Part 6
Miscellaneous
81 Effect
of plan amendment
82 Transfer
of assets
83 Surplus
and excess assets
84 Return
of contributions
85 Prohibition
and effect of assignment, etc.
85 Prohibition against assignment, etc.
85.1 Exemption from
attachment, etc.
85.2 Nullity of
certain agreements, etc.
85.3 Income and
asset testing under other legislation
86 Evidence
of entitlement to benefit
87 Regulations
88 Service
of documents
89 Proof
of date of service
90 Inspection
and production of documents and
oral interviews
91 Civil
enforcement
92 Offences
and penalties
93 Limitation
period for prosecution
94 Transitional
HER MAJESTY, by and with
the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as
follows:
Interpretation
1(1) In this Act,
(a) “additional
voluntary contributions” means contributions made by a member to a pension plan
that are additional to member required contributions, except optional ancillary
contributions and contributions whose payment, under the terms of the plan,
imposes on the employer an obligation to make concurrent additional
contributions, and includes compounded interest on those additional voluntary
contributions and, where any such money has been transferred from the plan,
compounded interest on any such money;
(b) “administrator”
means
(i) subject to subclause (ii), in relation to
(A) a specified multi‑employer plan, the
body referred to in section 10(1),
(B) a multi‑unit plan, the body referred
to in section 11(1), or
(C) any other plan, the board of trustees
referred to in section 12 or, if there is no such board, the employer,
or
(ii) where a person has been appointed administrator of a plan by the
Superintendent under section 12.1(1) or 78(1) or (2), that person;
(c) “ancillary
benefit” means a benefit of a kind provided pursuant to any clause of section
42(1);
(d) “assets”,
in relation to a pension plan, includes its surplus assets or excess assets, as
the case may be;
(e) “benefit”
means a pension or any other benefit under a pension plan, and includes a
return of contributions to or in respect of a member or former member, any
payment in a series of payments that constitutes a benefit and future
entitlements to any such benefit, but does not include a refund of surplus
assets;
(e.1) “bridging
benefits” means a series of periodic payments that are additional to a pension
and
(i) are provided to a former member who commenced a pension before
attaining the age of 65 years, and
(ii) are payable until and only until that age is attained;
(f) “certified
copy” means, in relation to a document, a copy of the document certified to be
a true copy by a person authorized so to certify it;
(g) “collective
agreement” has the meaning assigned to it by the Labour Relations Code;
(h) “commuted
value” means, in relation to benefits that a person has a present or future
entitlement to receive
(i) under a defined benefit provision, the actuarial present value of
those benefits determined, as of the time in question,
(A) on the basis of actuarial assumptions and
methods that are adequate and appropriate and in accordance with generally
accepted actuarial principles,
(B) in accordance with the conditions, if any,
that are prescribed, and
(C) in a manner that is acceptable to the
Superintendent,
or the money
representing that value, or
(ii) under a defined contribution provision, a locked‑in
retirement account or a retirement income arrangement, the money representing
the value of the person’s account as of the time in question;
(i) “Court”
means the Court of Queen’s Bench;
(i.1) “custodian”
means, subject to subsection (1.1), a financial institution to the extent that
it is lawfully acting under an agreement with an administrator or fund holder
or both that
(i) delegates to it the holding of the pension fund on behalf of the
fund holder and in trust for the members and former members, whether or not the
agreement allows any further subdelegation by the financial institution of the
holding to subcustodians, and
(ii) does not, by virtue of any such subdelegation, purport to relieve
that financial institution of any obligation or duty imposed on it as the
custodian by law or equity;
(j) “defined
benefit provision” means a provision of a pension plan under which benefits are
determined in any way other than that described in clause (k);
(k) “defined
contribution provision” means a provision of a pension plan under which
benefits are determined solely by reference to what is provided by
(i) contributions made on a member’s behalf by the member’s employer
and member required contributions, and
(ii) interest and any other amounts applied in respect of a member or
former member;
(l) “designated
jurisdiction” means a jurisdiction referred to in any clause of subsection
(1.2);
(l.1) “designation
of beneficiary” means a designation pursuant to section 47 of the Trustee
