© Copyright 2006 Rogers Publishing Ltd. The following article first appeared in the December 2005 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
Fact Check: Making a list…and checking it twice
 
Test your knowledge of the CAP guidelines.
 
By Anna Sharratt

With the ghost of compliance present set to visit on Dec. 31, 2006, plan sponsors only have one more month before the Guidelines for Capital Accumulation Plans(CAPs) kick in. And if your list is still long, now is the time to start crossing off duties. Take BENEFITS CANADA’s CAP Compliance quiz and see if 2006 will be full of good tidings.

1. True of false: Service providers engaged by the plan sponsor are exempt from the guidelines: it is the sole responsibility of the plan sponsor to uphold them.

2. True of false: CAP members’ responsibility is restricted to making decisions about the amount they should contribute to the plan.

3. How often should plan sponsors review their investment options, according to the guidelines?

4. True of false: The investment choices made by plan sponsors are solely correlated to the product offerings of a given provider.

5. Which of the following should plan member statements include:
a) summary of statements
b) investment activity
c) investment funds
d) summary of transactions
e) retirement projections
f) how to get specific information on investment options, fees and expenses
g) all of the above

6. True of false: If investment funds are offered in a CAP that is a registered pension plan, the funds must comply with the investment rules under applicable pension benefits standards legislation.

7. Can CAP sponsors restrict the number of transfers of investment options a plan member can make?

8. Which of the following items are examples of investment information that CAP sponsors should offer members?
a) information about investing in different types of securities
b) performance reports for any investment funds offered in the CAP
c) how the different investment managers rank
d) glossaries explaining the terms used in the investment industry