and otherwise meeting the requirements of these regulations;
“solvency valuation interest rate” means, unless otherwise stated in these regulations, the interest rate used to calculate the solvency liabilities in the valuation report;
“special allowance” means a bridging benefit that is adjusted according to any income the retired member earns from employment with the employer after termination;
“special payment” means a payment, or 1 of a series of payments, made to liquidate a going concern unfunded liability or solvency deficiency in relation to the pension benefits under a pension plan, and determined in accordance with
(i) Section 99 or 101, for the minimum amount of payments required in relation to a going concern unfunded liability or a solvency deficiency,
(ii) Section 104, for temporary special payments made under subsection 105(1) or (2) or Section 107, as those provisions read immediately before April 1, 2020;
“specified multi-employer pension plan” means a multi-employer pension plan as described in Section 15;
“transfer deficiency” means the amount by which the commuted value of a benefit determined in accordance with subsection 135(1) exceeds the transfer value of that benefit determined in accordance with Section 136;
“transfer ratio” means the transfer ratio calculated under Section 11;
“valuation date” means the date as of which assets and liabilities are valued for the purposes of the going concern valuation and solvency valuation in a valuation report or cost certificate;
“valuation report” means a report in relation to a pension plan that is filed or submitted to the Superintendent in accordance with subsection 31(2) of the Act, based on a going concern valuation and a solvency valuation under
(i) Section 52, for the initial valuation report,
(ii) Section 53 or 54, for a valuation report other than the initial valuation report,
(iii) [repealed]
(iv) Section 31, for a report concerning an amendment to the plan,
(v) clauses 1(e) and (f) of Schedule 7: Information Required for Application for Superintendent’s Consent to Transfer of Assets, for a valuation report to be included in an application for the Superintendent’s consent to a transfer of assets upon the sale of a business,
(vi) clauses 3(e) and (f) of Schedule 7: Information Required for Application for Superintendent’s Consent to Transfer of Assets, for a valuation report to be included in an application for the Superintendent’s consent to a transfer of assets upon the establishment of a successor pension plan;
“wind-up report” means the report required to be filed by an administrator on wind-up of a pension plan under Section 94 of the Act.
(2) In the Act and these regulations,
“advisory committee”, in relation to a pension plan, means a committee established in accordance with and for the purposes of Section 36 of the Act;
“bargaining agent” means a bargaining agent as defined in the Trade Union Act.
(3) [repealed]
Calculation of actuarial gain or loss
3 (1) An actuarial gain or actuarial loss in relation to a going concern valuation is calculated as the sum of all of the following as of the valuation date:
(a) any gain to the pension plan since the valuation date of the immediately previous going concern valuation that results from the difference between actual experience and the experience expected by the actuarial assumptions that the previous valuation was based on;
(b) the amount by which the going concern liabilities have decreased as a result of any amendments to the plan since the previous valuation;
(c) the amount by which the going concern liabilities have decreased or the going concern assets have increased since the previous valuation as a result of a change in actuarial methods or assumptions that the current going concern valuation is based on.
(2) Despite subsection (1), the amounts in clauses (1)(a), (b) or (c) must be counted as a negative in the calculation of the sum under that subsection if any of the following occur during the period since the previous valuation:
(a) the experience of the pension plan results in a loss rather than a gain;
(b) an amendment to the pension plan increases the going concern liabilities;
(c) a change in actuarial methods or assumptions results in an increase in going concern liabilities or a decrease in going concern assets.
(3) If the sum calculated under this Section results in
(a) a positive number, then the result is an actuarial gain;
(b) a negative number, then the result is an actuarial loss.
Calculation of going concern assets
4 Going concern assets are calculated as the sum of all of the following as of the valuation date:
(a) the value of the assets of the pension plan determined on the basis of a going concern valuation, including accrued and receivable income but excluding the amount of any letter of credit held in trust for the pension plan;
(b) for a valuation report that has a valuation date before December 31, 2019, the present value of any special payments in respect of a going concern unfunded liability, determined on the basis of a going concern valuation, that have been disclosed in previously filed valuation reports;
(c) for a valuation report that has a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019,
(i) the present value of special payments described in clause 99(3)(c) in respect of any plan amendment that increases going concern liabilities, and
(ii) the present value of special payments in respect of a going concern unfunded liability that are scheduled for payment within 1 year after the valuation date of the valuation report and that are disclosed in the previously filed valuation report, other than any special payments described in subclause (i).
Calculation of going concern excess
4A The going concern excess in respect of a pension plan is calculated as the amount, if any, by which the plan’s going concern assets exceed the sum of all of the following for the plan:
(a) the going concern liabilities;
(b) for a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, the amount equal to the provision for adverse deviations;
(c) the previous year credit balance.
Calculation of going concern unfunded liability
4B The going concern unfunded liability in respect of a pension plan is calculated as the amount, if any, by which the sum of all of the following for the plan exceeds the going concern assets:
(a) the going concern liabilities;
(b) for a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, the amount equal to the provision for adverse deviations;
(c) the previous year credit balance.
Calculation of solvency assets
5 Solvency assets are calculated as the sum of all of the following as of the valuation date:
(a) subject to Section 12, the market value of investments held by a pension plan;
(b) any cash balances of a pension plan and accrued or receivable income items of the plan, excluding the amount of any letter of credit held in trust for the plan.
Calculation of solvency asset adjustment
6 (1) For a valuation report with a valuation date before December 31, 2019, the solvency asset adjustment is the sum of all of the following:
(a) the amount, positive or negative, by which the value of the solvency assets is adjusted by applying an averaging method that stabilizes short-term fluctuations in the market value of the plan assets, calculated over a period of no longer than 5 years;
(b) subject to subsection (3), the present value of any of the following special payments, other than special payments that are required to liquidate any solvency deficiency determined in the valuation report in relation to which the solvency asset adjustment is being calculated:
(i) except as provided in subclause (ii), the special payments referred to in clause 99(1)(a) to liquidate a going concern unfunded liability that are scheduled for payment within the 5-year period beginning on a date that is no later than 12 months after the valuation date,
(ii) if special payments are being made under Section 104 to liquidate a solvency deficiency, the special payments referred to in clause 99(1)(a) to liquidate a going concern unfunded liability that are scheduled for payment within the longer of the following periods:
(A) the 5-year period beginning on a date that is no later than 12 months after the valuation date,
(B) the remainder of the amortization period for liquidating the solvency deficiency specified in each of the provisions referred to in Section 104 under which the schedule of payments was established,
(iii) except as provided in subclause (iv), special payments referred to in clause 99(1)(b) to liquidate a solvency deficiency that are scheduled for payment within the remainder of the 5-year period beginning on a date that is no later than 12 months after the valuation date,
(iv) if special payments are being made under a provision referred to in Section 104, the special payments in accordance with the provision that are required to liquidate the solvency deficiencies over the period identified in the provision;
(c) the total amount of all letters of credit held in trust for the pension fund as of the valuation date, excluding the value of any special payments to which the letter of credit relates that are due after the valuation date.
(2) For a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, the solvency asset adjustment is the sum of all of the following:
(a) the amount, positive or negative, by which the value of the solvency assets is adjusted by applying an averaging method that stabilizes short-term fluctuations in the market value of the plan assets, calculated over a period of no longer than 5 years;
(b) subject to subsection (3), the present value of any of the following special payments, other than special payments that are required to liquidate any solvency deficiency determined in the valuation report in relation to which the solvency asset adjustment is being calculated:
(i) special payments referred to in clauses 99(3)(a), (b) or (c) to liquidate a going concern unfunded liability that are scheduled for payment within the 5-year period beginning on a date that is no later than 12 months after the valuation date,
(ii) for a valuation report filed subsequent to the first valuation report filed on or after December 31, 2019, the special payments determined in clauses 99(3)(d) and (e) to liquidate a solvency deficiency that are scheduled for payment within the remainder of the 5-year amortization period;
(c) the total amount of all letters of credit held in trust for the pension fund as of the valuation date, excluding the value of any special payments to which the letter of credit relates that are due after the valuation date.
(3) The present value of special payments used to calculate the solvency asset adjustment under subsections (1) and (2) must be calculated as of the valuation date using the following interest rates:
(a) if the solvency liability adjustment is zero, the solvency valuation interest rates;
(b) if the solvency liability adjustment is not zero, the average of the solvency valuation interest rates used in the report to calculate the solvency liability adjustment.
Determination of solvency liabilities
7 (1) In this Section, “prospective benefit increase” means an increase to a pension benefit or ancillary benefit that is set out in a pension plan or agreed to by the parties to a collective agreement but not yet in effect.
(2) The solvency liabilities of a pension plan, in respect of a valuation report, are the liabilities of the plan determined as if the plan had been wound up on the valuation date, but do not include the following liabilities:
(a) any escalated adjustment in relation to the pension and pension benefits accrued before the date these regulations come into force;
(b) entitlements of a member on wind-up of the plan under Section 97 of the Act;
(c) special allowances;
(d) prospective benefit increases.
(3) A solvency liability arises on the valuation date of the valuation report in which it is determined.
8 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the solvency liability adjustment is zero.
(2) If a solvency valuation includes a calculation of a solvency asset adjustment, and the solvency asset adjustment includes an amount described in clause 6(1)(a), the solvency liability adjustment is the amount, positive or negative, by which the value of the solvency liabilities is adjusted by using a solvency valuation interest rate that is the average of market interest rates calculated over the same period of time as the solvency valuation interest rate used to determine the amount described in clause 6(1)(a).
8A The solvency ratio determined for a pension plan must be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
solvency ratio = Y ÷ Z
in which
Y = the sum of all of the following:
(i) the total amount of the solvency assets of the pension plan related to defined benefits and ancillary benefits,
(ii) the total amount of any letters of credit held in trust for the pension plan, and
Z = the total amount of the solvency liabilities related to defined benefits and ancillary benefits of the pension plan.
Determination of solvency deficiency of plan providing defined benefits
9 (1) The solvency deficiency, as of a particular valuation date, of a pension plan that provides defined benefits, is determined by the following formula:
solvency deficiency = A - B
in which
A = the sum of all of the following:
(i) the applicable percentage of the plan’s solvency liabilities set out in subsection (2),
(ii) the applicable percentage of the plan’s solvency liability adjustment set out in subsection (2),
(iii) the plan’s previous year credit balance as of the valuation date
B = the sum of the plan’s solvency assets and the solvency asset adjustment as of the valuation date.
(2) For the value of “A” in subsection (1), the applicable percentage for subclauses (i) and (ii) is
(a) 100%, for a valuation date that is before December 31, 2019; and
(b) 85%, for a valuation date that is on or after December 31, 2019.
10 (1) A solvency valuation required for a valuation report must determine the existence of a solvency deficiency by determining the solvency liabilities and solvency assets of the pension plan.
(2) The solvency liabilities for any of the following pension plans must be determined on the basis of the benefits structure set out in the plan at the valuation date without taking into account any possible reduction of the benefits:
(a) a multi-employer pension plan established under 1 or more collective agreements or a trust agreement;
(b) a pension plan that provides defined benefits under which the employer contributions are limited to a fixed amount set out in a collective agreement.
11 (1) The transfer ratio determined in a valuation report for a pension plan must be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
transfer ratio = A ÷ B
in which
A = the amount by which the solvency assets exceed the lesser of
(i) the previous year credit balance, and
(ii) the sum of all of the following:
(A) the amount by which the sum of the estimates of the normal cost determined under clause 53(2)(a) and the estimates of the normal cost determined in the report in accordance with clause 52(1)(c) that are required by clause 53(2)(b) for the periods covered by the report exceeds the sum of the estimates of any employee contributions determined in the report in accordance with clause 52(1)(d) that are required by clause 53(2)(b) for the same periods,
(B) the sum of the special payments required to be made under these regulations during the periods in respect of which the estimates under paragraph (A) are given
B = the sum of all of the following:
(i) the solvency liabilities,
(ii) the liabilities for benefits that were excluded in calculating the solvency liabilities.
(2) A transfer ratio arises on the valuation date of the report in which it is determined.
Book value substituted for market value in calculations
12 In calculating solvency assets, if there is no market value for an investment of a pension plan and the investment is issued or guaranteed by a government, the book value of the investment may be used instead of the market value.
Provision for Adverse Deviations
Definitions and interpretation for determining provision for adverse deviations
12A (1) In this Section and Sections 12B to 12D,
“amount equal to the provision for adverse deviations” is the provision for adverse deviations, multiplied by the plan’s going concern liabilities as of the valuation date;
“non-fixed income assets” means assets other than fixed income assets;
“provision for adverse deviations” means the percentage determined under this Section and Sections 12B to Section 12D to be the provision for adverse deviations for the going concern liabilities of a pension plan.
(2) For the purpose of the definition of “amount equal to the provision for adverse deviations”, the going concern liabilities referred to in the definition may exclude liabilities in respect of benefits for which an annuity contract has been purchased from an insurance company.
(3) Despite this Section and Sections 12B to 12D, the provision for adverse deviations is deemed to be zero for a pension plan’s liabilities in respect of defined contribution benefits.
Calculation of provision for adverse deviations
12B (1) The provision for adverse deviations for a pension plan as at a particular valuation date is the percentage calculated using the following formula:
provision for adverse deviations = A + B
in which
A = 0.05, or the value specified in subsection (2)
B = the value determined under Section 12D, based on the pension plan’s combined target asset allocation for non-fixed income assets determined under Section 12C.
(2) The value of “A” in the formula in subsection (1) is zero for a pension plan that is exempt under subsection 19(6) from the requirement to make special payments to fund any solvency deficiency in the plan.
Combined target asset allocation for provision for adverse deviations
12C (1) A pension plan’s combined target asset allocation for non-fixed income assets must be determined in accordance with the following formula:
combined target asset allocation for non-fixed income assets = 100% - C
in which
C = the combined target asset allocation for fixed income assets, determined under subsection (2).
(2) The value of “C” in the formula in subsection (1) must be determined in accordance with the following formula:
[D + (0.5 × E) + (F × G) + (0.5 × F × H)] ÷ (100% - J)
in which
D = subject to subsections (4) and (5), the sum of the plan’s target asset allocations for each of the investment categories listed in clauses 67(3)(a), (c) to (e), (o) and (p), excluding any portions of the target asset allocations that are allocated to the assets described in “J”, expressed as a percentage
E = subject to subsection (5), the sum of the plan’s target asset allocations for each of the investment categories listed in clauses 67(3)(f) to (k) and (q)
F = the plan’s target asset allocation for the investment category listed in clause 67(3)(b), expressed as a percentage
G = subject to subsections (4) and (5), the proportion of “F” that is allocated to the investment categories listed in clauses 67(3)(a), (c) to (e), (o) and (p), expressed as a percentage
H = subject to subsection (5), the proportion of “F” that is allocated to the investment categories listed in clauses 67(3)(f) to (k) and (q), expressed as a percentage
J = the portion of the plan’s target asset allocation for each investment category listed in clauses 67(3)(a), (c) to (k) and (o) to (q), expressed as a percentage, that is allocated to annuity contracts that have been purchased from an insurance company in respect of benefits.
(3) The target asset allocation to be used in calculating the formula in subsection (2) is the target asset allocation in the plan’s statement of investment policies and procedures that is in effect as of the same valuation date used for the calculation of the provision for adverse deviation under subsection 12B(1).
(4) In determining the values of “D” and “G” in subsection (2), any portion of a target asset allocation for an investment category listed in clauses 67(3)(d), (o) and (p) must not be included unless the plan’s statement of investment policies and procedures sets out a minimum rating for target asset allocations of fixed income assets in the investment category, or the portion thereof, that is given by a credit rating agency recognized by a competent authority.
(5) Any portion of a target asset allocation
(a) excluded from the value of “D” in accordance with subsection (4) must be included in the value of “E” in the formula in subsection (2); and
(b) excluded from the value of “G” in accordance with subsection (4) must be included in the value of “H” in the formula in subsection (2).
Value of “B” in formula for provision for adverse deviations
12D (1) Subject to subsection (2), the value of “B” in the formula for provision of adverse deviations in subsection 12B(1) is determined in accordance with the following table:
Combined target asset allocation for non-fixed income assets of plan
Value of “B”
0%
0
20%
0.01
40%
0.03
50%
0.04
60%
0.05
70%
0.08
80%
0.11
100%
0.17
(2) If a pension plan’s combined target asset allocation for non-fixed income assets falls between the percentages set out in the table in subsection (1), the value of “B” must be interpolated linearly from the values set out for “B” in the table.
Jointly Sponsored Pension Plans
Additional criteria for jointly sponsored pension plans
13 (1) In addition to the criteria specified in subclauses 2(y)(i) to (iii) of the Act, a pension plan that, as evidenced by the documents that create and support the plan, satisfies all the following criteria is a jointly sponsored pension plan:
(a) the total amount of contributions payable by members under the plan for a year, excluding any additional voluntary contributions and voluntary contributions for past service, does not exceed the total amount of employer contributions for the year;
(b) the plan does not permit a reduction in the amount of, or the commuted value of a pension benefit, deferred pension, pension or an ancillary benefit, in the circumstances described for an amendment of a plan in subsection 24(4)(a) or (b) of the Act, except in the circumstances of a wind-up;
(c) the employers, or any persons or entities who make contributions on behalf of the employers or represent the employers, and the members of the plan, or any representatives of the members, are jointly responsible for making all decisions about the following:
(i) the terms and conditions of the plan,
(ii) any amendments to the plan,
(iii) the appointment of the administrator,
(iv) the appointment or selection of persons as members of any body or entity that is the administrator, other than the employer, an insurance company or a person appointed by the Superintendent;
(d) each member’s pension benefits, other than ancillary benefits, and contributions are directly related to the member’s pensionable earnings.
(2) The documents that create and support a jointly sponsored pension plan must set out the methods by which the decisions referred to in clause (1)(c) are to be made.