Act of a person to receive a benefit payable under a pension scheme on the
death of a participant, within the meaning of that section, of that scheme, and
“designated beneficiary” shall be construed accordingly;
(l.2) “disability
benefits” means a series of periodic payments provided to a former member who
has become totally or partially disabled prior to attaining pensionable age;
(m) “employee”
means an individual who is employed to do work or provide a service in Alberta
or in a designated jurisdiction and is in receipt of or entitled to
remuneration for the work or service;
(n) “employer”
means the person or the organization, whether incorporated or not, from whom a
person employed by the first mentioned person or by that organization receives
remuneration, and includes any or all of the participating employers of a specified
multi‑employer plan or, if the plan so provides, a multi‑unit plan
in whose employment that person has been;
(o) “employment”
means
(i) in relation to a specified multi‑employer plan, an
employee’s employment with an employer
(A) for which the employer is contractually
required to make contributions to that plan on the employee’s behalf, or
(B) in respect of which benefits are otherwise
provided under the plan,
and
(ii) in any other case or, notwithstanding subclause (i), where the
Superintendent gives the Superintendent’s approval under section 31(4) in
respect of a specified multi‑employer plan, an employee’s employment with
the employer;
(p) “excess
assets” means, with respect to the prescribed assets and liabilities of a
pension plan that is not being wound up, the amount, if any, by which those
assets exceed those liabilities;
(q) “excess
contributions” means the excess, if any, of the value of a member’s
contributions made in respect of a plan’s defined benefit provisions in the
relevant period, with interest, over 1/2 of the commuted value of the pension
accruing from those provisions in respect of membership in that period;
(q.1) “file”,
used with reference to the filing of a matrimonial property order or agreement
with a plan’s administrator, means file under section 69.1;
(r) “former
Act” means the Pension Benefits Act,
RSA 1980 cP‑3;
(s) “former
member” means, in relation to a pension plan, an employee or former employee
who has terminated membership or commenced a pension or whose plan has been
terminated, and who retains a present or future entitlement to receive a
benefit under the plan;
(t) “fund
holder” means the person or combination of persons referred to in section
49(1);
(t.1) “included
employment” means included employment within the meaning of and regulated by
the Pension Benefits Standards Act
(Canada);
(u) “initial
qualification date” means
(i) in respect of employment in Alberta, January 1, 1967, and
(ii) in respect of employment in a designated jurisdiction, the date
provided for in the respective clause of subsection (1.2);
(v) “insurance
business” means a corporation authorized to carry on life insurance business in
Canada;
(w) “interest”
means interest, gains and losses provided for under section 36(1) to (5);
(x) “locked‑in
retirement account” means an RRSP that meets the prescribed conditions;
(x.1) “matrimonial
property agreement” means a written agreement that provides for the division
and distribution of a benefit and that meets the requirements of section 37,
including being enforceable under section 38, of the Matrimonial Property Act;
(x.2) “matrimonial
property order” means a matrimonial property order within the meaning of the Matrimonial
Property Act, or a similar order enforceable in Alberta of a court outside
Alberta, that affects the division and distribution of a benefit;
(y) “member”
means, in relation to a pension plan that has not been terminated, an employee
or former employee who has made or is required to make contributions to the
plan or on whose behalf the employer is or was required by the plan to make
contributions to it and who has not terminated membership or commenced a
pension;
(y.1) “member
required contributions” means contributions by a member that the member was or
is required to make to attain a benefit and whose payment, under the terms of
the plan, imposes on the employer an obligation to make concurrent
contributions;
(y.2) “member‑pension
partner” means, in relation to the pension plan in question, the pension
partner who is or was the member in question, and “non‑member‑pension
partner” means the other pension partner;
(y.3) “money”,
where appropriate, includes other assets;
(z) “multi‑unit
plan” means a pension plan administered for employees of 2 or more employers and
designated by the Superintendent as a multi‑unit plan;
(aa) “non‑administrator
employer” means an employer who is not an administrator;
(aa.1) “optional
ancillary benefits” means the ancillary benefits referred to in clause (bb);
