The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is lifting the temporary freeze on portability transfers for private pension plans. The move reverses the OSFI’s response in March to market volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which froze portability transfers and annuity purchases from defined benefit pension plans. The restrictions are no longer needed, it noted in a […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is set to restart its policy development work this fall. The OSFI suspended consultations and policy development as part of its measures to reduce operational stress on institutions during the pandemic. As Canada begins to take steps towards reopening and recovery, the OSFI plans to ramp up […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is relaxing its freeze on portability transfers to automatically permit pension plan members who are eligible for early retirement to transfer their commuted values to locked-in savings vehicles, subject to certain conditions. At the end of March, the OSFI introduced a temporary freeze on portability transfers, meaning […]
With coronavirus causing market volatility and an increase in the size of solvency liabilities, pension plans are feeling the impact. One potential way for plan sponsors to ease the pain is by performing an early actuarial valuation to capture year-end 2019 numbers. Most Canadian jurisdictions require plans to file valuations every three years, however a […]
An important case around an employer’s ability to change its practice in granting consent benefits under a pension plan is winding its way through the courts. The case, Hall et al v Canadian National Railway, involves a dispute by a group of former employees of the Canadian National Railway Co. who resigned, prior to age 55, between the years […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is introducing regulations amending the assessment of pension plans on April 1, 2019. The amendments aim to streamline the process and eliminate assessments for certain terminated pension plans, noted a release from the OSFI. In July 2018, it consulted with plan administrators about the proposed amendments, with no concerns or objections […]
The total number of active registered pension plan members in Canada rose nine per cent between 2006 and 2016, from 5.8 million to 6.3 million, according to a new notice from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The percentage of active registered members participating in a contributory plan also increased during this period, rising from […]
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 […]
OSFI fact sheet shows slowing pace of longevity gains
Best practices for federally-regulated pension funds.