(3) A pension plan ceases to be a jointly sponsored pension plan as of the date that the plan is amended so that it no longer meets the criteria for a jointly sponsored pension plan.
Administrator’s statement about criteria for jointly sponsored pension plan
14 (1) The administrator of a jointly sponsored pension plan must file a statement in accordance with the deadline in subsection (2) that
(a) describes how the plan satisfies the criteria for a jointly sponsored pension plan, and certifies that the plan satisfies the criteria; and
(b) certifies the date that the plan became a jointly sponsored pension plan.
(2) A statement required by subsection (1) must be filed no later than the date that the initial valuation report for the plan is filed or submitted to the Superintendent
(a) after the pension plan becomes a jointly sponsored pension plan; or
(b) after the date these regulations come into force, if the pension plan is a jointly sponsored pension plan on the date these regulations come into force.
(3) The statement required by subsection (1) must be provided to all of the following persons:
(a) a participating employer, or any person or entity who makes employer contributions;
(b) the members or, if the members are represented by a bargaining agent, the members’ bargaining agent;
(c) the former members;
(d) the retired members.
(4) The statement required by subsection (1) and all of the following information must be provided by an administrator to the persons referred to in subsection (3), at the same time the statement referred to in subsection (1) is filed:
(a) the name of the pension plan and its Provincial registration number;
(b) the administrator’s name and contact information.
(5) No later than 60 days after filing the statement required by subsection (1), an administrator must file another statement confirming that the statement and all the information required by subsection (4) was provided to persons as required by this Section.
(6) The statement required by subsection (1) and all of the information in subsection (4) must also be provided by an administrator to each person who will be eligible or is required to become a member of the jointly sponsored pension plan after the statement is filed and before the plan ceases to be a jointly sponsored pension plan, and the statement and information must be included as part of the information required to be given to the person under clause 38(1)(c) of the Act.
Specified Multi-Employer Pension Plans
Specified multi-employer pension plan class of plans
15 (1) A multi-employer pension plan belongs to the class of specified multi-employer pension plans if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) the administrator files an election in accordance with Section 17, declaring the plan to be a specified multi-employer pension plan;
(b) the plan meets all the eligibility criteria described in Section 16.
(2) A multi-employer pension plan ceases to be a specified multi-employer pension plan on the earliest of the following dates:
(a) the date that the first valuation report for the plan is filed under Section 31 or 53 for a valuation date that is after the administrator rescinds the election in accordance with subsection 17(3);
(b) the date that the plan is amended so that the plan no longer meets the continuing eligibility criteria in clauses 16(3)(d), (e), (f) or (g).
Eligibility criteria for specified multi-employer pension plans
16 (1) In this Section, “pre-election year” means the fiscal year of a pension plan immediately before the year in which an election is filed under Section 17 declaring the plan to be specified multi-employer pension plan.
(2) For the purposes of this Section, a group of employers who are affiliates of each other within the meaning of the Companies Act is deemed to be 1 employer.
(3) A multi-employer pension plan must meet all of the following eligibility criteria to become a specified multi-employer pension plan:
(a) at the end of the pre-election year, no more than 95% of the members of the plan were employed by 1 employer;
(b) during the pre-election year,
(i) at least 15 employers made contributions to the plan, or
(ii) at least 10% of the members of the plan were employed by 2 or more employers;
(c) all or substantially all of the employers who make contributions to the plan are persons who are not exempt from tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
(d) all employers make contributions to the plan under 1 or more collective agreements;
(e) the employer contributions to the plan are limited to a fixed amount set out in 1 or more collective agreements;
(f) the administrator is authorized by the plan to determine the benefits that are to be provided under the plan, whether or not a collective agreement imposes restrictions on the exercise of that authority;
(g) for a multi-employer pension plan established pursuant to a collective agreement or a trust agreement as referred to in clause 24(4)(a) of the Act, nothing in the documents that create and support the plan prevents the administrator from reducing the amount of or the commuted value of a pension benefit, including a pension and a deferred pension, or an ancillary benefit in the circumstances described in clause 24(4)(a) of the Act.
Election to be specified multi-employer pension plan
17 (1) The administrator of a multi-employer pension plan that satisfies the criteria described in Section 16 may file an election in writing with the Superintendent declaring the plan to be a specified multi-employer pension plan.
(2) Only 1 election may be made in respect of a pension plan.
(3) The administrator may rescind the election by filing written notice of the rescission.
(4) A rescission cannot be withdrawn once it is filed.
18 (1) No later than 60 days after filing a specified multi-employer pension plan’s first valuation report under Section 31, 52 or 53, the administrator must prepare a written notice that an election has been made under Section 17 declaring the plan to be a specified multi-employer pension plan and give a copy of the notice to all of the following:
(a) the Superintendent;
(b) each member, former member and retired member of the plan;
(c) each employer who makes contributions under the specified multi-employer pension plan;
(d) each bargaining agent who represents members of the plan.
(2) The written notice required by subsection (1) must contain all of the following information:
(a) the name of the pension plan and its Provincial registration number;
(b) the administrator’s name and contact information;
(c) effective on the valuation date, the pension plan’s transfer ratio or, if the plan is amended to increase pension benefits, including pensions and deferred pensions, or ancillary benefits, the plan’s transfer ratio before and after the amendment;
(d) an explanation of how the security of the pension plan’s pension benefits, including pensions and deferred pensions, and ancillary benefits might be affected as a result of the election.
(3) An administrator must also give a copy of the written notice required by subsection (1) to each person who will be eligible or is required to become a member of the specified multi-employer pension plan after the election is made but before the plan ceases to be a specified multi-employer pension plan, and the notice must be included as part of the information required to be given to the person under clause 38(1)(c) of the Act.
Exemptions from the Act and Regulations
19 (1) Pension plans that are established by or under the following legislation are exempt from the application of the Act and the regulations:
(a) the Public Service Superannuation Act;
(b) the Teachers’ Pension Act;
(c) the Members’ Retiring Allowances Act;
(d) the Provincial Court Act.
(2) The following pension plans are exempt from the application of the Act and the regulations:
(a) the Pension Plan for Salaried Employees of Sydney Steel Corporation;
(b) the Sydney Steel Corporation Non-Contributory Union Pension Plan 1968 (for Members of Locals 1064, 6537 and 6516 of the United Steelworkers of America and Local 2 of The Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers);
(c) the Sydney Steel Corporation Non-Contributory Union Pension Plan 1974 for Members of Local 1675 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees;
(d) a retirement compensation arrangement as defined in subsection 248(1) of the federal Income Tax Act;
(e) a plan that provides only benefits that exceed the maximum benefit limits applicable to a pension plan that is registered under the federal Income Tax Act;
(f) a plan that permits only contributions that are in excess of the maximum contribution limit applicable to a pension plan that is registered under the federal Income Tax Act.
(3) In subsections (4) and (5), “NewPage pension plans” means all of the following pension plans:
(a) Pension Plan for Mill Employees of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp.– Registration No.: 0522722;
(b) Pension Plan for the Office and Clerical Hourly Employees of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp.—Registration No.: 0401059;
(c) Pension Plan for the Woodland Hourly Employees of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp.—Registration No.: 0379008;
(d) Pension Plan for the Salaried Non-Union Employees of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. and Associated and Affiliated Companies—Registration No.: 0522714.
(4) The circumstances in which the administrator for the NewPage pension plans was appointed, on October 5, 2011, is a prescribed circumstance for the purpose of subsection 18(6) of the Act.
(5) The NewPage pension plans are exempt from the application of Section 108 of the Act and, for greater certainty, each of the following entities is deemed not to be a successor employer of any member of 1 of the NewPage pension plans who is or becomes their employee upon the sale, assignment or disposition of all or part of the business or all or part of the assets of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. to the entity:
(a) Pacific West Commercial Corporation;
(b) any designate, assignee or subsidiary of Pacific West Commercial Corporation;
(c) the limited partnership that ultimately acquires the business and assets of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp.;
(d) the general partner of the limited partnership referred to in clause (c).
(6) Special payments required to liquidate a solvency deficiency are not required to be made in relation to a pension plan that is not required under subsection 85(2) to include a provision that sets out the obligations to make employer contributions in respect of any solvency deficiency under the plan.
Exemption respecting plans for connected persons
19A (1) Subject to subsection (3), the Act and these regulations, other than the provisions set out in subsection (2), do not apply in respect of a pension plan if all of the members of the plan are connected with the participating employer within the meaning of section 8500(3) of the federal Income Tax Regulations.
(2) All of the following provisions apply to a pension plan referred to in subsection (1):
(a) provisions of the Act: Sections 2, 33, 37, 42 to 44, 50 to 54, 61, 63 to 72, 74, 80, 85, 87 to 91, 112 and 117;
(b) provisions of these regulations: Sections 2, 19A, 19B, 46, 47, 49, 50, 82 to 84, 125, 129, 132 to 147, 160, 161, 195 to 252 and Schedule 3: Nova Scotia LIRA Addendum to Schedule 6: Life Income Factor D.
(3) To qualify for the exemption in subsection (1), the administrator of a pension plan must provide the Superintendent with a certified statement
(a) attesting to the fact that all of the members of the plan are connected with the participating employer within the meaning of section 8500(3) of the federal Income Tax Regulations, as required by subsection (1); and
(b) expressing the administrator’s understanding and acknowledgement that the pension plan will be exempt from the Act and these regulations, with the exception of the provisions listed in subsection (2).
Notice that exemption no longer applicable
19B The administrator of a pension plan that is exempted under Section 19A must provide the Superintendent with written notice no later than 90 days after the date of any change in circumstance that results in the plan no longer meeting the criteria for exemption under Section 19A.
Amendment to avoid revocation of registration under federal Income Tax Act
20 (1) Subject to subsection (2), subsection 24(1) of the Act respecting void amendments does not apply to an amendment to a pension plan that is required for the plan to avoid revocation of its registration under the federal Income Tax Act.
(2) For the exemption in subsection (1) to apply, at least 60 days before an amendment is effective, the administrator must give the Superintendent written notice of the amendment together with evidence satisfactory to the Superintendent that the amendment is required in order to avoid revocation of the plan’s registration under the federal Income Tax Act.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), subsection 87(1) of the Act respecting the prohibition on refunds of contributions does not apply to a refund of contributions to a member, former member or retired member if the refund is required in order to avoid revocation of the plan’s registration under the federal Income Tax Act.
(4) For the exemption in subsection (3) to apply, at least 60 days before a refund is made, the administrator must give the Superintendent written notice of the refund together with evidence satisfactory to the Superintendent that the refund is required in order to avoid revocation of the plan’s registration under the federal Income Tax Act.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), subsection 103(1) of the Act respecting the consent of the Superintendent to pay surplus to an employer does not apply to a payment to an employer of money that is surplus if the payment is required in order to avoid revocation of the plan’s registration under the federal Income Tax Act.
(6) For the exemption in subsection (5) to apply, at least 60 days before the payment is made, the administrator must give the Superintendent written notice of the payment together with evidence satisfactory to the Superintendent that the payment is required in order to avoid revocation of the plan’s registration under the federal Income Tax Act.
Pension plans maintained for employees of 2 or more employers
21 (1) A pension plan established before the date these regulations come into force, that is maintained for the employees of 2 or more employers, and that is neither a multi-employer pension plan nor a pension plan in which all employers are affiliates of each other, is exempt from Section 18 of the Act if the plan provides that the administrative duties of the employer and the administrator as specified in the Act are totally assumed by a financial institution.
(2) A pension plan referred to in subsection (1) may permit different employers to establish different prescribed classes of employees for the purposes of membership in the plan, under Section 45 of the Act.
Nova Scotia Health Employees Pension Plan not a multi-employer pension plan
22 In accordance with subclause 2(ab)(ii) of the Act, the Nova Scotia Health Employees Pension Plan is not a multi-employer pension plan.
Nova Scotia Health Employees’ Pension Plan not a jointly sponsored pension plan
22A The Nova Scotia Health Employees’ Pension Plan is exempt from the provisions of the Act and the regulations respecting jointly sponsored pension plans.
23 [repealed]
Ensuring no conflict of interest for multi-employer pension plan
24 (1) The requirement in subsection 33(3) of the Act for an administrator to ensure that there is no conflict of interest does not apply when an administrator of a multi-employer pension plan enters into a transaction with a trade union, council of trade unions, employer, employers’ association or an employee benefit trust fund in which a member of the board of trustees or committee holds any office or position, if the transaction meets all of the following conditions:
(a) it is only for purchase or lease of office space, for legal, accounting or other services, materials or equipment necessary for the administration and operation of the plan, and the compensation paid is reasonable in the circumstances;
(b) it is permitted under the documents that create and support the plan or any amendments to those documents.
(2) The requirement in subsection 33(3) of the Act for an administrator to ensure that there is no conflict of interest does not apply when an administrator of a multi-employer pension plan or a member of a pension committee or board that administers a multi-employer pension plan enters into a transaction, other than a transaction described in subsection (1), related to the administration of the plan or pension fund that meets all of the following conditions:
(a) it is in the interest of the members, former members and retired members;
(b) it is protective of the rights of the members, former members and retired members;
(c) it is permitted under the documents that create and support the plan;
(d) it is disclosed to the members, former members and retired members before it is entered into;
(e) it confers no direct or indirect personal benefit on the administrator or member of the pension committee or board of trustees.
Notices and summaries of contributions not required for certain multi-employer pension plans
25 The following provisions of the Act do not apply to a multi-employer pension plan established under a collective agreement, a trust agreement, a statute or a municipal bylaw:
(a) subsection 78(2) of the Act, respecting notice to the Superintendent that contributions have not been paid when due;
(b) Section 79 of the Act, respecting the provision to the prescribed persons of a summary of contributions in accordance with Section 98.
Exemption from registration or audit under reciprocal agreement
26 (1) If a reciprocal agreement under Section 8 of the Act between the Minister and authorized representatives of 1 or more designated jurisdictions provides that a pension plan with the majority of members employed in a designated jurisdiction is exempt from registration or audit under the Act, then a pension plan that meets those requirements is exempt from registration or audit under the Act.
(2) For the purpose of determining where the majority of the members in subsection (1) is employed, only those members who are employed in the Province or in any of the designated jurisdictions are counted.
Designated jurisdictions prescribed
27 (1) For the purposes of the definition of “designated jurisdiction” in Section 2 of the Act, each of the following jurisdictions in Canada is prescribed as a designated jurisdiction in which there is in force legislation substantially similar to the Act:
(a) Canada, subject to subsection (2);
(b) the Province of Alberta;
(c) the Province of Quebec;
(d) the Northwest Territories;
(e) the Province of Saskatchewan;
(f) the Province of Manitoba;
(g) the Province of Ontario;
(h) the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador;
(i) the Province of New Brunswick;
(j) the Province of British Columbia;
(k) the Yukon Territory;
(l) the Territory of Nunavut.
(2) The status of Canada as a designated jurisdiction applies in respect of “included employment” as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (Canada) but not in respect of any other employment in Canada.
Effective dates of multi-jurisdictional pension plan agreements
27A (1) The agreement with designated jurisdictions under subsection 9(1) of the Act entitled “2016 Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans”, signed May 19, 2016, and effective in the Province on July 1, 2016, ceases to have effect in the Province as of June 30, 2020, except in respect of the matters referred to in Section 28 of the agreement referred to in subsection (2).
(2) The agreement with designated jurisdictions under subsection 9(1) of the Act entitled “2020 Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans”, signed by the Minister on May 5, 2020, comes into effect in the Province on July 1, 2020.
(3) The agreement with designated jurisdictions under subsection 9(1) of the Act entitled “2023 Agreement Amending the 2020 Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans”, signed by the Minister on February 28, 2023, comes into effect in the Province on July 1, 2023.
Part 2: Pension Plan Administration
Registration of Pension Plans and Amendments, and Filing of Agreements
Application for registration of pension plan
28 (1) An application for registration of a pension plan under Section 19 of the Act must be made no later than 90 days after the plan is established.
(2) An application for registration of a pension plan must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(3) All of the following are the documents required to be filed with an application for registration of a pension plan under clause 19(3)(b) of the Act:
(a) certified copies of all the documents that create and support the pension plan;
(b) certified copies of all the documents that create and support the pension fund;
(c) a certified copy of any reciprocal transfer agreement related to the pension plan;
(d) a certified copy of the explanations and other information provided under subsection 38(1) of the Act;
(e) for a plan that provides defined benefits, a valuation report.
(4) The documents that create and support a pension plan must set out all of the following information:
(a) the method of appointment and the details of the appointment of the administrator;
(b) the conditions of membership in the plan;
(c) the benefits and rights that are to accrue upon all of the following:
(i) termination of employment,
(ii) termination of membership,
(iii) retirement,
(iv) death;
(d) the normal retirement age;
(e) the requirements for entitlement under the plan to any pension benefit or ancillary benefit or optional benefit;
(f) the contributions or the method of calculating the contributions required by the plan;
(g) the method of determining benefits payable under the plan;
(h) the method of calculating interest to be credited to contributions under the plan;
(i) the mechanism for payment of the cost of administration of the plan and pension fund;
(j) the mechanism for establishing and maintaining the pension fund;
(k) how surplus is to be treated while the plan continues, and on wind-up of the plan in whole or in part;
(l) the administrator’s obligation to provide members with information and documents required to be disclosed under the Act and the regulations, and details concerning the obligation;
(m) the method of allocating the plan’s assets on wind-up;
(n) the particulars of any predecessor pension plan that members may be entitled to pension benefits under;
(o) the persons who may amend the plan and how the amendments must be made.
(5) In addition to the information required by subsection (4), the documents that create and support a multi-employer pension plan must specify all of the following information:
(a) for a plan under a collective agreement or trust agreement, the powers and duties of the board of trustees that is the administrator;
(b) any consequences of a participating employer withdrawing from the plan on the funding and payment of a pension benefit, deferred pension or pension, of a member, former member, retired member or other person affected by the withdrawal.