(bb) “optional
ancillary contributions” means contributions made voluntarily by a member under
a defined benefit provision that are additional to member required
contributions and as a consequence of which ancillary benefits selected for
provision under the plan must be provided with respect to the member, and
includes compounded interest on those contributions and, where any such money
has been transferred from the plan, compounded interest on any such money;
(bb.1) “other
plan documents” or “another plan document” means, in relation to a pension
plan, the documents or a document referred to in section 19(1)(a)(ii), (iii)
and (iv) or any of them, as the case may be;
(cc) “participating
employer” means,
(i) in relation to a specified multi‑employer plan, an employer
who is required under a collective agreement or participation agreement, or
(ii) in relation to a multi‑unit plan, an employer who is
required under a participation agreement referred to in section 11(2),
to make contributions to
that plan;
(cc.1) “participation
agreement” means, in relation to a specified multi‑employer plan or
a multi‑unit plan, an agreement between an employer or employers on the
one hand and the administrator on the other that meets the prescribed
conditions;
(dd) “pension”
means a benefit in the form of a series of payments that continues for the life
of a former member, whether or not it is afterwards continued to any other
person, and includes future entitlements to any such payments, but does not
include ancillary benefits unless they become part of a pension as a result of
the application of section 42(2);
(ee) “pension
commencement” means the time by reference to which a person commences to
receive a pension under a pension plan;
(ff) “pension
fund” means the assets of a pension plan;
(ff.1) “pension
partner” means, in relation to another person,
(i) a person who, at the relevant time, was married to that other
person and had not been living separate and apart from that other person for 3
or more consecutive years, or
(ii) if there is no person to whom subclause (i) applies, a person
who, immediately preceding the relevant time, had lived with that other person
in a conjugal relationship
(A) for a continuous period of at least 3 years,
or
(B) of some permanence, if there is a child of
the relationship by birth or adoption;
(gg) “pension
plan” or “plan” means a plan, scheme or arrangement organized and administered
to provide pensions for employees and former employees and under which, except
in the case of a supplemental pension plan, the employer is or, in the case of
a terminated plan, was required to make contributions to the plan on behalf of
the members, and includes the pension fund of a plan but does not include
(i) an employees profit sharing plan or a deferred profit sharing
plan within the meaning of sections 144 and 147 respectively of the tax Act,
(ii) an arrangement to provide a retiring allowance within the meaning
of subsection 248(1) of the tax Act, or
(iii) any other prescribed plan, scheme or arrangement;
(hh) “pensionable
age” means, in relation to a pension plan, the age or the date referred to in
section 44(1);
(hh.1) “plan
for connected individuals” means a plan for specified individuals whose only
members are specified individuals who were connected at any time in the year
with an employer who participates in the plan for the purposes of the
prescribed provisions of the tax Act;
(ii) “plan
for specified individuals” means a pension plan whose only members are
specified individuals for the purposes of the prescribed provisions of the tax
Act;
(jj) “prescribed”
means prescribed or otherwise provided for by the regulations;
(kk)
“records” includes
(i) accounts, books, files, returns, statements, reports, financial
documents or other memorandums of financial or non‑financial information,
whether in writing or in electronic form or represented or reproduced by any
other means, and
(ii) the results of the recording of details of electronic data
processing systems and programs to illustrate what the systems and programs do
and how they operate;
(ll) “registration”
means registration under Part 2 of a pension plan or of an amendment to a plan,
and includes registration under the former Act;
(mm) “remuneration”
means wages, salary, pay, commission or other remuneration;
(nn) “retirement
income arrangement” means
(i) a retirement income fund within the meaning of the tax Act that
is registered under that Act and that meets the prescribed conditions, or
(ii) any other arrangement prescribed to be a retirement income
arrangement;
(oo) “RRSP”
means a retirement savings plan within the meaning of the tax Act that is
registered under that Act;
(pp) “solvency
tests” means the tests for the solvency of pension plans referred to in section
48(2);
(qq) “specified
