The federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has introduced several new disclosure amendments for the pension plans it regulates that will come into effect on July 1.
Both defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds will now have to provide annual statements to former plan members and their spouses or common-law partners. They’ll also have to give notice of plan termination to members, former members and their partners within 30 days of the termination date. They’ll have 120 days from that date to provide recipients with detailed benefit statements.
Read: Disclosure vs. communication: More than just semantics
Defined benefit plans will have to include more details on their solvency position in their annual member statements. They’ll also have to disclose to members the number of employer payments made to the plan for the year.
Defined contribution plans in which members make investment choices will have to provide members with specified investment information, such as the degrees of risk associated with the, the performance history and the benchmark that best reflects the composition.
Read: Why you need a benefits communication policy
Plans in which administrators make all investment decisions will have to share with members their 10 largest asset holdings and their target asset allocations.
Negotiated contribution plans will have to explain that contributions are limited and may lead to a reduction in accrued benefits if the negotiated contributions don’t meet prescribed solvency standards.