(6) In addition to the information in subsection (4), the documents that create and support a jointly sponsored pension plan must set out all of the following information:
(a) the employee contributions or the method of calculating the employee contributions required, including any obligations in respect of any going concern unfunded liability and solvency deficiency;
(b) the employer contributions or the method of calculating the employer contributions required, including any obligations in respect of any going concern unfunded liability and solvency deficiency;
(c) any consequences of a participating employer withdrawing from the plan on the funding and payment of pension benefits, deferred pensions and pensions of a member, former member, retired member or other person affected by the withdrawal;
(d) how decisions about the terms and conditions of the plan and any amendments to the plan will be made;
(e) how decisions about appointing the administrator or appointing or selecting persons as members of the body or entity that administers the plan will be made.
Application for registration of amendment to pension plan
29 (1) An application required by subsection 22(1) of the Act for registration of an amendment to a pension plan must be filed no later than 60 days after the date that the plan or documents are amended.
(2) A certified copy of a document that changes the documents that create and support a pension plan or pension fund that is required to be filed by subsection 22(4) of the Act must be filed no later than 60 days after the date the document is certified.
Notice and explanation of pension plan amendment
30 (1) The notice required by subsection 39(1) of the Act must be in the form of a written statement that includes all of the following information:
(a) notice that the amendment has been made;
(b) a summary and explanation of the amendment;
(c) the administrator’s contact information.
(2) In addition to the persons listed in subsection 39(1) of the Act, a written notice in accordance with subsection (1) must also be given to any person who is, or will be affected by the amendment.
(3) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5), written notice under this Section must be given no later than 45 days before the date that the amendment is filed.
(4) In accordance with subsection 39(4) of the Act, a written notice under this Section may be given after the amendment is filed in any of the following circumstances:
(a) the amendment is of a technical nature;
(b) the amendment will not substantially affect the pension benefits, rights or obligations of a member, former member or retired member accruing subsequent to the effective date of the amendment;
(c) the amendment will not adversely affect any person entitled to payments from the pension fund.
(5) A notice given under subsection (4) after the amendment is filed must be given no later than 6 months after registration of the amendment.
Valuation report on amendment to pension plan
31 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), for an amendment to a pension plan that reduces or increases contributions or creates or increases a going concern unfunded liability or solvency deficiency, an administrator must file all of the following:
(a) a valuation report containing any of the information required for a valuation report under Section 53 that might be affected by the amendment;
(b) a description in writing of any lump sum benefit improvement contribution made to the plan.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following amendments:
(a) an amendment that is required by law and confers an improvement in the benefits provided under the pension plan;
(b) an amendment to a pension plan that provides only defined contribution benefits.
(3) An administrator must file the report and any certificate required by subsection (1) no later than 6 months after the date the amendment is required to be submitted to the Superintendent for registration.
Amendments that are permitted only if cost of amendments paid into pension fund
32 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3), for a valuation report required by clause 31(1)(a) with a valuation date before December 31, 2019, unless the cost of an amendment is fully paid to the pension fund at the time the amendment is made, a pension plan must not be amended to create or increase a solvency deficiency under the plan during any of the following periods:
(a) the first 5 years of the period for liquidating a solvency deficiency under subsection 105(1), as that provision read immediately before April 1, 2020;
(b) the first 10 years of the period for liquidating a solvency deficiency under subsection 105(2) or 107(3) as those provisions read immediately before April 1, 2020.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a pension plan referred to in clauses 85(2)(a), (b) and (d) to (j) must not be amended to create or increase a solvency deficiency under the plan without the cost of the amount of the solvency deficiency created or increased by the amendment being fully paid to the pension fund at the time the amendment is made.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to an amendment that is required by law, including an amendment required as a result of a judicial decision.
Amendment to specified multi-employer pension plan requiring liquidation of going concern unfunded liability
33 If a specified multi-employer pension plan is amended to increase pension benefits, deferred pensions, pensions or ancillary benefits and the amendment results in the plan’s transfer ratio being lower than 0.8 or the ratio of the market value of the plan assets to the going concern liabilities being lower than 0.9, then any increase in the going concern unfunded liability resulting from the amendment must be liquidated, with interest at the going concern valuation interest rate, by equal monthly instalments over a period of 5 years beginning on the valuation date of the valuation report that determined the increase in the going concern unfunded liability.
Filing of reciprocal transfer agreements
34 An administrator must file a certified copy of any reciprocal transfer agreement entered into on or after the date these regulations come into force, no later than 60 days after the execution of the agreement.
Requirements for reciprocal transfer agreements
35 Pursuant to subsection 32(2) of the Act, a reciprocal transfer agreement that is entered into, or under which money or benefits is transferred, must not contain any provision relating to a benefit that a pension plan is prohibited by the Act from containing.
36 [repealed]
Notice and information about establishing advisory committee
37 (1) All of the following information is prescribed as the information to be distributed by an administrator to members and retired members along with the notice of intent to establish an advisory committee received in accordance with subsection 36(6) of the Act:
(a) that a vote for the establishment of an advisory committee will be held and that the members and retired members will be given an opportunity to participate in the vote;
(b) that the determination as to whether an advisory committee will be established will be made by a majority of the members and retired members who participate in the vote;
(c) the date that the vote will be held for the establishment of the advisory committee;
(d) the means by which the vote will be held;
(e) if the vote is to be held in person, the location and the time of the meeting for purposes of holding the vote;
(f) a statement that the advisory committee is required, under subsection 36(5) of the Act, to do all of the following:
(i) monitor the administration of the pension plan,
(ii) make recommendations to the administrator respecting the administration of the pension plan,
(iii) promote awareness and understanding of the pension plan.
(2) The notice and information under subsection (1) must be distributed no later than 30 days after the date the notice under subsection 36(6) of the Act is received by the administrator.
(3) The notice and information under subsection (1) must be in writing and must be given by 1 or more of the following means:
(a) by mail, if sent to the most recent address of the recipient in the administrator’s records for the pension plan;
(b) by e-mail, if the recipient has requested that information about the pension plan be sent to a specified e-mail address;
(c) for members who regularly work at the employer’s workplace, by posting it in 1 or more areas of the workplace that are regularly accessed by the members.
(4) The notice and information under subsection (1) must be given to any members who are represented by a trade union or trade unions by giving it to the trade union or trade unions instead of to the members.
(5) The notice and information under subsection (1) may be given to any retired members who are members of an association of retired members of the plan by giving it to the executive of the association instead of, or in addition to, giving it to those retired members, if the administrator receives a written request from the association for it to be provided to them.
Voting on establishing advisory committee
38 (1) The date set for a vote on whether to establish an advisory committee must be a date that is no earlier than 30 days after the date the notice and information is provided under subsection 37(1).
(2) A vote on whether to establish an advisory committee must be conducted by secret ballot through any combination of the following methods:
(a) in person at a meeting of members and retired members and other beneficiaries;
(b) electronically;
(c) by mail;
(d) by casting ballots at a specified location.
(3) Making arrangements for a suitable location for an in-person meeting to conduct a vote, if requested to do so by the persons who provided written notice to the administrator of their intent to establish an advisory committee, is such other assistance that must be provided by an administrator under clause 36(6)(b) of the Act.
Notice concerning result of vote to establish advisory committee
39 (1) Any persons referred to in subsection 36(6) of the Act who have provided notice to an administrator of their intent to establish an advisory committee under that subsection must provide notice in writing to the administrator of the result of the vote as soon as practicable following the vote.
(2) No later than 5 days after the date the notice referred to in subsection (1) is received, an administrator must provide all of the following information, in writing, to the members, former members and retired members:
(a) the result of the vote held on whether to establish an advisory committee;
(b) if the vote resulted in the establishment of an advisory committee,
(i) the rules governing the composition of the advisory committee as set out in subsection 36(3) of the Act,
(ii) the number of and names of the classes of employees that are represented in the pension plan, and the number of employees in each class,
(iii) the nomination entitlements in subsection 40(1),
(iv) how and by when, in accordance with subsection 40(2), each class of employees and the retired members and former members may nominate representatives to the advisory committee,
(v) the voting procedures in Section 41.
(3) The information in subsection (2) may be provided by 1 or more of the means set out in clauses 37(3)(a) to (c).
Nominating advisory committee representatives
40 (1) To meet the requirements for composition of the advisory committee in subsection 36(3) and (4) of the Act, each member of the following groups may nominate the specified number of persons from their group to represent them on the advisory committee:
(a) for a class of employees represented in the pension plan, 1 or 2 members of the class;
(b) for retired members of the pension plan, 1 or 2 retired members;
(c) for former members of the pension plan, 1 former member.
(2) Nominations must be provided in writing to an administrator no later than 10 days after the results of the vote to establish an advisory committee is received from the administrator under subsection 39(2).
Voting on advisory committee representatives
41 (1) No later than 10 days after the deadline for nominations in subsection 40(2), the administrator must provide an opportunity to each member, former member and retired member, to vote by secret ballot on the nominees for their representative or representatives on the advisory committee.
(2) An administrator must establish the procedure for conducting the vote by secret ballot.
Notice of results of vote on advisory committee representatives
42 No later than 5 days after a vote on nominees under Section 41, an administrator must give the members, former members and retired members of the plan the results of the vote in writing by 1 or more of the means set out in clauses 37(3)(a) to (c).
Term of office for advisory committee
43 (1) An advisory committee member’s term of office is as established by the committee under its rules of procedure, governance and operations, up to a maximum period of 3 years.
(2) Despite subsection (1), the term of office for each initial representative on an advisory committee is 3 years.
(3) A member of an advisory committee continues to hold office after the end of their term until they are reappointed or a successor is appointed.
(4) A vacancy on an advisory committee that is for an unexpired term of 120 days or more must be filled not later than 120 days after the vacancy arises.
Participating on advisory committee
44 (1) A member of an advisory committee is entitled to take time off from their regular work duties, without loss of pay or other benefits, to carry out their duties on the advisory committee.
(2) The costs payable out of the pension fund under subsection 36(10) of the Act are all of the following costs:
(a) the reasonable costs associated with renting a facility for a meeting held for any of the following purposes:
(i) to establish the advisory committee,
(ii) to vote for representatives on the advisory committee,
(iii) meetings of the advisory committee;
(b) the reasonable costs associated with a committee member attending an advisory committee meeting and other expenses reasonably incurred by a committee member in carrying out their duties as a committee member;
(c) copying costs for any records provided under subsection 36(8) of the Act, subject to an administrator’s right to limit any of the following:
(i) the number of copies provided to the advisory committee,
(ii) how many times copies of a particular record will be provided without charge during a calendar year.
Advisory committee procedure, governance and operations
45 (1) An advisory committee must establish written rules of procedure, governance and operations for exercising its powers and discharging its duties under the Act and these regulations.
(2) An advisory committee’s rules of procedure, governance and operations must include provisions for all of the following:
(a) electing or appointing a chair, secretary and any other officers that the committee considers advisable;
(b) the powers and duties of the committee’s officers;
(c) appointing a representative to the committee to replace a representative who is unable or no longer wishes to act or whose term of office is about to expire or has expired;
(d) the means by which
(i) the administration of the pension plan must be monitored,
(ii) recommendations to the administrator respecting the administration of the pension plan must be made, and
(iii) awareness and understanding of the pension plan must be promoted;
(e) respecting meetings of the committee, including all of the following:
(i) the means by which, and time periods within which, notice of meetings must be provided,
(ii) requiring meetings at regular intervals, and setting the dates, times and places of those meetings,
(iii) establishing procedures for changing the date, time or place of a regular meeting and governing the notice to be given of the change,
(iv) establishing procedures for calling and holding special meetings of the committee,
(v) governing the conduct and procedures of meetings, including the voting and quorum requirements for the transaction of business;
(f) establishing a communications strategy for regular communications with the members, former members and retired members of the plan, including the timing and means by which minutes of the meetings of the advisory committee must be provided;
(g) requiring the rules to be reviewed at least once every 3 years.
(3) An advisory committee’s rules of procedure and governance may include any other rules that the advisory committee considers necessary or advisable for the fulfilment of its powers and duties under the Act and these regulations.
(4) An advisory committee may require the administrator to provide notice to the representatives of the committee of any meeting of the committee, in the form and within the period directed by the committee.
(5) An administrator must be given reasonable notice of any meeting required between the administrator and the committee under clause 36(7)(a) of the Act.
Superintendent’s power to appoint administrator
45A (1) For the purposes of subsection 18(6) of the Act, all of the following circumstances are prescribed as circumstances in which the Superintendent may appoint an administrator for a pension plan or remove the administrator for a pension plan and appoint a replacement administrator:
(a) the pension plan is to be wound up in whole or in part and does not have an administrator;
(b) the pension plan is to be wound up in whole or in part and has an administrator who fails to act;
(c) as a result of an application under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada), a court has made an order staying all proceedings taken against the employer who is required to make contributions under the pension plan;
(d) a proposal, within the meaning of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada), has been filed with an official receiver under that Act with respect to the employer who is required to make contributions under the pension plan;
(e) a receiver or receiver-manager has been appointed in respect of some or all of the property of the employer who is required to make contributions under the pension plan.
(2) For the purposes of subsection 18(7) of the Act, all of the circumstances set out in subsection (1) are prescribed as the circumstances in which the Superintendent may act as administrator of a pension plan or remove the administrator for a pension plan and act as administrator.
Pension Fund Investment and Administration
46 (1) Subject to subsection (2), all of the following are prescribed for the purposes of subsection 33(5) of the Act as persons who may be a trustee of a pension fund:
(a) a government;
(b) an insurance company;
(c) a trust in Canada governed by a written trust agreement under which the trustees are
(i) a trust corporation registered under the Trust and Loan Companies Act,
(ii) 3 or more individuals, at least 3 of whom reside in Canada and at least 1 of whom is independent of any employer contributing to the pension fund, to the extent the individual is not any of the following:
(A) an individual connected with the employer within the meaning of section 8500(3) of the federal Income Tax Regulations,
(B) a partner, proprietor, director, officer, employee of the employer or an employee of an affiliate of the employer, or
(iii) a corporate pension society established under the Pension Fund Societies Act (Canada);
(d) an entity under the Government Annuities Act (Canada);
(e) a board, agency, commission or corporation made responsible by an Act of the Legislature for the administration of the pension fund.
(2) Any of the persons referred to in subsection (1) may be a trustee in combination with another person referred to in that subsection.
Definitions for Sections 47 to 50—incorporation of federal investment regulations
47 (1) In this Section and Sections 48 to 50,
“federal investment regulations” means Schedule III to the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 made under the Pension Benefits Standards Act (Canada);
(2) In this Section and Sections 48 to 50, a reference in the federal investment regulations to
(a) any of the following words or expressions is deemed to be a reference to the same word or expression as defined in the Act:
(i) “spouse”,
(ii) “Superintendent”;
(b) “common-law partner” is deemed to be a reference to “spouse”, as defined in the applicable subclause of clause 2(xa) of the Act;
(c) any of the following words or expressions is deemed to be a reference to the same word or expression as defined in the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 made under the Pension Benefits Standards Act (Canada):
(i) Canadian resource property,
(ii) investment fund,
(iii) marketplace,
(iv) member choice account,
(v) segregated fund.
Investment of plan assets must be in accordance with regulations and federal investment regulations
47A Despite the provisions of any pension plan or any instrument governing a plan, the assets of a plan must be invested and the investments must be made in accordance with these regulations and the federal investment regulations.
Statement of investment policies and procedures
48 (1) Before the date a pension plan is registered, an administrator must establish a written statement of investment policies and procedures that meets the requirements of this Section and the federal investment regulations in respect of the pension plan’s portfolio of investments and loans, other than those relating to any member choice account, as that term is defined in the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985, made under the Pension Benefits Standards Act (Canada).
(2) The written statement of investment policies and procedures required by subsection (1) must take into account all factors that may affect the funding and solvency of the pension plan and the ability of the plan to meet its financial obligations, including all of the following factors:
(a) categories of investments and loans, including derivatives, options and futures;
(b) diversification of the investment portfolio;
(c) asset mix and rate of return expectations;
(d) liquidity of investments;
(e) the lending of cash or securities;
(f) the retention or delegation of voting rights acquired through investments;
(g) the method of, and the basis for, the valuation of investments that are not regularly traded at a marketplace;
(h) related party transactions permitted under the federal investment regulations and the criteria to be used to establish whether a transaction is nominal or immaterial to the plan.
(3) The statement of investment policies and procedures required by this Section must include a description of the factors referred to in subsection (2) and the relationship of those factors to the investment policies and procedures.
(4) An administrator must provide the statement of investment policies and procedures required by subsection (1) to all of the following by the specified dates:
(a) any pension committee that has been established, no later than 60 days after the later of all of the following dates:
(i) the date on which the statement is established by the administrator under subsection (1),
(ii) the date the pension committee is established;
(b) if a plan is a defined benefit plan, the actuary of the plan on or before the later of all of the following dates:
(i) the date that is 60 days after the date the statement is established, by the administrator under subsection (1),
(ii) the date the actuary is appointed.
(5) An administrator must review and confirm or amend the statement of investment policies and procedures required by subsection (1) at least once in each fiscal year of a pension plan.
(6) A copy of each amendment to the statement of investment policies and procedures required by subsection (1) must be provided, no later than 60 days after the statement is amended, to all of the following:
(a) any pension committee that has been established for the pension plan;
(b) for a pension plan that provides defined benefits, to the actuary of the plan.
49 (1) An administrator must maintain a current record of investments for the pension plan that clearly identifies all of the following:
(a) each investment held on behalf of the pension plan;
(b) the name in which each investment is made;
(c) the name in which each investment is registered, if the investment is capable of being registered.
