Ontario passes budget measures amending pension, PRPP acts

The Ontario government passed its 2018 budget measures on Tuesday, including amendments to the Pension Benefits Act and the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act.

The amendments to the Pension Benefits Act include removing the requirements related to age and years of employment or membership under the province’s pension benefits guarantee fund for plan windups on or after May 19, 2017. As well, it increases the fund’s maximum monthly guarantee to $1,500 from $1,000 per month for plans with a windup date on or after that date.

Read: Disclosable event regime, Sears measures among pension changes in Ontario budget

The budget measures also amend the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act to streamline the way organizations enter or amend a multilateral agreement, harmonizing Ontario’s process with the federal government’s pooled registered pension plan process.

It also includes an amendment to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario Act, which allows the minister of finance to transfer functions and other duties of the superintendent of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario to the chief executive officer of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.

Read: Ontario’s new pension regulator appoints inaugural CEO