Pension plan administrators’ overall satisfaction with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is on the rise, according to a new survey.
The survey, commissioned by OSFI and conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc., sought perspectives on the regulator, including the usefulness of its guidance, its effectiveness at identifying problems with pension plans, the clarity of its supervisory correspondence and its success at communicating with pension plan administrators. It found satisfaction rose to 71 per cent this year from 66 per cent in 2014.
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The majority of survey participants offered positive assessments of OFSI’s guidance materials, ability to supervise plans and response time to inquiries. Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of plan administrators said the regulator is effective at providing a clear indication of its expectations. In addition, 81 per cent said that it’s effective in supervising their plans and expressed satisfaction with the timeliness of OSFI’s responses to inquiries.
When it comes to the content offered by the organization, 86 per cent of plan administrators who read or reviewed an edition of its electronic newsletter rated the material as useful. The same percentage rated the information on OSFI’s website as useful.
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of plan administrators indicated they’re aware of the guidance materials published by OSFI, which is in line with the 2014 survey, when 77 per cent of respondents said so. Seventy-one per cent agreed they know where to find the guidance material, which was down from 75 per cent in 2014.
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About two-thirds (67 per cent) of plan administrators said OSFI is doing a good or very good job of providing an opportunity for their plan to discuss issues of concern before it comes to its own conclusions. The figure was a slight increase from 63 per cent in 2014.
While most of the survey’s respondents were positive about their experiences with OSFI, plan administrators weren’t as happy with the organization’s regulatory reporting system process and website, with 55 per cent noting they have difficulty using it.