(2) A pension plan must provide that the money in the pension fund is to be invested in accordance with the federal investment regulations and invested in 1 of the following names:
(a) a name that clearly indicates that the investment is held in trust for the plan and, if the investment is capable of being registered, registered in that name;
(b) the name of a financial institution or its nominee, in accordance with a custodial agreement or trust agreement entered into on behalf of the plan with the financial institution, that clearly indicates that the investment is held for the pension plan;
(c) the name of The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited or its nominee, in accordance with a custodial agreement or trust agreement entered into on behalf of the plan with a financial institution, that clearly indicates that the investment is held for the plan.
(3) In subsection (2), “custodial agreement” means an agreement that meets all of the following criteria:
(a) it provides that an investment made or held on behalf of a pension plan under the agreement
(i) constitutes part of the plan’s pension fund, and
(ii) will not at any time constitute an asset of the custodian or nominee;
(b) it provides that records will be maintained by the custodian, and will be sufficient to allow the ownership of any investment to be traced to the pension plan at any time.
Designated jurisdictions—alternate corresponding provisions
50 If any provisions of the federal investment regulations differ from the corresponding provisions under the laws of a designated jurisdiction, the Superintendent may apply, in whole or in part, those corresponding provisions to a plan that has members in that designated jurisdiction instead of the provisions of the federal investment regulations.
Reporting to the Superintendent
Pension plan that provides only defined contribution benefits exempted
51 Sections 52 to 64 do not apply, and a valuation report is not required, for a pension plan that provides only defined contribution benefits.
52 (1) Except as provided in subsection (4), no later than 90 days after the date that a pension plan is established, the administrator must submit to the Superintendent an initial valuation report that sets out all of the following for the plan on the basis of a going concern valuation:
(a) the normal cost for the first year the plan is registered;
(b) the rule for computing the normal cost for the following years up to the valuation date of the next valuation report;
(c) an estimate of the normal cost for the following years up to the valuation date of the next valuation report determined in accordance with the rule referred to in clause (b);
(d) the estimated aggregate of any employee contributions for each year following the valuation report up to the date of the next valuation report;
(e) the amount of any going concern unfunded liability determined for the plan;
(f) the special payments required to liquidate any going concern unfunded liability identified under clause (e), in accordance with Section 99;
(fa) the provision for adverse deviations;
(g) if the plan provides for an escalated adjustment, a statement that the escalated adjustment has been pre-funded on a going concern basis.
(2) An initial valuation report under this Section must also include all of the following information about the pension plan, on the basis of a solvency valuation:
(a) whether the plan has a solvency deficiency;
(b) if there is a solvency deficiency,
(i) the amount of the solvency deficiency, and
(ii) the special payments required to liquidate the solvency deficiency in accordance with Section 99;
(c) [repealed]
(d) whether the plan is exempt, in accordance with subsection 19(6), from the requirement to make special payments to liquidate the solvency deficiency;
(e) if the plan provides for an escalated adjustment, a statement that the escalated adjustment has been pre-funded on a solvency basis;
(f) whether the transfer ratio is less than 1;
(g) if the transfer ratio is less than 1, the transfer ratio.
(3) An initial valuation report for a designated plan must also contain a maximum funding valuation.
(4) An initial valuation report may certify the adequacy of premiums necessary to provide for the payment of all benefits under an insured pension plan that is funded by level premiums extending not beyond the retirement age for each individual member, instead of the matters required by subsection (1).
Valuation reports at regular intervals
53 (1) An administrator must cause a pension plan to be reviewed and a valuation report prepared and certified at regular intervals, beginning with a valuation date that is no later than 3 years after the date the plan is established, and then at intervals of no longer than 3 years, subject to any provision of these regulations that requires an earlier report.
(2) A valuation report under this Section must set out all of the following for the pension plan, on the basis of a going concern valuation:
(a) the normal cost in the year following the valuation date of the report;
(b) all of the information required in clauses 52(1)(b) to (g) for an initial valuation report;
(c) for a report with a valuation date before December 31, 2019, any special payments remaining to be paid after the valuation date with respect to a going concern unfunded liability determined in a previous valuation report;
(d) for a report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, any special payments remaining to be paid after the valuation date with respect to an amendment made on or after December 31, 2019, that created or increased the going concern unfunded liability;
(e) the present value of any future special payments remaining to be paid after the valuation date as established in a previous valuation report;
(f) for a report with a valuation date before December 31, 2019, the actuarial gain or actuarial loss in the plan, including,
(i) if there is an actuarial loss, the special payments that will liquidate any increase in a going concern unfunded liability resulting from the loss over a term that does not exceed
(A) 15 years, for a plan other than a specified multi-employer pension plan, or
(B) 10 years, for a specified multi-employer pension plan,
(ii) if there is an actuarial gain, any intended application of the gain in accordance with Section 96;
(g) for a report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, the going concern excess or going concern unfunded liability of the plan, including,
(i) if there is a going concern unfunded liability, the special payments under Section 99 that will liquidate the going concern unfunded liability over a term that does not exceed 10 years, and
(ii) if there is a going concern excess, any intended application of the excess in accordance with Section 96A;
(h) if there is a surplus on a going concern basis, any intended application of the surplus in accordance with Section 95.
(3) A valuation report under this Section must also set out all of the following for the pension plan, on the basis of a solvency valuation:
(a) all the information required in clauses 52(2)(a) to (d), (f) and (g) for an initial valuation report;
(aa) if the plan provides for an escalated adjustment,
(i) a statement that the escalated adjustment has been pre-funded on a solvency basis in relation to the pension benefits that have accrued, or will accrue under the plan on or after June 1, 2015, in accordance with Section 91, and
(ii) in relation to the pension benefits accruing under the plan before June 1, 2015, whether and to what extent liability for the future cost of the escalated adjustment has been included in the determination of any solvency deficiency;
(b) any special payments remaining to be paid after the valuation date with respect to a solvency deficiency determined in a previous valuation report;
(c) the liabilities referred to in clauses 7(2)(a) to (d) that are being excluded from the calculation of the solvency liabilities in accordance with that Section.
(4) Each report under this Section must also set out the previous year credit balance as of the valuation date of the report, if the previous year credit balance is greater than zero.
(5) Each report under this Section for a designated plan must contain a maximum funding valuation.
(6) A valuation report under this Section must account separately for a reserve account and the remainder of the pension fund if
(a) the pension plan provides for defined benefits; and
(b) a reserve account has been established for the pension plan’s defined benefit.
Valuation reports for multi-employer pension plans
54 (1) For a multi-employer pension plan that is not a jointly sponsored pension plan, an actuary must do the following as part of a valuation report:
(a) perform tests that will demonstrate that the contributions required by the collective agreement or agreements are sufficient to provide for the benefits under the plan, without taking into account any provision for reducing the benefits that is set out in the plan;
(b) if the contributions required by the collective agreement or agreements are not sufficient to provide for the benefits under the plan, propose options available to the administrator that will result in the required contributions being sufficient to provide the benefits, in accordance with subsection 85(5).
(2) An actuary who proposes options in accordance with clause (1)(b) must do all of the following:
(a) provide a copy of the report containing the proposed options to the administrator;
(b) file a copy of the report no later than the earlier of,
(i) 30 days after the date that they provide the report to the administrator; and
(ii) the time period referred to in Section 59.
(3) No later than 90 days after the date that an administrator receives a copy of a report under subsection (2) for a pension plan, the administrator must do all of the following:
(a) take actions that will result in the required contributions being sufficient to provide for benefits under the plan;
(b) advise the Superintendent of the actions taken under clause (a);
(c) file all documents relevant to the actions taken under clause (a).
Solvency concerns indicated in initial or review valuation report
55 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3), if a valuation report under Section 52 or 53 indicates solvency concerns, the first valuation report for the plan under Section 53 following the valuation report in which the solvency concerns were identified must be prepared and certified with a valuation date no later than 1 year after the valuation report.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a valuation report indicates solvency concerns if the ratio of the solvency assets to the solvency liabilities, for a valuation date on or after the date these regulations come into force, is less than 0.85.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following pension plans:
(a) a plan that is established for less than 3 years, unless the plan is a successor plan as described in Section 108 or 110 of the Act;
(b) a plan that is a designated plan or an individual pension plan;
(c) a plan that is exempt under subsection 19(6) from the requirement to make special payments to liquidate a solvency deficiency.
Valuation report for plan that ceases to be designated plan or individual pension plan
56 An administrator of a pension plan that ceases to be a designated plan or an individual pension plan must cause the plan to be reviewed and a valuation report for the plan must be prepared under Section 53 and certified with a valuation date that is no later than the end of the fiscal year in which the plan ceased to be a designated plan or an individual pension plan.
57 [repealed]
58 [repealed]
Time period for filing valuation reports
59 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), an administrator must file a valuation report no later than 9 months after the valuation date established for the valuation report.
(2) For a valuation report required under Section 52 with a valuation date that is on or after December 31, 2019, and on or before April 1, 2020, the administrator must submit the report described in subsection 52(1) on or before June 30, 2020.
(3) For a valuation report required under Section 53 with a valuation date that is on or after December 31, 2019, and before March 1, 2020, the administrator must file the report on or before November 30, 2020.
60 (1) A cost certificate must be filed under this Section in each of the following circumstances:
(a) an actuarial gain is applied to reduce contributions to a pension plan in accordance with subsection 96(3);
(b) there is a previous year credit balance for a pension plan other than a previous year credit balance
(i) referred to in subsection 102(2), or
(ii) in a year when a valuation report is being prepared;
(c) the pension plan is a plan
(i) that is exempt under subsection 19(6) from the requirement to make special payments to liquidate a solvency deficiency, and
(ii) that exhibits solvency concerns as described in subsection 55(2).
(2) A cost certificate must contain all of the following for the pension plan it is prepared for:
(a) an estimate of the normal cost for the 12-month period beginning on the valuation date of the certificate;
(b) an estimate of the total employee contributions to be made during the same 12-month period referred to in clause (a);
(c) each of the following, determined as of the valuation date of the certificate:
(i) the going concern assets,
(ii) the estimated going concern liabilities,
(iii) the solvency assets,
(iv) the estimated solvency liabilities;
(d) the previous year credit balance;
(e) the estimated transfer ratio, calculated using the solvency assets and estimated solvency liabilities from clause (c).
(2A) A cost certificate under this Section must account separately for a reserve account and the remainder of the pension fund if
(a) the pension plan provides for defined benefits; and
(b) a reserve account has been established for the pension plan’s defined benefits.
(3) A cost certificate must be prepared using methods and actuarial assumptions that are consistent with accepted actuarial practice and with the requirements of the Act and these regulations, based on a valuation date that is the first day of the 12-month period of the pension plan to which the certificate relates.
(4) An administrator must file a cost certificate under this Section no later than 90 days after the beginning of the 12-month period to which the certificate relates.
Reports and certificates to be prepared by actuary, accountant or other authorized person
61 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a valuation report, cost certificate or wind-up report must be prepared by an actuary.
(2) A valuation report, cost certificate or wind-up report for any of the following pension plans may be made by a public accountant or a person authorized by an insurance company, a trust corporation or by the Annuities Branch of the federal Department of Labour that is responsible for administering the plan or pension fund:
(a) a plan that provides only defined contribution benefits;
(b) a fully insured plan, established before January 1, 1988, that is underwritten by a contract or contracts with an insurance company and that does not require any contributions to be made by employees;
(c) a plan that is underwritten by a contract or contracts issued under the Government Annuities Act (Canada).
Use of actuarial methods and assumptions in preparing valuation and wind-up reports
62 (1) An actuary must use actuarial cost methods and assumptions that are consistent with part 3000 of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Standards of Practice, and methods and assumptions that are consistent with accepted actuarial practice and with the requirements of the Act and these regulations to prepare a valuation report or a wind-up report.
(2) [repealed]
(3) An actuary must certify that a report they prepare meets the standards required by subsection (1) for the report.
Actuarial information summary to accompany valuation report
63 (1) A valuation report must be accompanied by an actuarial information summary in an approved form.
(2) An actuarial information summary must be signed by the same actuary who signs the valuation report that it accompanies.
Copy of report to agent of administrator
64 If an administrator’s agent is responsible for receiving contributions under a pension plan, the administrator must give the agent a copy of each valuation report filed for the plan.
Filing annual information return
65 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3), the annual information return for a pension plan must be filed no later than 6 months after the end of the plan’s fiscal year.
(2) An annual information return must be accompanied by the prescribed fee required by subsection 31(1) of the Act.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to an annual information return filed as part of the documents required on wind-up under Section 181.
Financial statements required to be filed for pension funds
66 (1) In this Section and Section 67, “pooled funds” means the money held in a fund established by a corporation that is duly authorized to operate a fund in which moneys from 2 or more depositors are accepted for investment and in which shares allocated to each depositor serve to establish the proportionate interest at any time of each depositor in the assets of the fund.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, audited financial statements for a pension fund as at the pension plan’s fiscal year end must be filed by an administrator, as required by subsection 31(2) of the Act, no later than 6 months after the end of the plan’s fiscal year.
(3) An administrator of a pension plan, other than a multi-employer pension plan or a plan established by a pension fund society, is not required to comply with the requirement in subsection (2) to prepare audited financial statements if 1 of the following applies to the plan:
(a) the market value of the plan’s assets at the end of the plan’s fiscal year is less than $5 000 000;
(b) all of the funds of the plan are held in any of the following:
(i) any type of account, by 1 insurance company,
(ii) pooled funds for which custody is provided by a single trust company and which are audited, at least annually, in accordance with the principles and standards set out in the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting and the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance, as applicable,
(iii) a life annuity.
(4) [repealed]
Content and preparation of financial statements
67 (1) A pension fund’s financial statements must be prepared
(a) in accordance with the principles and standards set out in the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting and the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance, as applicable, and include all of the information that the applicable handbook may require to be set out in the financial statements of the pension fund;
(b) on the accrual basis of accounting; and
(c) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
(2) A pension fund’s financial statements must be made up of all of the following:
(a) a statement of net assets;
(b) a statement of changes in net assets.
(3) A pension fund’s financial statements must disclose each investment of the pension fund that has a market value greater than 2% of the market value of all of the investments of the pension fund itemized according to each of the following categories:
(a) insured contracts;
(b) mutual or pooled funds or segregated funds;
(c) demand deposits and cash on hand;
(d) short-term notes and treasury bills;
(e) term deposits and guaranteed investment certificates;
(f) mortgage loans;
(g) real estate;
(h) real estate debentures;
(i) resource properties;
(j) venture capital;
(k) corporations referred to in subsection 11(2) of the federal investment regulations;
(l) employer issued securities;
(m) Canadian stocks other than investments referred to in clauses (a) to (l);
(n) non-Canadian stocks other than investments referred to in clauses (a) to (l);
(o) Canadian bonds and debentures other than investments referred to in clauses (a) to (l);
(p) non-Canadian bonds and debentures other than investments referred to in clauses (a) to (l);
(q) investments other than investments referred to in clauses (a) to (p).
(4) A pension fund’s financial statements must identify all of the following:
(a) the name of the plan and its Provincial registration number;
(b) the fiscal period for which the financial statements were prepared.
(5) A pension fund’s financial statements must be approved by the administrator and the approval must be evidenced by the manual or facsimile signature of the following:
(a) the administrator;
(b) if the administrator is a pension committee, board of trustees or a board, agency or commission acting as the administrator, 2 members duly authorized to signify the approval;
(c) if the administrator is an insurance company, an officer of the company duly authorized to sign on behalf of the insurance company.
Auditor’s report on financial statements
68 If the administrator of a pension plan is required to file audited financial statements for the pension fund, the pension fund’s financial statements must be accompanied by the auditor’s report prepared by a public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and the principles and standards set out in the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting and the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance, as applicable.
Auditor’s duty to report to administrator and Superintendent
69 (1) An auditor who audits a pension plan’s financial statements must immediately report to the administrator if they become aware that there are circumstances that indicate that there has or may have been a contravention of the Act or these regulations.
(2) An auditor must report to the Superintendent any matter they have reported under subsection (1) that they consider to be significant and that is not corrected 30 days after the date it was first reported to the administrator.
Extension of time limit for filing of document
70 All of the documents that are required by the Act or these regulations to be filed or submitted are prescribed for the purposes of clause 123(1)(b) of the Act as documents in relation to which the Superintendent may extend a time limit for the filing of the documents.
Information to Members and Others
Member and eligible member information
71 The information required to be provided to members and eligible members of a pension plan under subsection 38(1) of the Act must be provided to the following persons, as required by subsection 38(2) of the Act, within the times specified:
(a) to a person who becomes a member of the plan on the date the plan is established, no later than 60 days after the date the plan is established;
(b) to an employee who will become eligible to become a member of the plan, no later than 60 days before the date that the person will become eligible;
(c) to a person who is eligible to become a member of the plan on becoming employed, no later than 60 days after the person begins employment.
Information to be provided where plan permits optional contributions
72 In addition to the information required to be provided to members and each person who will be eligible or is required to become a member under subsection 38(1) of the Act, all of the following information is prescribed under clause 38(1)(c) of the Act to be provided by an administrator of a pension plan that permits a member to make optional contributions:
(a) the terms and conditions for making an election to convert optional contributions to optional benefits;
(b) the optional benefits available on conversion of the optional contributions to optional benefits;
(c) a summary of the method used to convert the optional contributions;
(d) a statement that there is a risk of forfeiting all or part of the optional contributions if there are insufficient benefits available at the time of conversion to completely use all of the member’s optional contributions.
Information to be provided before variable benefits account established
73 (1) Before a member or former member elects to establish a variable benefits account under the provisions of a pension plan, the administrator must provide the member or former member with a statement setting out all of the following information:
(a) the information required to be included in the plan by subsection 149(1);
(b) for a plan that provides for the matters addressed in subsections 149(2) or 150(1), the information set out in those subsections.
