The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued its Intervention Guide for Federally Regulated Private Pension Plans.
This is the first time the regulator has issued such guidelines. An organization representative confirmed that the guide “is a result of revisions made to the supervisory framework made in 2009.”
The guide outlines the interventions administrators can expect from OSFI and summarizes the circumstances under which interventions may be taken. The objective is to promote awareness and enhance transparency of the intervention process used by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) for federally regulated private pension plans.
“The Guidelines are a very positive and useful tool for proactive regulatory oversight of registered pension plans,” says pension consultant, Greg Hurst.
“In today’s economic environment, defined benefit plans in particular are very vulnerable to risks that are factored within the Guidelines,” he adds.
Hurst doesn’t expect the guidelines will significantly impact plan sponsors. However, he does add, “Federally regulated pension plans tend to be operated by large and reasonably stable organizations. If most provincial pension standards regulators were to adopt the rigour of OSFI’s approach, it is possible that we might see noticeably more regulatory intervention, which could present challenges for some plan sponsors, particularly if they are financially troubled.”