multi‑employer plan” means a pension plan administered for employees of 2
or more employers and designated by the Superintendent as a specified multi‑employer
plan;
(rr) repealed
2002 cA‑4.5 s33;
(ss) “Superintendent”
means the Superintendent of Pensions;
(tt) “supplemental
pension plan” means a pension plan, initial and continuing membership in which
depends by way of condition precedent on membership in another plan, the first‑mentioned
pension plan being supplemental to that other plan;
(uu) “surplus
assets” means, with respect to a pension plan that is being wound up, the
amount, if any, by which the plan’s assets exceed its liabilities, as stated in
the report filed under section 76(3) or, where applicable, the more recent
report filed under section 76(4);
(vv) “tax
Act” means the Income Tax Act
(Canada), and includes the regulations under that Act;
(ww) “termination”,
when used in relation to a pension plan, means an event provided to be a
termination of the plan by section 70 or 71, to the extent that such an event
affects members and former members;
(xx) “termination
of membership” means
(i) in relation to a member of a specified multi‑employer plan
and subject to subclauses (ii) and (iii), the beginning of any period of 2
consecutive fiscal years of the plan in which it transpires, at the end of that
period, that the member did not complete at least 350 hours of employment,
(ii) in relation to a member of a supplemental pension plan, including
a supplemental multi‑unit plan, the termination of the member’s
membership in the plan to which it is supplemental, and
(iii) in relation to a member of any other plan or where the
Superintendent gives an approval under section 31(4) in respect of a specified
multi‑employer plan but subject to subsection (2.1), the cessation by the
member of employment for which the employer is required by that plan to make
contributions to that plan on the member’s behalf,
and, in relation to a
member of a specified multi‑employer plan, includes the return of all the
member’s contributions, with interest, under section 35(8) or (9) or the
transfer of the whole of the commuted value of the pension under section 38(3)
or (6);
(yy) “this
Act” means this Act and the regulations under it;
(zz) “trade
union” has the meaning assigned to it by the Labour Relations Code;
(aaa) “winding‑up”
means, in relation to a pension plan that has been terminated, the process of
distributing the assets of the plan;
(bbb) “Year’s
Maximum Pensionable Earnings” has the same meaning as in the Canada Pension Plan (Canada);
(ccc) “years
of continuous employment” means, subject to section 31(4),
(i) in relation to a member of a specified multi‑employer plan,
fiscal years of the plan in each of which the member has completed at least 350
hours of employment,
(ii) in relation to a member of a multi‑unit plan, years of
employment for a continuous period of time with one employer or, if the plan so
provides, with more than one employer, including any break in such employment
provided for in subsection (3.1), and
(iii) in relation to any other plan, years of employment for a
continuous period of time including, except where an actual cessation of
employment has occurred, any period not exceeding 52 consecutive weeks during
which a person who immediately before the commencement of the period was in the
employment of the employer is not doing work or providing a service for that
employer for remuneration and after the expiry of which the person is again in
the employment of that employer,
and, where a member has at
any time terminated membership in one plan to which the employer was required
to make contributions on the member’s behalf due to the member becoming a
member of another plan to which that employer is so required to make
contributions, includes, in relation to each of those plans, the aggregate of
the years of continuous employment while a member of those plans.
(1.1) Where the fund holder and the
custodian are one and the same person, the administrator must be a party to the
agreement referred to in subsection (1)(i.1).
(1.2) The following are the Canadian
jurisdictions, referred to in subsection (1)(l) and (u)(ii), in which there is
in force legislation substantially similar to this Act, and the initial
qualification date for each of them is the date specified:
(a) Ontario: January
1, 1965;
(b) Quebec: January
1, 1966;
(c) The
Northwest Territories: October 1, 1967;
(d) The
Yukon Territory: October 1, 1967;
(e) Saskatchewan: January
1, 1969;
(f) Manitoba: July
1, 1976;
(g) Nova
Scotia: January 1, 1977;
(h) Newfoundland
and Labrador: January 1, 1985;
(i) New
Brunswick: December 31, 1991;
(j) British
Columbia: January 1, 1993;
(k) Nunavut: April
1, 1999;
(l) Canada,
to the extent that the pension regime in question covers included
employment: March 23, 1967.