(2) An administrator must provide the statement referred to in subsection (1) no later than 30 days after the date that the administrator receives any of the following:
(a) a written request from a member or former member for the statement;
(b) a written notice from a member or former member that they wish to elect to establish a variable benefits account.
74 (1) An annual statement to members must be provided no later than 6 months after the end of a pension plan’s fiscal year.
(2) An annual statement to members must contain at least all of the following information for the period covered by the statement, as the information is recorded in the administrator’s records for the pension plan:
(a) the name of the plan and its Provincial registration number;
(b) the member’s name and date of birth;
(c) the name of any person recorded as the member’s spouse;
(d) the date that the member joined the plan;
(e) for all plans other than multi-employer pension plans, the date that the member was employed by the employer;
(f) the period covered by the statement;
(g) the name of any person designated by the member as a beneficiary for the purposes of the pre-retirement death benefit under Section 67 of the Act;
(h) a description of any benefits to be provided on the member’s death;
(i) the member’s normal retirement date under the plan;
(j) the earliest date the member will be eligible to receive any unreduced pension that may be available to the member;
(k) the amount of any required contributions the member made to the pension fund during the period;
(l) the accumulated amount of any required contributions the member made to the pension fund, including interest credited to the contributions, to the end of the period;
(m) the amount of any additional voluntary contributions the member made to the pension fund during the period;
(n) the accumulated amount of any additional voluntary contributions the member made to the pension fund, including interest credited to the contributions, to the end of the period;
(o) the amount of any optional contributions the member made to the pension fund during the period;
(p) the accumulated amount of any optional contributions the member made to the pension fund, including any interest credited to the contributions, to the end of the period;
(q) for a plan that provides defined contribution benefits,
(i) the amount of employer contributions allocated to the member during the period, and
(ii) the accumulated amount of employer contributions allocated to the member, including interest credited to the contributions, to the end of the period;
(r) for a plan that provides defined benefits,
(i) the number of years of employment, or membership in the plan, used to calculate the member’s pension benefits, determined as of the end of the period,
(ii) if salary is a factor in determining a pension benefit, the salary level used to determine the benefit,
(iii) the annual amount of pension benefit that will be payable at the normal retirement date, accrued as of the end of the period,
(iv) whether the amount referred to in subclause (iii) is reduced by an amount of pension payable under the CPP, QPP or OAS,
(v) the transfer ratio of the plan as of the valuation date of each of the 2 valuation reports most recently filed or submitted to the Superintendent,
(vi) an explanation of the transfer ratio and how it relates to the level of funding of members’ benefits;
(s) for a plan that permits a member to make optional contributions,
(i) the estimated amount of optional contributions that the member could make in the following year,
(ii) the optional benefits chosen by the member, and
(iii) a statement that there is a risk of forfeiting part of those contributions under the federal Income Tax Act;
(t) if special payments are being made to liquidate any going concern unfunded liability or solvency deficiency, a statement to that effect;
(u) if there is a solvency deficiency that the employer is funding by means of a letter of credit, a statement that the employer has provided a letter of credit to the trustee of the pension fund in accordance with subsection 77(1) of the Act, instead of making payments in relation to the solvency deficiency;
(v) if the plan is exempt from the requirement to fund a solvency deficiency, a statement that the plan is exempt;
(w) a statement setting out the treatment of any surplus in a continuing plan and on wind-up;
(x) an explanation of any amendments affecting the member that were made to the plan during the period, if an explanation has not been provided under Section 30;
(y) for multi-employer pension plans and plans that provide defined benefits under which the obligation of the employer to contribute to the pension fund is limited to a fixed amount set out in a collective agreement, a statement that the member’s pension benefits may be reduced if the assets of the plan are not sufficient to meet the liabilities of the plan on wind-up.
First annual statement on or after April 1, 2020
74A The first annual statement on or after April 1, 2020, for a pension plan that provides defined benefits and is not exempt under subsection 19(6) must, in addition to the information required to be included by subsection 74(2), contain a description of how the funding rules for pension plans have changed or will change as a result of amendments to these regulations effective April 1, 2020, including at least all of the following information:
(a) a description of the difference between solvency funding and going concern funding;
(b) a statement that special payments are required under these regulations for the purpose of increasing the plan’s funded ratio to 85%, as measured on a solvency basis, and that this is a change from the previous requirement to make special payments for the purpose of increasing the plan’s funded ratio to 100%, as measured on a solvency basis.
Annual statement to variable benefits participant
75 No later than 60 days after December 31 of each year, an administrator must provide to each variable benefits participant who received a variable pension benefit in that year a statement containing the following information about their variable benefits account:
(a) the name of the pension plan and its Provincial registration number;
(b) the participant’s name;
(c) the date the variable pension benefits began;
(d) the account balances at the beginning and end of the period for which the statement is provided;
(e) the income and gains, net of losses, earned by the variable benefits account during the year;
(f) the total of the amounts paid as variable pension benefits to the participant during the year;
(g) the amounts transferred to the participant’s variable benefits account during the year and their source;
(h) the amount and nature of the fees charged to the participant’s variable benefits account during the year;
(i) the date of birth used to determine the minimum variable pension benefits payable for the year in accordance with subclause 149(1)(f)(i);
(j) if the pension is being paid to the member or former member, the name of any spouse or beneficiary of the member or former member;
(k) information about the election the participant may make for the amount to be paid, including information about all of the following:
(i) the minimum and maximum amounts payable, in accordance with clause 149(1)(f),
(ii) how the participant may notify the administrator of their election, and the deadline for making the election,
(iii) the amount that will be paid if the participant does not make an election,
(iv) how the participant may change their election;
(l) that the participant has the right to purchase a life annuity now or at a future date.
Statement on termination of employment or membership
76 (1) An administrator must provide the written statement they are required to provide under Section 41 of the Act to the persons referred to in that Section no later than the following:
(a) if notice of termination or cessation is provided to the administrator before the event, 60 days after the date the member’s employment is terminated or their membership in the plan ceases;
(b) if notice of termination or cessation is not provided to the administrator before the event, 60 days after the date the administrator receives the notice.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), the written statement referred to in subsection (1) must contain at least all of the following information, as the information is recorded in the administrator’s records for the pension plan:
(a) all of the information required for an annual statement to members in clauses 74(2)(a) to (j);
(b) the years of employment or membership credited under the plan for the purpose of calculating the member’s pension benefit;
(c) the amount of the pension benefits and ancillary benefits that the member is entitled to on termination and any options respecting the benefits, including early, normal and postponed dates for beginning payment of benefits;
(d) any formula by which the member’s deferred pension will be integrated with a pension payable under the CPP, QPP or OAS and any resulting reduction or increase to the deferred pension;
(e) any bridging benefit to be paid to the member, and the date that the benefit or allowance ceases to be paid;
(f) any indexing under the plan that will apply to the member’s deferred pension;
(g) any benefit payable on the member’s death, if the member dies before the payment of pension benefits begins;
(h) any benefit payable on the member’s death, if the member dies after payment of pension benefits begins;
(i) the transfer value of the member’s deferred pension, as determined under Section 136;
(j) any options the member has for transferring the commuted value of their deferred pension under Section 61 of the Act, including
(i) how the transfer ratio determined under Section 11 applies to the transfer option,
(ii) if the transfer ratio is less than 1.00, the amount that may be transferred out immediately and the manner in which the balance will be paid, and
(iii) the time period for exercising any option;
(k) any refund the member is entitled to under subsection 55(4) or 87(2) or (5) of the Act, including
(i) the amount of the refund,
(ii) any options available with respect to the refund,
(iii) the time period for exercising the available options;
(l) information about any effect the member’s election to receive a refund under subsection 55(4) or 87(2) or (5) of the Act would have on their pension or deferred pension;
(m) any options available to the member to have payment made into a registered retirement savings arrangement under subsection 55(5) or 87(7) of the Act and the time period for exercising the available options.
(3) Instead of the information required by subsection (2), a written statement referred to in subsection (1) that is provided to a member of a pension plan that provides for payment of the commuted value of a benefit in accordance with subsection 70(1) of the Act must contain at least all of the following information, as the information is recorded in the administrator’s records for the plan:
(a) the information required for an annual statement to members in clauses 74(2)(a) and (b);
(b) the years of employment or membership credited under the plan for the purpose of calculating the member’s pension benefit;
(c) the amount of the member’s pension benefits and ancillary benefits that are vested under the plan;
(d) any options available to the member for payment of the commuted value of a pension benefit under subsection 70(3) of the Act and the time periods for exercising the available options;
(e) any refund the member is entitled to under subsection 55(4) or 87(2) or (5) of the Act, including
(i) the amount of the refund,
(ii) any options available with respect to the refund,
(iii) the time periods for exercising the available options.
Statement to variable benefits participant on transfer from variable benefits account
77 No later than 60 days after the date a written request is received from a variable benefits participant to transfer an amount from a variable benefits account, an administrator must provide the participant with a statement containing all of the following information about the variable benefits account, as of the date the request was received:
(a) all of the information required for an annual statement to participants in clauses 75(a) to (h);
(b) the amount available to be transferred;
(c) the minimum amount, as determined under the federal Income Tax Act, that may be paid in the year;
(d) the maximum amount, as determined under Section 151, that may be paid in the year.
78 If the death of a member, former member or retired member results in their spouse, beneficiary or estate becoming entitled to a benefit under the plan, the administrator must, no later than 60 days after receiving notice of the death, provide the spouse, beneficiary or personal representative with a statement that contains at least all of the following information, as is recorded in the administrator’s records for the plan:
(a) the name of the plan and its Provincial registration number;
(b) the name of the deceased member or former member;
(c) the amount of the benefit and how it will be paid;
(d) any amount payable as a lump sum under subsection 55(4) of the Act;
(e) any indexing under the plan that applies to a pension;
(f) the amount of any pension resulting from additional voluntary contributions and optional contributions, if applicable;
(g) the amount of any pension purchased with contributions resulting from a transfer made on behalf of the member from another pension fund;
(h) for a spouse, the options available under Section 63 or 67 of the Act.
Statement after death of variable benefits participant
79 The written statement required to be provided under Section 41 of the Act to a person who is entitled to receive the balance of a variable benefits account must be provided no later than 60 days after receiving proper notification of the variable benefits participant’s death and must include all of the following information about the variable benefits account as of the date of death:
(a) the information required for an annual statement to participants in clauses 75(a) to (h);
(b) the date the variable benefits participant died;
(c) information about the payment and transfer options available to the recipient, including,
(i) how the recipient may make an election, and the time period for making the election, and
(ii) the balance in the account that will be paid or transferred if the recipient does not make an election.
Notification of options to retiring member
80 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), at least 60 days before a member’s normal retirement age or the date that a member has indicated they intend to retire on, an administrator must notify the member of
(a) any options respecting payment of their pension available to the member under the pension plan, the Act and these regulations; and
(b) the time period for exercising the available options.
(2) An administrator who does not receive enough advance notice to comply with subsection (1) must provide the information required by subsection (1) no later than 60 days after the date the administrator receives the completed application required to begin payment of the pension.
Retirement statement to member
81 (1) An administrator must provide the written statement they are required to provide under Section 41 of the Act when a member retires no later than the following applicable period:
(a) if the administrator receives notification of the member’s retirement before they retire, 60 days after the date of the member’s retirement;
(b) if the administrator does not receive notification of the member’s retirement before they retire, 60 days after the administrator receives the completed application required for beginning payment of the pension.
(2) The written statement referred to in subsection (1) must contain at least all of the following information, as the information is recorded in the administrator’s records for the pension plan:
(a) the information required to be provided for an annual statement to members in clauses 74(2)(a) to (d);
(b) the years of employment credited under the plan for purposes of calculating the member’s pension benefit;
(c) the date that payment of pension benefits begins;
(d) the amount of the pension the member is or will be entitled to based on elections made by the member;
(e) any increase or reduction in the pension resulting from early or postponed retirement;
(f) the amount of any pension benefit purchased with additional voluntary contributions made by the member;
(g) the optional benefits available to the member to enhance their pension and any amount by which the member’s optional contributions exceed the maximum value of the optional benefits available for purchase, along with a statement that the excess is retained in the plan;
(h) the amount of any pension benefit purchased with contributions resulting from a transfer made on behalf of the member from another pension fund;
(i) the formula by which any pension entitlement under the plan has been integrated with pensions payable under the CPP, QPP or OAS and the effect of the integration;
(j) any bridging benefit, including special allowance, paid to the member and the date that the benefit ceases to be paid;
(k) any indexing provisions that will be applied to the pension or deferred pension;
(l) any benefit payable if the member dies and the name of the person designated as the beneficiary of the benefit;
(m) any refunds the member is entitled to under the plan other than those listed in this subsection.
Information required to be available on request
82 (1) All of the following are prescribed as the records of a pension plan that an administrator is required to make available for inspection without charge to specified persons under subsection 42(1) of the Act:
(a) a copy of the provisions of the current plan including any amendments to the plan;
(b) any documents relating to the plan that must be filed in support of an application for registration of the plan as set out in subsection 28(3) or in support of an application for registration of an amendment to the plan as set out in subsection 22(2) of the Act and prescribed in subsection 31(1);
(c) for a plan that is a successor pension plan, a copy of the provisions of the previous pension plan, including any amendments to the previous plan;
(d) any documents relating to a previous version of the plan that must be filed in support of an application for registration of the plan as set out in subsection 28(3) or in support of an application for registration of an amendment to the plan as set out in subsection 22(2) of the Act and prescribed in subsection 31(1);
(e) the applicable provisions of any document that sets out an employer’s responsibilities under the plan;
(f) any document that delegates the administration of the plan or pension fund;
(g) copies of any information returns, actuarial information summaries and other information summaries filed for the plan;
(h) copies of any valuation reports for the plan that have been filed or submitted to the Superintendent;
(i) copies of correspondence about the plan between the administrator and the Superintendent, or the staff of the Superintendent, for the 5-year period before the date of the request, but excluding any personal information that relates to a member, former member or retired member unless the person’s prior consent is obtained;
(j) copies of the parts of any agreement relating to the purchase or sale of a business or the assets of a business that are filed for the plan;
(k) copies of any financial statements and the accompanying auditor’s report on the financial statements for the plan’s pension fund that are filed for the plan;
(l) copies of any letter of credit held in trust for the plan, any related trust agreement and any certificate filed by the administrator under clause 121(3)(b);
(m) copies of any statements of investment policies and procedures that are established for the plan under these regulations.
(2) All of the following are prescribed as the records of a pension plan or pension fund that an administrator is required by subsection 42(5) of the Act to provide copies of by mail or, subject to subsection (3), electronically, to persons described in subsection 42(1) of the Act:
(a) the provisions of the current plan, including any amendments to the plan;
(b) the valuation report most recently filed or submitted to the Superintendent for the plan;
(c) the most recently filed financial statements and the accompanying auditor’s report on the financial statements for the plan’s pension fund;
(d) the most recently filed actuarial information summary filed under Section 63 for the plan;
(e) the most recently filed annual information return filed under Section 65 for the plan;
(f) the most recently established statement of investment policies and procedures for the plan established under Section 48.
(3) The records prescribed in subsection (2) may be provided electronically if the person who requested them gives their permission.
(4) An administrator must comply with a written request for information made under Section 42 of the Act no later than 30 days after the date the request is received.
(5) In addition to the information prescribed in subsection (1), any parts of a pension plan and other documents or information that are applicable to the person are prescribed as records that the person may inspect or request copies of under Section 42 of the Act.
(6) The maximum amount that may be charged as an applicable fee for providing records in accordance with subsection 42(7) of the Act is
(a) 55 cents per page for a paper copy; and
(b) $5.65 for each record provided electronically.
Inspection of filed records of pension plan and pension fund
83 (1) The records prescribed in subsection 82(1) are the records that specified persons are entitled to inspect at the times and locations specified in subsection 43(2) of the Act.
(2) The records prescribed in subsection 82(2) are the records that the Superintendent must provide by mail or, subject to subsection (3), electronically under subsection 43(4) of the Act.
(3) The records referred to in subsection (2) may be provided electronically if the person who requests them gives their permission.
(4) In addition to the information prescribed in subsections (1) and (2), any parts of a pension plan and other documents or information that are applicable to a person are records that the person is entitled to inspect or request copies of under Section 43 of the Act.
Records Respecting Pension Plans
84 (1) In this Section,
“record” includes all of the following:
(i) accounts, books, files, returns, statements, reports, financial documents or other memorandums of financial or non-financial information, whether in writing or in electronic form or represented or reproduced by any other means,
(ii) the results of the recording of details of electronic data processing systems and programs to illustrate what the systems and programs do and how they operate.
(2) Subject to any longer period that may be set out in these regulations, records respecting a pension plan that are in the possession or control of an administrator, an employer or any other person other than a member or other beneficiary must be retained by the person for at least the longest of the following applicable periods:
(a) for a record relating to the creation of the plan or any previous version of the plan, 7 years after the later of the following dates:
(i) the date that the last assets of the plan’s pension fund are distributed,
(ii) the date that the administrator gives the Superintendent written notice under Section 182 that all the assets of the plan have been distributed in relation to the winding up of the plan;
(b) for a record relating to a benefit under the plan, 7 years after the later of the following dates:
(i) the date the benefit is paid in full,
(ii) the date the entitlement to the benefit is otherwise extinguished;
(c) for a record not described in clause (a) or (b), 7 years after the later of the following dates:
(i) the date of the last transaction to which the record relates occurred,
(ii) the date that the record ceases to have effect.
(3) The requirement in subsection (2) may be satisfied by retaining an electronic record if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) it is retained in a format that accurately represents the information contained in the original record;
(b) it is accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference by any person entitled to have access to it or a copy of it;
(c) for a document that was sent or received, the record includes information that identifies the origin and destination of the document and the date and time when it was sent or received.
