The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has published its Information Technology (IT) Risk Management Guidance (the Guidance), with an effective date of April 1, 2024. The Guidance will apply to administrators of all pension plans registered in Ontario (as well as other sectors regulated by FSRA). Pension plan administrators and sponsors should consider whether their organization’s IT risk management practices and preparedness align with the Guidance, particularly those elements of the Guidance that create compliance obligations. Summary Practices for managing IT risks T ..read more

On February 13, 2023 the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) and the Generation Foundation, released the Canada Legal Framework for Impact policy report (the Canadian LFI Report). The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. Supported by the United Nations, it works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investm ..read more

According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report, the science is now settled that human behaviour is the cause of climate change and it will have profound effects on our economy and natural world. In this episode of Osler’s ESG Explorer Podcast, Andrea Boctor, partner and Chair of the Pensions and Benefits group, discusses with Ecojustice lawyer Andhra Azevedo about how pension plan administrators’ fiduciary duty likely requires them to understand, assess,  and manage climate-related risks ..read more

On June 9, 2022, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) released for consultation a draft guideline titled CAPSA Guideline: Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations in Pension Plan Management (the Draft Guidelines).[1] The Draft Guidelines outline how pension administrators may consider some environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions, but clarify that administrators cannot adopt a wholesale ESG focus in their main investment funds. The Draft Guidelines provide a general overview of how pension administrator ..read more

With rising interest rates, companies with defined benefit (DB) pension plans may find themselves in the enviable position of having a large pension surplus. The reason for this, in short, is that DB pension plans have spent the past decade working to offset the impact of low interest rates. Lower interest rates lead DB pension plans to require greater up-front contributions to meet long-term obligations. Now that interest rates are increasing, this means that the DB pension liabilities would also decrease and may lead to an unexpected pension surplus. It is estimated that if long-term bond y ..read more

Background context: What is TCFD? On December 4, 2015, the Financial Stability Board (FSB)[1] established the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The TCFD was asked to develop recommendations for voluntary, consistent climate-related financial disclosures for use by companies in providing information to stakeholders, including lenders, insurers and investors (the Recommendations). The recommendations were published in the TCFD Recommendations Report on June 29, 2017. While the Recommendations do not have the force of law in Canada, support for the TCFD has increased ra ..read more

With current market conditions and a low interest rate environment creating sustainability-related concerns for sponsors of defined benefit (“DB”) pension plans, the “de-risking” of pension plans has been top of mind for many pension plan sponsors. For public sector pension plans sponsored by a single employer (and other prescribed plans) in Ontario, there is an opportunity to reduce cash flow and balance sheet volatility in respect of DB pension liabilities through converting into a jointly sponsored pension plan (a “JSPP”). On July 1, 2020, the  Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (th ..read more

On February 14, 2022, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) proposed guidance on: the acceptable valuation dates for actuarial valuation reports used to calculate a Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF) assessment; and the deadlines for PBGF assessments and assessment certificates in the normal course and on wind up of a pension plan (the Guidance). This will be an “Interpretation” level of guidance, which means it sets out FSRA’s view of legislative and regulatory requirements and is an indication of its expectations around compliance for Ontario-registered pension ..read more

On February 4, 2022, the Department of Finance released for public comment a set of draft legislative proposals to implement previously announced tax measures. You can read Osler’s comprehensive overview  of the proposed tax changes. In the pension context, the most important announcement relates to pension plan administrators (administrators) being able to correct contribution errors relating to defined contribution registered pension plans (DC RPPs). Section 147.1 of the Income Tax Act (the ITA) sets out rules relating to the registration, amendment, administration and revocation of re ..read more

On September 21, 2020, Ontario Regulation 520/20 (the “Amending Regulation”) which amends Regulation 909 under the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario) (the “PBA”) came into force. The Amending Regulation provides temporary relief from pension funding obligations to employers of certain Ontario-registered defined benefit plans in two respects, as discussed below. Extension to make Catch-up Contributions The Amending Regulation provides employers of Ontario-registered defined benefit plans with a temporary extension of time to make contributions that are due under a valuation report (“Catch-up Contr ..read more