(2) For
the purposes of subsection (1)(ff.1)(i), persons are living separate and apart
(a) if
they are living apart and either of them has the intention to live separate and
apart from the other, or
(b) if,
before the relevant time,
(i) they had been living separate and apart for any period, and
(ii) that period was interrupted or terminated by reason only that
either of them became incapable of continuing to live separate and apart or of
forming or having the intention to continue to live separate and apart of that
person’s own volition,
and the separation would
probably have continued if that person had not become so incapable.
(2.1) Notwithstanding subsection
(1)(xx)(iii), a multi‑unit plan may, with respect to the period not
exceeding 1 year provided for in the plan, either allow a member to elect that
or provide that the cessation circumstances described in subsection
(1)(xx)(iii) are not to constitute termination of membership, and if the member
(having made that election where the plan allows the election rather than
mandates the circumstances) becomes employed before the end of that period in
an employment for which a participating employer is required by that plan to
make contributions to that plan on the member’s behalf, there is no termination
of the membership.
(3) Notwithstanding
subsection (1)(xx)(i), a member of a specified multi‑employer plan
terminating membership by virtue of that subclause who has ceased employment is
deemed to have terminated membership while employed in the province or
territory where the member was employed at the beginning of the period referred
to in that subclause.
(3.1) The breaks in employment established
for the purposes of subsection (1)(ccc)(ii) are any period not exceeding 52
consecutive weeks,
(a) where
an actual cessation of employment has not occurred, respecting which the member
(i) immediately before the beginning of that period was in the
employment of one employer,
(ii) is not during that period doing work or providing a service for
that employer for remuneration, and
(iii) after the expiry of that period is again in the employment of
that employer,
or
(b) where
an actual cessation of employment has occurred, respecting which the plan
treats the employment, whether with one or more than one employer, as
continuing without interruption,
provided that, in the
case of a multi‑unit plan that provides as mentioned under subsection
(2.1), the member returns to employment with the same employer in the case of
clause (a) or becomes employed with any participating employer referred to in
subsection (2.1) in the case of clause (b), before the expiration of the period
referred to in subsection (2.1).
(3.2) For the purposes of this Act, assets
of a pension plan are determined on the basis of their market value
(a) if
those assets are valued at the most probable price that they should bring in an
arm’s length sale in a competitive and open market under all conditions
requisite to a fair sale and on terms that, having regard to open market
conditions, are competitive and not unreasonable and assuming that the price is
not affected by undue stimuli, with both seller and buyer acting willingly,
prudently and knowledgeably, and
(b) if,
where the Superintendent so requires, the value is that established in an
appraisal by an independent appraiser acceptable to the Superintendent.
(4) For
the purposes of this Act, a person is employed in the province or territory in
which the establishment of the employer to which the person reports for work is
situated and, if the person is not required to report for work to any
establishment of the employer or is required to report to more than one
establishment in different provinces or territories, the person is deemed to be
employed in the province or territory in which the establishment of the
employer from which remuneration is paid is situated.
(4.1) For the purpose of interpreting
references in subsections (3) and (4) and other provisions of this Act (except
section 19.1) to anything that happens inside or outside Alberta, a province or
territory or any other location in the context of included employment, no
included employment is to be treated as occurring in that location, but
included employment is deemed instead to occur in the non‑geographical,
jurisdictional context provided for in subsection (1.2)(l).
(5) For
the purposes of this Act, a benefit vests in a person when the person acquires
an unconditional entitlement under the pension plan to receive the benefit,
whether at the present or in the future.