Part 3: Funding of Pension Plans
Employer contributions and employee contributions set out in pension plan
85 (1) A pension plan must set out all the obligations for persons or entities to make employer contributions and employee contributions in respect of all of the following under the plan:
(a) the normal cost;
(b) any going concern unfunded liability;
(c) unless exempted in this Section, any solvency deficiency.
(2) The following pension plans are not required to include a provision that sets out the obligations to make employer contributions in respect of any solvency deficiency under the plan:
(a) a municipality pension plan that provides defined benefits;
(b) a university pension plan that provides defined benefits;
(c) a specified multi-employer pension plan;
(d) the Pension Plan for the Non-Teaching Employees of the Nova Scotia Education Entities—Registration No.: 694778;
(e) the South Shore Regional School Board CUPE Staff Pension Plan—Registration No.: 582346;
(f) the South Shore Regional School Board Support Staff Pension Plan—Registration No.: 948141;
(g) the Tri-County Regional School Board CUPE Staff Pension Plan—Registration No.: 1198076;
(h) the Tri-County Regional School Board Support Staff Pension Plan—Registration No.: 1198068;
(i) the Atlantic Police Association Pension Plan—Registration No.: 414342;
(j) the Halifax Regional Water Commission Employees’ Pension Plan—Registration No.: 344614.
(3) In subsection (2),
“municipality pension plan” means a pension plan for
(i) employees of a municipality; or
(ii) employees of an employer who is not municipality if, as of December 21, 2012, the municipality that sponsors the plan has authorized the participation of the employees in the plan;
“university” means any of the following:
(i) Acadia University,
(ii) Atlantic School of Theology,
(iii) Cape Breton University,
(iv) Dalhousie University,
(v) Mount Saint Vincent University,
(vi) Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,
(vii) St. Francis Xavier University,
(viii) Saint Mary’s University,
(ix) Université Sainte-Anne,
(x) University of King’s College;
“university pension plan” means a pension plan for employees of a university.
(4) [repealed]
(5) All of the following plans must include a provision for the funding of pension benefits and any other benefits provided under the plan that sets out the obligation to make employer contributions under the plan:
(a) a multi-employer pension plan, other than a jointly sponsored pension plan, that is established under a collective agreement or trust agreement;
(b) a pension plan that provides defined benefits under which the employer contributions are limited to a fixed amount set out in a collective agreement.
Minimum contributions to pension plan
86 (1) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (5) and Section 86A, the employer contributions and employee contributions made under a pension plan must not be less than the sum of all of the following:
(a) all employer contributions and employee contributions required to pay the normal cost;
(b) all special payments set out in a previous valuation report that remain to be paid with respect to any going concern unfunded liability;
(c) all special payments set out in a previous valuation report that remain to be paid with respect to any solvency deficiency;
(d) all special payments required to be paid with respect to any going concern unfunded liability that is determined in the most recently filed or submitted valuation report;
(e) all special payments to be paid with respect to any solvency deficiency that is determined in the most recently filed or submitted valuation report;
(f) all payments determined in accordance with Sections 183 to 186 as the payments required to be made to a pension plan on wind-up or partial wind-up of the plan under Sections 99 and 100 of the Act.
(2) An employer required to make employer contributions under a designated plan or an individual pension plan is not required to make a contribution that does not qualify as an eligible contribution for the purposes of the federal Income Tax Regulations.
(3) For a pension plan that is exempt under subsection 19(6) from making special payments, employer contributions are not required to be made to liquidate any solvency deficiency of the plan.
(4) For greater certainty, nothing in subsection (2) or (3) relieves an employer, or any person required to make contributions on behalf of the employer, of their obligation to make payments into the pension fund of the following amounts on wind-up of the plan under subsection 99(2) of the Act:
(a) the amount necessary to fully fund the benefits provided for under the plan;
(b) the amount required to fully fund the benefits provided under Section 97 of the Act.
(5) Employer contributions for a multi-employer pension plan, other than a jointly sponsored pension plan, that is established under a collective agreement or trust agreement must not be less than the sum of all of the following:
(a) any employee contributions;
(b) any amounts set out in the applicable collective agreement that are required to be paid as employer contributions.
Sufficiency of contributions on and after April 1, 2020
86A (1) If the payments required under subsection 86(1) or Section 88 are greater than they would have been under these regulations as they read immediately before April 1, 2020, the employer contributions and employee contributions made under a pension plan must not be less than the amount calculated using the following formula:
A - [(A-B) × C]
in which
A = the total of the payments required under these regulations for the year based on the most recently filed valuation report
B = the total of the payments that would have been required under these regulations as they read immediately before April 1, 2020
C = the value determined under subsection (2).
(2) The value of “C” in the formula in subsection (1) for any year is as set out in the following table, in which year 1 in the table is the first year immediately after the valuation date of the first valuation report filed with a valuation date that is on or after December 31, 2019:
Year After
Valuation DateValue of “C”
1
1
2
0.8
3
0.6
4
0.4
5
0.2
6 and any subsequent year
0
87 [repealed]
Sufficiency of contributions for specified multi-employer pension plan
88 The contributions required under a specified multi-employer pension plan are sufficient if, for each year of a period covered by a valuation report for the plan, they are not less than the sum of all of the following amounts, determined on the basis of a going concern valuation:
(a) the normal cost of the plan;
(b) the special payments set out in a previous valuation report that remain to be paid with respect to any going concern unfunded liability;
(c) the special payments to be paid with respect to any going concern unfunded liability that is determined in the report.
Contributions made to a jointly sponsored pension plan
89 For a jointly sponsored pension plan, the contributions referred to in subsection 55(3) of the Act include employee contributions made in respect of any going concern unfunded liability or solvency deficiency.
Previous year credit balance used to reduce employer payments
90 If there is a previous year credit balance for a plan, an employer may apply the previous year credit balance to reduce the employer contributions referred to in subsection 86(1).
Funding of escalated adjustments
91 (1) For benefits that accrue on or after the date these regulations come into force under a pension plan that provides for escalated adjustments, the escalated adjustments must be pre-funded on the basis of both a going concern valuation and a solvency valuation.
(2) For benefits that accrued before the date these regulations come into force under a pension plan that provides for escalated adjustments, the escalated adjustments must be funded in accordance with all of the following:
(a) the estimated future costs of any escalated adjustments provided for under the plan may be excluded from the calculations for the minimum amount of special payments set out in Sections 99, 101 and 104;
(b) the amounts of any escalated adjustments, to the extent that they have not been pre-funded on a going concern basis, are deemed to be part of the normal cost;
(c) factors attributable to an escalated adjustment may be excluded in determining the existence or amount of any going concern unfunded liability for any valuation report prepared for the plan.
When and how payment of contributions to be paid
92 (1) Employee contributions must be paid by the employer to the pension plan no later than 30 days after the month the sum is received by the employer or withheld from the employee by payroll deduction or otherwise.
(2) For a pension plan that provides defined benefits, the employer contributions in respect of the normal cost must be paid in monthly instalments in 1 of the following amounts, no later than 30 days after the month for which contributions are payable:
(a) a total fixed dollar amount;
(b) a fixed dollar amount for each employee or member of the plan;
(c) a fixed percentage of either
(i) the portion of the payroll related to members of the plan, or
(ii) employee contributions.
(3) For a pension plan that provides only defined contribution benefits, the employer contributions must be paid in monthly instalments in 1 of the following amounts, no later than 30 days after the month for which contributions are payable:
(a) a total fixed dollar amount;
(b) a fixed dollar amount for each employee or member of the plan;
(c) a fixed percentage of either
(i) the portion of the payroll related to members of the plan, or
(ii) employee contributions.
(4) If the date that a valuation report is filed or submitted to the Superintendent is later than the valuation date of the report, and the report indicates that an increase is required in any of the following, the employer must pay the increased amounts into the pension fund no later than 12 months after the valuation date of the report in which the increase was determined:
(a) the amount of any contributions that were previously reduced by a reduction or suspension of employer contributions under Section 76 of the Act;
(aa) the amount of any contributions in respect of the normal cost;
(b) special payments.
(5) The increased contributions or special payments in subsection (4) must be calculated from the date on which they are required to be made to the date the report is filed or submitted to the Superintendent, and must include interest at the going concern valuation interest rate or the solvency valuation interest rate, as applicable.
(6) If the period covered by a valuation report has ended and no report under Section 53 covering a subsequent period is filed or submitted, employer contributions and employee contributions must continue to be paid in accordance with the report most recently filed or submitted to the Superintendent under Section 31, 52 or 53.
(7) Except as provided in subsection (6) for an increase in special payments, all special payments must be paid in equal monthly instalments no later than 30 days after the month in relation to which the special payment is payable.
Contributions for provision for adverse deviations may be made to reserve account
92A Contributions in respect of a provision for adverse deviations are prescribed as other contributions that may be made to a pension plan’s reserve account under subsection 76A(2) of the Act.
Time limits for contributions under pension plans that are subject to collective agreements
93 For a multi-employer pension plan, other than a jointly sponsored pension plan, that is established under a collective agreement or trust agreement or for a pension plan that provides defined benefits under which the obligation of an employer to contribute to the plan is limited to a fixed amount set out in a collective agreement, the contributions required under the plan must be made no later than the following:
(a) for employee contributions, 30 days after the month in which the sum was received or deducted;
(b) for all amounts other than those referred to in clause (a), the earlier of the following:
(i) the time limit specified by the applicable collective agreement,
(ii) 30 days after the end of the month in which the employment giving rise to the payments occurred.
Offset on conversion of plan to defined contribution benefit
94 If an amendment to a pension plan with defined benefits converts the defined benefits to defined contribution benefits, the employer may offset their employer contributions made in respect of the normal cost against the amount of any surplus in the pension fund after the conversion.
Restrictions on reductions or suspensions of contributions
95 (1) In addition to the conditions listed in Section 76 of the Act for reducing or suspending employer contributions and employee contributions for the normal cost of a pension plan, an employer or any person or entity required to make employer contributions under a pension plan must provide the members, former members and retired members of the plan with 60 days’ prior written notice of their intention to reduce or suspend employer contributions and, if applicable, employee contributions.
(2) A reduction or suspension in employer contributions or employee contributions under Section 76 of the Act must not reduce a pension plan’s assets on each of a going concern basis and a solvency basis to less than the following, determined as at the valuation date of the most recently filed or submitted valuation report:
(a) 105% of the value of the going concern liabilities under the plan;
(b) 105% of the solvency liabilities under the plan.
96 (1) If a valuation report discloses an actuarial gain under a pension plan, the actuarial gain must be applied, firstly, to reduce any going concern unfunded liability, and then may be applied as permitted under subsection (3) and in accordance with 95(2).
(2) A going concern unfunded liability that is reduced under subsection (1) may be re-amortized over the remainder of the original amortization period for the liability or over a shorter period.
(2A) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a going concern unfunded liability in a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019.
(3) Subject to subsection 95(2), in any year for which no special payments are required to be made for a pension plan, an actuarial gain may be applied to reduce employer contributions or employee contributions in respect of the normal cost of the plan.
Special payments if going concern excess
96A (1) This Section applies to special payments with respect to a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, that discloses a going concern excess under the pension plan.
(2) If the going concern excess disclosed in the report is
(a) greater than or equal to the sum of the amounts listed in subsection (3), the special payments determined in accordance with clauses 99(3)(a) and (c) must be reduced to zero;
(b) less than the sum of the amounts listed in subsection (3), the monthly rate of the special payments determined in accordance with clauses 99(3)(a) and (c) must not be changed but the amortization period or periods for the special payments determined under those clauses must be reduced so as to reduce the going concern excess to zero.
(3) The amounts referred to in clauses (2)(a) and (b) are all of the following:
(a) the present value of special payments in respect of any pension plan amendment that increases going concern liabilities;
(b) the present value of special payments in respect of a going concern unfunded liability determined in the valuation report filed immediately before the current valuation report and scheduled for payment within 1 year after the valuation date of the current valuation report.
Administrator’s and agent’s notice that contributions not paid
97 The notice required to be given by an administrator and agent to the Superintendent under subsection 78(2) of the Act when a contribution is not paid when due must be given no later than 60 days after the date the required contribution became due.
98 (1) In this Section,
“summary of contributions” means the summary of contributions in an approved form for the fiscal year of a pension plan that is required to be given under subsection 79(1) of the Act to all persons who are prescribed in Section 46 for the purposes of subsection 33(5) of the Act as trustees of a pension fund.
(2) The prescribed times for giving a summary of contributions for a pension plan are
(a) for the first fiscal year of the plan, no later than 90 days after the plan is established;
(b) for each year after the first fiscal year of the plan, no later than 60 days after the beginning of the fiscal year;
(c) for a revised version of a summary of contributions prepared under subsection (3), no later than 60 days after the administrator becomes aware of the change.
(3) If there is any change to a summary of contributions, a revised version of the summary must be prepared by the administrator and provided to the pension fund trustee.
(4) The notice that a trustee is required to give the Superintendent under subsection 79(3) of the Act if the trustee does not receive the summary of contributions must be given in writing no later than 30 days after the date the summary was required to be given under subsection (2).
(5) The notice from a trustee that is required be given to the Superintendent under subsection 79(4) of the Act if a contribution is not paid when due must be given in writing no later than 60 days after the date the required contribution became due.
Minimum amount of special payments
99 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Section and in Sections 101 and 104, the special payments required to be made after the first valuation date of a valuation report with a valuation date before December 31, 2019, must not be less than the sum of all of the following amounts, paid in the following manner and within the specified amortization periods:
(a) for a going concern unfunded liability, the amounts required to liquidate the liability, including any liability for escalated adjustments in respect of pension benefits that have accrued after the date these regulations come into force, plus interest at the going concern valuation interest rate, to be paid by equal monthly instalments over a period of no longer than 15 years;
(b) for a solvency deficiency, other than a solvency deficiency for a pension plan exempted from special payments under subsection 19(6), the amounts required to liquidate the solvency deficiency, plus interest at the solvency valuation interest rate, to be paid by equal monthly instalments over a period of no longer than 5 years.
(2) For a valuation report with a valuation date before December 31, 2019, the beginning of the amortization period for special payments to liquidate a solvency deficiency or going concern unfunded liability determined for the pension plan in the report may be deferred to a date that is not later than 12 months after the valuation date.
(3) Subject to Section 96A and except as provided in subsection (4), the special payments required to be made after the valuation date of a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, must be not less than the sum of all of the following amounts, paid in the following manner and within the following amortization periods:
(a) for the year beginning on the valuation date of the last filed valuation report, the special payments scheduled for that year to liquidate any going concern unfunded liability as determined in the valuation report filed immediately before the last filed valuation report, other than the special payments described in clause (c);
(b) for a going concern unfunded liability determined in the last filed valuation report, the special payments required to liquidate the going concern unfunded liability other than the special payments described in clause (c), together with interest at the going concern valuation interest rate, to be paid by equal monthly instalments over a period of no longer than 10 years beginning 1 year after the valuation date of the last filed valuation report;
(c) if an amendment made to a pension plan on or after December 31, 2019, creates or increases the going concern unfunded liability of the plan, taking into consideration any lump sum benefit improvement contribution associated with the amendment, the special payments required to liquidate the new or increased going concern unfunded liability, together with interest at the going concern valuation interest rate, to be paid by equal monthly instalments over a period of no longer than 10 years beginning on the effective date of the amendment;
(d) for the first valuation report filed or submitted with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, the special payments required to liquidate any solvency deficiency in the report, together with interest at the solvency valuation interest rate, to be paid by equal monthly instalments over a period of no longer than 5 years beginning on the valuation date of the report;
(e) for a valuation report filed subsequent to the first valuation report referred to in clause (d), the special payments required to liquidate any new and existing solvency deficiency in the report, together with interest at the solvency valuation interest rate, to be paid by equal monthly instalments over a period of no longer than 5 years beginning 1 year after the valuation date of the last filed valuation report.
(4) Clauses (3)(d) and (e) do not apply to a valuation report prepared in relation to a pension plan that is exempted by subsection 19(6) from making special payments in relation to any solvency deficiency in the report.
Interest payments required for employers who provide letter of credit
100 Unless interest payments are included in the amount of a letter of credit, an employer who provides a letter of credit is required to make interest payments with respect to the solvency deficiency, calculated at the solvency valuation interest rate.
Alternative determination of special payments for jointly sponsored pension plans
101 (1) For a jointly sponsored pension plan, the special payments required to liquidate a going concern unfunded liability or solvency deficiency may be determined as of the following dates:
(a) the date the going concern unfunded liability arose, for special payments referred to in clauses 99(1)(a) and 99(3)(a) and (b);
(b) the date of an amendment to a pension plan that creates or increases going concern liabilities, for special payments referred to in clause 99(3)(c);
(c) the date the solvency deficiency arose, for special payments referred to in clauses 99(1)(b) and 99(3)(d) and (e).
(2) The special payments referred to in subsection (1) must be determined in accordance with all of the following requirements:
(a) each scheduled payment must be a level percentage of the sum of the pensionable earnings of the members at the valuation date projected to the date when the scheduled payments are to begin and, after that date, projected annually until the end of the amortization period without taking into account any changes in the membership of the plan that may occur after the valuation date, such as from termination of employment or membership, retirement or death of members or the addition of new members;
(b) the projected pensionable earnings in clause (a) must reflect the expected decline in the projected pensionable earnings if there is reason to believe that there will be a material decline in the number of members before the end of the amortization period for the special payments;
(c) the sum of the projected pensionable earnings in clause (a) must be determined based on actuarial assumptions that are consistent with those used to project pensionable earnings in the going concern valuation;
(d) the present value of the scheduled payments at the date specified in subsection (1) must be equal to the amount of the going concern unfunded liability, increase in going concern liabilities due to an amendment to the pension plan or solvency deficiency being liquidated;
(e) the amortization periods for each series of scheduled payments are the same as the respective periods under
(i) clauses 99(1)(a) and (b) and 99(3)(b) and (e), beginning no later than 12 months after the valuation date on which the scheduled payments were established, and
(ii) clauses 99(3)(a), (c) and (d);
(f) the present value of scheduled payments must be determined using the following interest rates:
(i) for payments with respect to any going concern unfunded liability, using the interest rate or rates used in the valuation report to determine the going concern liabilities, and
(ii) for payments with respect to any solvency deficiency, using the interest rates used in the valuation report to determine the solvency liabilities.