(6) Except
where otherwise specified, references in this Act to the termination or winding‑up
of a pension plan include references to the termination or winding‑up of
only part of a plan.
(7) For
the purposes of any provision of this statute giving the Superintendent any
administrative or enforcement power relating to another person, references to
an action include references to an omission to act.
(8) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, for the
purposes of this statute or specified provisions of this statute, by regulation
define any expression used but not defined in this statute, in which case the
expression has the meaning so defined.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s1;2002 cA‑4.5 s33;2005 c26 ss2,3
Interpretation re
employment outside Alberta
and designated jurisdictions
2(1) Where
a member terminates membership while employed outside Alberta and the
designated jurisdictions and the member’s last period of employment within
Alberta and the designated jurisdictions before the termination of membership
was in Alberta, the member is deemed for the purposes of this Act
(a) to
have terminated membership while employed in Alberta, and
(b) to
have performed years of continuous employment while a member and employed under
those circumstances.
(2) Where a provision of this Act refers
to employment in Alberta or the designated jurisdictions and the subject‑matter
of the provision is not dealt with by subsection (1), that reference is to be
taken to include employment outside Alberta and the designated jurisdictions if
the person’s last employment within Alberta and the designated jurisdictions
before the event in question was in Alberta.
(3) No enactment forming part of this statute is to
be construed in itself as constituting a prohibition against a plan’s allowing
employment outside Alberta and the designated jurisdictions to be taken into
account for benefit and vesting purposes.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s2;2005 c26 s4
Application to Plans
administered by Crown
3(1) This Act applies to all or any of the pension
plans referred to in section 1 of the Public
Sector Pension Plans Act to the extent prescribed by regulations made under
section 6 of that Act.
(2) The
Minister responsible for the pension plans referred to in section 1 of the Public Sector Pension Plans Act, in the
capacity as their administrator, and the Minister of Finance, insofar as the
Minister of Finance is, or is fulfilling the functions of, trustee of those
pension plans (or, in the case of the Public Service Pension Plan, the Public Service
Pension Board if it becomes the trustee of that Plan) are bound by this Act to
the extent prescribed by regulations made under section 6 of that Act.
(3) Subject
to this section, a pension plan referred to in subsection (1) is exempt from
the application of this Act so long as
(a) the
plan continues to be administered by the Minister referred to in subsection
(2), and
(b) the
Minister of Finance (or, in the case of the Public Service Pension Plan, the
Public Service Pension Board if it becomes the trustee of that Plan) continues
to hold the plan’s pension fund in trust.
(4) For the purpose of applying any provision of
this Act to a pension plan referred to in subsection (1), the regulations under
section 6 of the Public Sector Pension
Plans Act may make any adaptation to this Act that is considered
appropriate.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s3;2005 c26 s5
Application to Teachers’ Pension Plans
4(1) This Act applies to the Teachers’ Pension Plans
to the extent prescribed by regulations made under section 15 of the Teachers’ Pension Plans Act.
(2) The
Teachers’ Pension Plans Board of Trustees is bound by this Act to the extent
prescribed by regulations made under section 15 of the Teachers’ Pension Plans Act.
(3) Subject
to this section, the Teachers’ Pension Plans are exempt from the application of
this Act.
(4) For the purpose of applying any provision of
this Act to the Teachers’ Pension Plans, the regulations under section 15 of
the Teachers’ Pension Plans Act may
make any adaptation to this Act that the Lieutenant Governor in Council
considers appropriate.
1995 cT‑1.5 s27
Part 1
Administration
Appointment and
functions, etc., of Superintendent
and Deputy Superintendent
5(1) In accordance with the Public Service Act, there may be appointed a Superintendent of
Pensions, who is the chief administrative officer charged with the
administration and enforcement of this Act, and a Deputy Superintendent of
Pensions.