102 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), the previous year credit balance to be used in a valuation report or cost certificate in respect of a pension plan is the amount calculated using the following formula:
previous year credit balance = A + B - C
in which
A = the previous year credit balance stated in the valuation report or cost certificate for the plan most recently filed or submitted to the Superintendent
B = the total amount of employer contributions made to the plan,
(i) after the valuation date of the valuation report or cost certificate for the plan most recently filed or submitted to the Superintendent, and
(ii) before the valuation date for the next valuation report or cost certificate
C = the total amount of employer contributions that would be required to have been made under Section 86 during the period used for the calculation of B if the contributions had been calculated without reference to any previous year credit balance.
(2) The previous year credit balance to be used in an initial valuation report for a pension plan under Section 52 is zero.
(3) The previous year credit balance for a valuation report, other than an initial valuation report, with a valuation date that is on or after the date these regulations come into force may be reduced to an amount that is
(a) less than the amount otherwise determined under subsection (1); and
(b) not less than zero.
Adjustment of special payments for solvency excess
103 (1) In this Section, “solvency excess” means the amount by which the sum of the solvency assets and the solvency asset adjustment exceeds the sum of the solvency liabilities, the solvency liability adjustment and the previous year credit balance.
(2) Subject to Section 103A, for a valuation date after the first valuation date in relation to a pension plan, any special payments required to liquidate a solvency deficiency arising before the valuation date that are scheduled for payment after the valuation date must be adjusted in accordance with this Section.
(3) If the solvency excess is greater than or equal to the present value of the special payments required to liquidate the solvency deficiency, the special payments must be reduced to zero.
(4) If the solvency excess is less than the present value of the special payments required to liquidate the solvency deficiency, the amount of the monthly scheduled payments for the special payments must not be changed, but the amortization period or periods must be reduced so that the solvency excess is reduced to zero.
Adjustment of special payments for solvency excess—solvency deficiency
103A (1) In this Section,
“solvency excess” means the amount by which the sum of the solvency assets and the solvency asset adjustment exceeds the sum of all of the following:
(i) 85% of the solvency liabilities,
(ii) 85% of the solvency liability adjustment,
(iii) the previous year credit balance.
(2) This Section applies to special payments
(a) with respect to a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019, that discloses a solvency excess under the pension plan;
(b) with respect to solvency deficiencies arising before the valuation date of the valuation report that are scheduled for payment after the valuation date.
(3) If the solvency excess disclosed in the valuation report is
(a) greater than or equal to the present value of the special payments, the special payments must be reduced to zero;
(b) less than the present value of the special payments, the monthly rate of the special payments must not be changed but the amortization period or periods for the special payments must be reduced so as to reduce the solvency excess to zero.
Special Payments—Temporary Exceptions
Special payments—temporary exceptions
104 Special payments made under subsection 105(1) or (2) or Section 107, as those provisions read immediately before April 1, 2020, may continue to be made in accordance with those provisions until the first valuation report is filed with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019.
105 [repealed]
106 [repealed]
107 [repealed]
107A [repealed]
108 [repealed]
109 [repealed]
110 [repealed]
111 [repealed]
112 [repealed]
113 [repealed]
114 [repealed]
115 [repealed]
Letter of credit deemed to apply to solvency deficiency
116 For the purposes of applying Section 77 of the Act, a letter of credit in respect of a solvency deficiency calculated in accordance with clause 9(2)(a) is deemed to be in respect of a solvency deficiency calculated in accordance with clause 9(2)(b) if the latter solvency deficiency is identified in a valuation report with a valuation date on or after December 31, 2019.
Prescribed requirements for letters of credit
117 The requirements prescribed for a letter of credit under subsection 77(2) of the Act are as set out in Sections 118 to 124 and Schedule 2: Letters of Credit.
118 All employers who are required to make contributions to a defined benefit plan that is not a multi-employer pension plan are prescribed as employers which may provide a letter of credit to a prescribed entity in the circumstances described in subsection 77(1) of the Act.
Prescribed person or entity provided letter of credit
119 The trustee of a pension fund that is administered under a trust described in clause 46(1)(c) is prescribed as a person or entity to whom a letter of credit may be provided under subsection 77(1) of the Act by a prescribed employer.
120 [repealed]
Deadlines for providing letters of credit
121 (1) The prescribed periods for providing a letter of credit under subsection 77(5) of the Act are as follows:
(a) at least 15 days before the date that the first scheduled payment of the special payments the letter relates to is due;
(b) for a letter of credit that is amended, at least 15 days before the date that any amendment takes effect;
(c) subject to subsection (2), for a letter of credit that is being renewed, at least 15 days before the date that the letter of credit would have expired;
(d) for a letter of credit that is replacing a previous letter of credit, at least 15 days before the date that the previous letter of credit expires.
(2) If a letter of credit is being renewed, the employer may provide notice of the renewal to the trustee, and a copy of the notice to the issuer, at least 15 days before the date that the letter would have expired instead of providing the letter of credit in accordance with clause (1)(c).
(3) The notice to the Superintendent required by subsection 77(6) of the Act must be provided no later than 5 days after the administrator receives a copy of a letter of credit, amended letter of credit, replacement letter of credit or notice of renewal of a letter of credit and must include all of the following:
(a) a certified copy of the letter of credit, amended letter of credit, replacement letter of credit or notice of the renewal;
(b) a certificate indicating whether the letter of credit satisfies the requirements of the Act, these regulations and the federal Income Tax Act.
When trustee must demand payment of amount of letter of credit
122 (1) Each of the following is prescribed as a circumstance under which a trustee who holds a letter of credit in trust for a pension plan must demand payment of the amount of the letter of credit into the pension fund as required by subsection 77(8) of the Act:
(a) the letter of credit does not satisfy the requirements of the Act, these regulations or the federal Income Tax Act;
(b) the administrator gives written notice to the trustee under subsection 92(4) of the Act that the employer intends to wind-up the plan;
(c) the Superintendent issues an order under subsection 93(1) of the Act requiring the wind-up of the plan;
(d) the employer is subject to bankruptcy proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada);
(e) an application or petition has been filed under the Winding-up and Restructuring Act (Canada) by the employer or against the employer;
(f) the trustee is required to demand payment under the terms of an agreement under Section 9 of the Act between the Crown and a designated jurisdiction whose pension benefits legislation applies to the plan;
(g) the trustee is otherwise required to demand payment of the amount of the letter credit under the terms of the trust agreement related to the letter of credit.
(2) If an issuer of a letter of credit does not pay the amount of the letter of credit into a pension fund upon receiving the trustee’s demand, the employer must
(a) immediately pay an amount corresponding to the amount of the letter of credit into the pension fund; and
(b) give the Superintendent written notice that the issuer has not paid the amount of the letter of credit.
Notification by trustee if payment demanded under letter of credit
123 If a trustee demands payment of the amount of a letter of credit, the trustee must promptly notify all of the following:
(a) the administrator;
(b) the employer;
(c) the Superintendent.
Notification by trustee if issuer of letter of credit fails to pay on demand
124 If the issuer of a letter of credit does not pay the amount of the letter of credit after the trustee demands payment, the trustee must promptly notify all of the following:
(a) the administrator;
(b) the employer;
(c) the Superintendent.
Part 4: Membership, Benefits and Interest
Prescribed classes of employees
125 (1) The following are the prescribed classes of employees for the purposes of Section 45 of the Act:
(a) employees who are paid a salary;
(b) employees who are paid on an hourly basis;
(c) employees who are members of a trade union;
(d) employees who are not members of a trade union;
(e) supervisory employees;
(f) management employees;
(g) except as provided in subsection (3),
(i) executive employees,
(ii) employees who are officers of the employer,
(iii) employees who are connected with the employer within the meaning of section 8500(3) of the federal Income Tax Regulations;
(h) persons who fall within clause (c) or (d) and also any of clauses (a) or (b) or (e) to (g);
(i) employees who belong to an identifiable group of employees that the Superintendent considers acceptable.
(2) Different employers in a multi-employer pension plan may have different prescribed classes of employees covered by the plan for the purposes of Section 45 of the Act.
(3) A pension plan in which the only member is an individual employee who falls within a class described in clause (1)(g) is exempt from Section 45 of the Act, and the employee must be treated for the purposes of the Act and these regulations as not falling within that class.
Variations and Reductions for CPP, QPP and OAS
Variation of pension benefits for CPP or QPP entitlements
126 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), if a pension plan provides that a pension benefit may be varied as the result of the recipient’s entitlement to a retirement pension under the CPP or QPP without specifying the age at which the variation is to occur, the plan is deemed to provide that the variation occurs when the member turns 65 years old.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a pension plan that is amended on or after January 1, 1988, to establish a specific age or to provide for the occurrence of a specific event for variation of the pension benefit before the recipient turns 65 years old.
(3) A pension plan that provides that a pension benefit may be varied as the result of the recipient’s entitlement to a retirement pension under the CPP or QPP before turning 65 years old must take into account the adjustment made to the retirement pension under the CPP or the QPP.
Calculating reduction when integrating retirement benefits with CPP, QPP and OAS
127 The following formulas are prescribed for calculating the maximum amount by which a pension or deferred pension may be reduced under Section 73 of the Act in relation to benefits under the CPP, QPP or OAS:
(a) for a pension plan that reduces a deferred pension or pension to take into account the benefits payable from CPP or QPP, the maximum amount is calculated by the following formula:
maximum reduction = P × (Y ÷ 35)
in which
P = the amount of pension that would be payable to the person under the CPP or QPP, if the person had participated fully in the CPP or QPP, calculated
(i) as of the date the person’s employment or plan membership is terminated, and
(ii) as if the person had turned 65 years old on the date of termination
Y = the number of years, including parts of a year, of employment credited to the person under the plan, to a maximum of 35;
(b) for a pension plan that reduces a pension or deferred pension based on a person’s entitlement under the OAS in respect of a benefit accrued before January 1, 1988, the maximum amount is calculated by the following formula:
maximum reduction = P × (Y ÷ 35)
in which
P = the amount of pension payable under the OAS, calculated as of the date of the person’s employment or plan membership is terminated
Y = the number of years, including parts of a year, of employment credited to the person under the plan before January 1, 1988, to a maximum of 35 years.
Reduction of bridging benefits
128 (1) For the purposes of subsection 73(6) of the Act, a member’s, former member’s or retired member’s bridging benefit must not be reduced because the member, former member or retired member is eligible or entitled to receive reduced payments under the CPP, QPP or OAS before they turn 65 years old.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), if a pension plan provides for a bridging benefit without specifying the age at which the benefit is reduced or ceases, the plan is deemed to provide that the benefit is reduced or ceases when the member turns 65 years old.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a pension plan that is amended on or after January 1, 1988, to specify that the bridging benefit is reduced or ceases in any of the following circumstances:
(a) on the date the member, former member or retired member reaches a specified age that is younger than 65 years old.
(b) on the date that a specified event occurs.
Application for withdrawal from pension plan in circumstances of shortened life expectancy
129 (1) The circumstances of shortened life expectancy prescribed for the purposes of subsection 69(2) of the Act are that the former member has an illness or physical disability that is likely to shorten their life expectancy to less than 2 years.
(2) All of the following are prescribed as the conditions to be satisfied for a pension plan to be deemed to permit variation in the terms of payment of a deferred pension under subsection 69(2) of the Act:
(a) an application must be made to the administrator for withdrawing the commuted value of the former member’s deferred pension from the plan;
(b) the application must be signed by the former member and accompanied by all of the following documents:
(i) a statement signed by a physician that, in the physician’s opinion, the former member has an illness or physical disability that is likely to shorten their life expectancy to less than 2 years,
(ii) a declaration about a spouse in accordance with Section 214, with the following changes in detail:
(A) “owner” must be replaced with “former member”,
(B) “LIRA or LIF” must be replaced with “deferred pension”,
(C) “financial institution” must be replaced with “administrator”.
(3) When the administrator receives a document required by this Section, the administrator must give the former member a receipt for the document stating the date that it was received.
Deferred pension under pension plan insured by individual level-premium contracts issued before qualification date
130 Despite Section 52 or 53 of the Act, a deferred pension that is provided under a pension plan insured by individual level premium contracts may, for an individual level premium contract issued before the qualification date, be equal to the paid up annuity under the contract arising from contributions made with respect to employment on or after the qualification date if any special payments required with respect to the deferred pension insured by the contract have all been paid or will continue to be paid.
Portion of benefits attributable to employment after January 1, 1988—final average or best average earnings plans
131 For a pension plan that provides a pension benefit based on a member’s rate of remuneration on the date the member terminates employment, or based on an average of the member’s rates of remuneration over a specified or limited time period up to the date the member terminates employment, the portion of the member’s pension benefit attributable to employment after January 1, 1988, for the purposes of Section 55 of the Act, must be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
portion attributable = A - B
in which
A = the pension benefit
B = the pension benefit calculated in accordance with the terms of the plan at December 31, 1987, using the member’s rate of remuneration as of the date of termination of employment or the average of the member’s rates of remuneration over the specified or limited time period, as the case may be.
Exercising entitlement to pre-retirement death benefit under subsection 67(1) or (2) of Act
132 (1) To exercise their entitlement under 67(1) or (2) of the Act, a spouse must deliver a direction to the administrator no later than 90 days after the date they receive the death benefits statement referred to in Section 78.
(2) An administrator must comply with an election delivered under subsection (1) no later than 60 days after the date it is received.
Exemption from reduction in pre-retirement death benefit entitlement
133 Subsection 67(15) of the Act permitting reductions in pre-retirement death benefit entitlements does not apply to pension plans that provide defined contribution benefits.
Offset in relation to pre-retirement death benefits
134 (1) The amount of a group life insurance policy payment payable on the death of a member, former member or retired member, that is attributable to the amount paid by employer premiums under the policy is prescribed as an additional benefit, the amount of which may be used under subsection 67(15) of the Act to reduce a pre-retirement death benefit under that Section.
(2) A reduction made in relation to a group life insurance policy payment under subsection (1) must not be made unless the group life insurance policy provides for payment of the insurance payment to the spouse of a member, former member or retired member, if there is a spouse at the date of death, and the spouse has not waived the insurance payment.
(3) For the purposes of subsection 67(15) of the Act, the limit that a reduction made in relation to a group life insurance policy payment under subsection (1) must not exceed is
(a) the amount of the group life insurance payment multiplied by the ratio, averaged over a period of 5 years or less, of the employer-paid cost of the group life insurance policy to the total cost of the policy for the relevant class of employees, taking into account in both the numerator and the denominator the ratio of any experience or other refunds;
(b) for a pension plan that provides contributory benefits, an amount that reduces the pre-retirement death benefit entitlement under Section 67 of the Act to less than the aggregate of the member’s required employee contributions plus interest under that Section.
(4) When calculating a reduction made in relation to a group life insurance policy payment under subsection (1), the actuarial present value of the reduction must not exceed the amount of the payment under the group life insurance policy.
Commuted Value and Limits on Transfers
Commuted value of pension benefits and ancillary benefits for transfer
135 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3), the commuted value of a former member’s deferred pension for transfer under subsection 61(1) of the Act must not be less than the value determined in accordance with Section 3500 of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Standards of Practice.
(2) If the commuted value of a deferred pension is calculated on a basis that produces a commuted value higher than the minimum value calculated on the basis prescribed under subsection (1), an administrator must not make any transfer calculated on the higher basis until the administrator files a statement describing in detail the basis for calculating the commuted value.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a pension plan that is being wound up.
(4) Other than for the purposes of subsection 61(1) of the Act or Section 177, the commuted value of a pension, deferred pension or ancillary benefit must be calculated using methods and actuarial assumptions that are consistent with accepted actuarial practice.
Calculating portion of commuted value available for transfer
136 The portion of the commuted value of a deferred pension that may be transferred from a pension plan as of a given date must be calculated by multiplying the commuted value determined in accordance with subsection 135(1) or (2) by the lesser of the following:
(a) the most recently determined transfer ratio for the pension plan;
(b) one.
Limits on transferring commuted value of pension benefits
137 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Section or Section 139, and subject to subsection 61(11) of the Act, an administrator may transfer the commuted value of a pension, deferred pension or ancillary benefit in accordance with the following Sections only if the transfer ratio of the pension plan is equal to or greater than 1:
(a) Section 61 of the Act respecting the transfer of a former member’s deferred pension;
(b) Section 62 of the Act respecting the purchase of a pension, deferred pension or ancillary benefit from an insurance company;
(c) Section 67 of the Act respecting the payment of a pre-retirement death benefit;
(d) Section 74 of the Act respecting the division of a pension entitlement between spouses.
(2) Without the approval of the Superintendent under subsection 61(11) of the Act, which must be made prior to the transfer, a transfer of the commuted value of a pension benefit may not be made under Section 61 of the Act under any of the following circumstances:
(a) the transfer ratio of a pension plan is equal to or greater than 1 and the administrator knows or ought to know that events have taken place since the valuation date of the most recently filed or submitted valuation report for the plan that may result in the transfer ratio being reduced to a value less than 0.9;
(b) the transfer ratio of a pension plan is less than 1 and the administrator knows or ought to know that events have taken place since the valuation date of the most recently filed or submitted valuation report for the plan that may result in the transfer ratio being reduced by 10% or more of the most recently determined transfer ratio.
(3) Despite subsection (2), if the transfer ratio of a pension plan is less than 1, an administrator may transfer 100% of the commuted value of a pension, deferred pension or an ancillary benefit under the Act without the approval of the Superintendent if any of the following conditions are met:
(a) the administrator is satisfied that an amount equal to the transfer deficiency has been remitted to the pension fund;
(b) the aggregate of transfer deficiencies for all transfers made since the last review date does not exceed 5% of the assets of the plan at the time.
Balance of transfer if less than 100% of commuted value transferred
138 (1) If less than 100% of the commuted value of a pension, deferred pension or ancillary benefit is transferred out of a pension plan, the balance must be transferred by the administrator no later than 5 years after the date of the initial transfer.
(2) Interest accumulates on any balance to be transferred under subsection (1) at the same rate used to calculate the commuted value of the pension, deferred pension or ancillary benefit.
(3) Any transfer made under subsection (1) after the initial transfer must be made only if the conditions in clauses 137(3)(a) or (b) are met.
Exemptions to limits on transfers
139 Sections 136 to 138 do not apply to any transfers of the following:
(a) amounts transferred under a reciprocal transfer agreement that is filed;
(b) the commuted value of a joint and survivor pension payable under subsection 63(7) of the Act;
(c) the commuted value of a pension benefit payable under subsection 70(1) of the Act.
Benefits that result from voluntary contributions for past service
140 For the purposes of benefits excluded from the determination of the commuted value of a deferred pension or pension in respect of contributory benefits accrued after January 1, 1988, under Section 55 of the Act, “benefits that result from voluntary contributions for past service” in clause 55(8)(d) of the Act means benefits credited to a member as a result of the member’s election to make voluntary contributions in order to purchase pension benefits relating to a period of employment before the date that the member made the election.
Reciprocal transfer agreement—50% rule
141 The 50% limitation on the commuted value of a pension or deferred pension in subsection 55(3) of the Act does not apply to contributions for the purpose of calculating the commuted value for a transfer of money or credits from one pension plan to another plan in accordance with a reciprocal transfer agreement.
Entitlement to excess amount of commuted value of converted benefits
142 If an amendment to a pension plan with defined benefits converts them to defined contribution benefits, a member who elects to convert their defined benefits in accordance with the amendment is entitled to require the administrator to pay to the member that portion of the amount of the commuted value of the defined benefits that exceeds the amount prescribed in the federal Income Tax Regulations for converting defined benefits to defined contribution benefits.
Additional prescribed ancillary benefits
143 Any amounts paid to a retired member’s surviving spouse in excess of the amount required to be paid to the surviving spouse under subsection 63(3) of the Act are prescribed as ancillary benefits for purposes of Section 58 of the Act.
Bridging benefits not taken into account
144 A bridging benefit is not required to be taken into account when calculating any of the following:
(a) the amount of a joint and survivor pension under subsection 63(3) of the Act;
(b) the commuted value of a deferred pension or pension in relation to a pre-retirement death benefit under Section 67 of the Act.
Purchase of Annuity from Insurance Company
Definitions for Sections 144A to 144F
144A In Sections 144B to 144F,
“date of the purchase” means the date that a contract is entered into between the administrator of a pension plan and an insurance company for the purchase of an annuity;
“former member’s surviving spouse” means the surviving spouse of a former member if the intended purchase or purchase of an annuity relates to the deferred pension of the surviving spouse;
“notice of intended purchase” means a notice of an intended purchase of an annuity under subsection 62(2) of the Act, and “notice of an intended purchase” has a similar meaning;
“purchase of an annuity” means a purchase of an annuity from an insurance company under Section 62 of the Act in the form of a deferred pension or pension and any ancillary benefits or other benefits required or authorized by the Act, and “purchase of the annuity” has a similar meaning.
Notice of intended purchase of annuity
144B (1) In addition to the persons required to receive notice under subsection 62(1) of the Act a former member’s surviving spouse is entitled to receive notice of an intended purchase.
(2) All of the following information must be included in a notice of intended purchase to a former member or former member’s surviving spouse for whom an annuity is intended to be purchased:
(a) a statement that the administrator intends to purchase a deferred pension and, if applicable, ancillary benefits or other benefits required or authorized by the Act, from an insurance company, for the former member or the former member’s surviving spouse, in the form of an annuity;
(b) a statement that the deferred pension and any ancillary benefits or other benefits required or authorized by the Act that are intended to be purchased are the same as the deferred pension and any ancillary benefits or other benefits that the former member or the former member’s surviving spouse would receive from the pension plan if the intended purchase of an annuity is not made;
(c) the date that the contract for the purchase of an annuity is expected to take effect;
(d) the amount of pension benefits and details about the ancillary benefits or other benefits required or authorized by the Act to which the former member or the former member’s surviving spouse would be entitled on early, normal and postponed dates for starting payment of benefits, once the purchase is made;
(e) a statement that the administrator must provide the former member or the former member’s surviving spouse with all of the following information after the date of the purchase:
(i) the name and contact information of the insurance company,
(ii) the insurance company’s group policy number and the certificate number issued by the insurance company that confirms the purchase of the annuity;
(f) a statement that, after the purchase of an annuity, the administrator intends to file a certificate with the Superintendent, prepared and signed by an actuary, that the administrator has complied with subsections 62(3) and (4) of the Act in respect of the purchase;
(g) a statement that if the administrator is discharged under Section 62 of the Act, the former member is no longer a former member under the Act for any purpose and the former member’s surviving spouse no longer has an entitlement to any payments from the pension plan, except as provided in clause (h);
(h) if, as at the date of the purchase, the former member or former member’s surviving spouse would be entitled to payment of surplus on wind-up of the plan, a statement that if the pension plan is wound up during the first 3 years immediately after the date of purchase, the former member or the surviving spouse of the former member would be entitled to participate in the allocation of any surplus of the pension plan, at the time, in accordance with the Act and the regulations.
(3) All of the information required to be provided to a former member or a former member’s surviving spouse under subsection (2) must be included in a notice of intended purchase to a retired member or a person, other than a retired member, who is receiving a pension under the pension plan for whom an annuity is intended to be purchased with any necessary changes, including all of the following:
(a) a reference to “former member” must be read as “retired member”;
(b) a reference to “former member’s surviving spouse” must be read as “a person, other than a retired member, who is receiving a pension under the pension plan”;
(c) a reference to “deferred pension” must be read as “pension”.
Prescribed requirements for contract
144C For the purposes of clause 62(4)(b) of the Act, it is a prescribed requirement that a contract to purchase an annuity include provision for all of the following:
(a) that no money payable under the contract will be assigned, charged, anticipated or given as security except as permitted either by
(i) an order made under Section 74 of the Act for the division of a pension entitlement on the breakdown of a spousal relationship, or
(ii) under a domestic contract;
(b) that a transaction that contravenes the prohibition in clause (a) is void;
(c) that the division of a pension entitlement under Section 74 of the Act, whether by an order of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia or under a domestic contract, is not effective to the extent that it purports to entitle a spouse or former spouse of the former member or retired member to a share that exceeds 50% of the payments under the contract determined as of the separation date;
(d) that if the former member has a spouse at the time payments begin, the pension paid will be in the form of a joint and survivor pension in accordance with Section 63 of the Act, unless the circumstances in subsection 63(4) of the Act apply and the spouse provides a waiver as set out in that subsection;
(e) that on the death of the former member before payment of the first instalment of their deferred pension or pension is due, the deferred pension must be administered in accordance with Section 67 of the Act;
(f) that the insurance company must provide a certificate confirming the purchase to the person for whom the purchase was made.
Prescribed requirements for purchase
144D For the purposes of clause 62(4)(c) of the Act, all of the following are prescribed requirements for the purchase of an annuity:
(a) on the day after the date of the purchase, the solvency ratio of the pension plan must be at least the following:
(i) 1.0, if the pension plan’s solvency ratio as set out in the valuation report most recently filed or submitted for the plan before the date of the purchase was at least 1.0, or
(ii) equal to the greater of the following, if the pension plan’s solvency ratio as set out in the valuation report most recently filed or submitted for the plan before the date of the purchase is less than 1.0:
(A) 0.85,
(B) the solvency ratio as set out in the valuation report;
(b) if the pension plan’s solvency ratio on the day after the date of the purchase is less than the solvency ratio required by clause (a), the employer must pay an amount into the pension fund, no later than 90 days after the date of the purchase, that is sufficient to raise the solvency ratio so that it meets the requirements of clause (a);
(c) for a new actuarial certificate required by subsection 62A(3) of the Act, on the date that any amendments to the original contract or a new contract for the purchase of an annuity takes effect, the solvency ratio of the pension plan must be at least equal to or greater than 0.85.
Record of purchase kept by administrator
144E An administrator must keep a record of a purchase of an annuity that includes all of the following information and documents:
(a) the date of the purchase;
(b) the name and address of the insurance company;
(c) a copy of the contract for the purchase of an annuity;
(d) the name and address, or last known address, of the person entitled to receive a notice of intended purchase under subsection 62(2) of the Act, including any former member’s surviving spouse;
(e) for a purchase for a former member or former member’s surviving spouse, any records necessary to determine the former member’s deferred pension and any ancillary benefits or other benefits required or authorized by the Act;
(f) for a purchase for a retired member or other person receiving a pension, any records necessary to determine the retired member’s pension and any ancillary benefits or other benefits required or authorized by the Act;
(g) if a spouse of a retired member is receiving a specified amount or a portion of the pension instalment otherwise payable to the retired member in accordance with a division of pension entitlement between spouses under Section 74 of the Act and these regulations, any records necessary to determine the amount or portion of the pension instalment payable to the spouse.
Notice required on filing actuarial certificate for discharge of administrator
144F An administrator who files an actuarial certificate required by subsection 62(5) of the Act for the administrator to be discharged must provide each person entitled to notice of an intended purchase under the Act and these regulations with an updated notice setting out all of the following information:
(a) that a purchase of an annuity has been made and the date of the purchase;
(b) the name and contact information of the insurance company;
(c) the insurance company’s group policy number and the certificate number issued by the insurance company that confirms the purchase of the annuity;
(d) that the actuarial certificate required by subsection 62(5) of the Act has been filed with the Superintendent and the date it was filed.
Notice required on filing new actuarial certificate for discharge of administrator
144G (1) An administrator who was deemed not to be discharged under Section 62A of the Act and who intends to file a new actuarial certificate as required by subsection 62A(3) of the Act for the administrator to be discharged must provide each person entitled to notice of intended purchase under the Act and these regulations, including any person who has become entitled to notice since the original purchase of an annuity was made, with an updated notice that, in the actuary’s opinion, as a result of adjustments made to the original purchase, the administrator has complied with subsections 62(3) and (4) of the Act.
(2) An administrator referred to in subsection (1) who files a new actuarial certificate required by subsection 62A(3) of the Act for the administrator to be discharged must provide each person entitled to notice of intended purchase under the Act and these regulations, including any person who has become entitled to notice since the original purchase of an annuity was made, with an updated notice setting out all of the following information:
(a) that as a result of adjustments made to the original purchase, a new or amended contract has been entered into with the insurance company and the new date of the purchase;
(b) that a new actuarial certificate has been filed with the Superintendent and the date it was filed;
(c) the name and contact information of the insurance company;
(d) the insurance company’s group policy number and the certificate number issued by the insurance company that confirms the purchase of an annuity.
Definition of phased retirement option
145 In Sections 146 and 147,
“phased retirement option” means a phased retirement option under Section 51 of the Act for a pension plan that provides defined benefits.
Application for phased retirement option
146 (1) The prescribed time period for an administrator to provide information about any phased retirement option as required by subsection 51(12) of the Act is no later than 30 days after the date the information is requested.
(2) In addition to the requirements in Section 51 of the Act, an application by a member to participate in a phased retirement option must be made in writing, signed and dated by the applicant, and delivered to the administrator, and must include all of the following:
(a) the information in clauses 74(2)(a), (b) and (c), and clause 51(2)(e) of the Act;
(b) confirmation that the written agreement entered into between the member and their employer under clause 51(2)(c) of the Act governing the employment arrangements relating to the phased retirement option for the member and governing payments under the phased retirement option satisfies the requirements of these regulations and of subsection 8503(19) of the federal Income Tax Regulations; and
(c) a copy of the written agreement entered into between the member and their employer under clause 51(2)(c) of the Act.
(3) The prescribed time period for an administrator to approve an application under subsection 51(3) of the Act that satisfies the requirements of the Act and these regulations is no later than 60 days after the date they receive the application.
Participation in phased retirement option
147 (1) The circumstances to which subsection 8503(19) of the federal Income Tax Regulations applies are prescribed as the manner in which a member continues to accrue benefits during participation in a phased retirement option for purposes of subsection 51(5) of the Act.
(2) When payments under a phased retirement option begin, a member’s regular hours of work may not be reduced by more than the number of hours determined in accordance with the following formula:
maximum reduction = A - B
in which
A = the number of regular hours or work the member was working immediately before entering into a written agreement referred to in clause 51(2)(c) of the Act
B = the number of hours of work represented by the maximum amounts payable to the member as phased retirement benefits under the federal Income Tax Regulations.
(3) If a member’s participation in a phased retirement option is deemed to have ended under subsection 51(10) of the Act because the member dies, the member is deemed to have retired immediately before the date of death for purposes of a joint and survivor pension under Section 63 of the Act, and that Section applies when determining any pension entitlement of a surviving spouse or other beneficiary.
Definitions for Sections 149 to 151
148 In this Section and Sections 149 to 151,
“defined contribution account” of a member or former member means the portion of their pension benefit that is attributable to a pension plan’s defined contribution provisions and that has not been transferred or credited to their variable benefits account;
“specified beneficiary” means an individual who is a specified beneficiary under subsection 8506(8) of the federal Income Tax Regulations in relation to a member or former member under their pension plan’s defined contribution provisions;
“variable benefits account” of a member or a former member means an account established under a pension plan’s defined contribution provisions to be used for providing variable benefits to the member or former member for whom it is established, or to their beneficiary;
“variable benefits participant” for a variable benefits account, means
(i) the member or former member for whom the account is established, or
(ii) after the member’s or former member’s death, any specified beneficiary in whose name the pension plan permits the variable benefits account to continue;
“variable pension benefits” means pension benefits that are provided for by a pension plan with defined contribution provisions that provide for the payment of variable benefits referred to in clause 8506(1)(e.1) of the federal Income Tax Regulations.
Pension plan provisions for variable pension benefits
149 (1) A pension plan that provides for variable pension benefits, in accordance with Section 56 of the Act, must include all of the following provisions:
(a) all or any part of a member’s defined contribution account may be transferred to their variable benefits account, in accordance with Sections 150 and 151 and the provisions of the plan;
(b) only a member or former member who has reached the early retirement age under the plan’s defined contribution provisions may elect to transfer their defined contribution account to a variable benefits account;
(c) if a member or former member has a spouse, none of the member’s or former member’s defined contribution account may be transferred to their variable benefits account unless their spouse has consented to the transfer in accordance with subsection 150(2);
(d) a variable benefits participant is deemed not to have started receiving a pension with respect to any amount in the defined contribution account that is not transferred to the variable benefits account;
(e) in accordance with Section 87 of the Act, the balance in a member’s or former member’s variable benefits account must be administered as locked-in money under the Act before and after the money is transferred and until it is paid out in accordance with the Act and these regulations;
(f) the variable pension benefits payable to a member or former member for a calendar year must not be
(i) less than the minimum amount determined for the year under subsection 8506(5) of the federal Income Tax Regulations,
(ii) more than the maximum amount determined for the year under the plan’s provisions for determining the maximum amount in accordance with Section 151;
(g) no later than 60 days after the date the variable benefits participant receives the annual statement required by Section 75, the participant may notify the administrator in writing of the amounts to be paid as variable pension benefits, and the frequency and method of payment to be made
(i) during the current year, or
(ii) if the rate of return for the participant’s variable benefits account is guaranteed by the plan for longer than 1 year, during any period within the period that it is guaranteed for;
(h) subject to the minimum and maximum referred to in clause (f), the variable benefits participant may notify the administrator in writing at any time of an increase or decrease in the amounts to be paid as variable pension benefits in the year;
(i) the amounts to be paid and the frequency and method of payment will be as set out in the latest annual statement provided to the variable benefits participant under Section 75 if the administrator is not notified of the amounts and frequency as permitted by clause (g);
(j) subject to subsection (2), after the death of the member or former member, the balance of the variable benefits account must be paid to any person to whom pre-retirement death benefits are to be paid under Section 67 of the Act, and in the manner in which the pre-retirement death benefits are to be paid under that Section;
(k) the spouse of the variable benefits participant may waive the spouse’s entitlement under clause (j) to the balance of the variable benefits account, in accordance with Section 68 of the Act;
(l) a transfer from a variable benefits account may be made at any time;
(m) a variable benefits participant may only transfer all or any part of the balance of their variable benefits account in accordance with the requirements for transferring the commuted value of a deferred pension under Section 61 of the Act and subject to the federal Income Tax Act;
(n) a variable benefits participant who transfers any or all of the balance of the variable benefits account is entitled to the same rights under Section 61 of the Act as a former member who has terminated employment and, for that purpose, subsection 61(4) of the Act does not apply to the transfer.
(2) A pension plan may provide for a deceased member’s or former member’s variable benefits pension to continue to be paid after their death to their surviving spouse, if the spouse meets all of the following:
(a) the spouse is a specified beneficiary of the deceased member or former member;
(b) the spouse elects to continue receiving the variable pension benefits instead of requiring the benefits to be paid or transferred as provided for in the plan.
Additional transfers to, and transfer from, variable benefits account
150 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a pension plan that provides for variable pension benefits may provide that a member or former member may transfer any of the following amounts or assets to their variable benefits account, to the extent permitted by or under the federal Income Tax Act:
(a) any amount transferred as a former member under clause 61(1)(a) of the Act;
(b) any amount transferred because of a division between spouses of any pension entitlement under Section 74 of the Act;