(2) Subject
to subsection (1), the Deputy Superintendent of Pensions has all of the powers,
duties and functions of the Superintendent.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s5;2005 c26 s6
Reciprocal governmental
agreements
6(1) The member of the Executive Council charged by
the Lieutenant Governor in Council with responsibility for this Act may enter
into an agreement with the government of a designated jurisdiction
(a) to
provide for the reciprocal registration and examination of pension plans and
the reciprocal enforcement of specified laws affecting plans,
(b) to
authorize the authorized representative of that government to perform any of
the Superintendent’s functions, authorities and duties under this Act,
(c) to
provide for the performance by the Superintendent of any of that
representative’s functions, authorities and duties under the laws governing
pension plans of that government’s jurisdiction,
(d) to
provide in effect that where pension plans are or, but for the application of a
provision under clause (a), would require to be registered both under this Act
and under legislation of one or more other jurisdictions in Canada that is
substantially similar to this Act, either
(i) this Act or any part of it is not to apply, and the substantially
similar legislation of that other jurisdiction or of any of those other
jurisdictions, as the case may be, is to apply, to those plans, or
(ii) this Act or any part of it is to apply, and the substantially
similar legislation of the other jurisdiction or jurisdictions is not to apply,
to them,
and
(e) to
establish conditions for the non‑application and the application, as provided
for pursuant to clause (d)(i) or (ii), of the laws referred to in that
subclause.
(2) An
agreement under subsection (1) is exempt from the Regulations Act.
(3) Where
the agreement makes provision in accordance with subsection (1)(d), either
(a) this
Act or the part of it that the agreement provides is not to apply does not
apply to the affected plans and the substantially similar legislation of
another jurisdiction that the agreement provides is to apply to those plans
does apply to them instead, or
(b) vice
versa,
depending on what the agreement provides.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s6;2005 c26 s7
Fees
7 The Superintendent may charge
any fees that are established in writing by the Minister with respect to
services, information or documents provided by the Superintendent other than in
the administration of this Act.
1999 c21 s5
Directions for
compliance
8(1) If the Superintendent considers that a pension
plan or any of the other plan documents do not comply with this Act or that a
pension plan is not being administered in accordance with this Act or the plan,
the Superintendent may direct the person responsible, in writing,
(a) to
cease or refrain from doing whatever constitutes the non‑compliance, or
(b) to
do whatever the Superintendent considers necessary to remedy the situation,
or both, within 60
days or any longer period that the Superintendent specifies in the direction.
(2) If
the Superintendent considers that an administrator, employer or any other
person with responsibilities under this Act is, in respect of a pension plan,
doing or about to do anything that is contrary to safe and sound pension
practices, the Superintendent may direct that person, in writing,
(a) to
cease or refrain from doing that thing, or
(b) to
do whatever the Superintendent considers necessary to remedy the situation,
or both, within 60
days or any longer period that the Superintendent specifies in the direction.
(3) The
Superintendent shall issue a direction under subsection (1) and meet the
requirements of this section before cancelling a plan’s registration under
section 24(1).
(4) Notwithstanding
subsection (1) or (2), if the Superintendent considers that the minimum length
of time required by that subsection for compliance might prejudice the
interests of the members, former members or any other persons entitled to
benefits, the direction may provide that the compliance must be effected
immediately or before the expiration of any period of less than 60 days that is
specified in the direction.
(5) The
Superintendent shall, in a direction under subsection (1) or (2), provide the
person to whom it is addressed with an opportunity to make written
representations to the Superintendent about it within any reasonable period
that is specified in it.
(6) On
receiving any representations made under subsection (5) and after reviewing
them, the Superintendent shall in writing confirm, vary or revoke the
direction.
(7) A person served with a direction under
subsection (1) or (2) shall comply with it and, where subsection (4) applies,
shall do so within the time limit specified, regardless of the person’s right
to the opportunity referred to in subsection (5).
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s8;2005 c26 s8
Superintendent’s authority to extend time limits
9 Where the Superintendent considers that there
are extenuating reasons for the failure by any person to do anything within a
period or before a time limit imposed by a prescribed provision of this Act,
the Superintendent may, on receipt of a written request and by written notice
to the applicant, extend the period within which that thing must be done to any
time that the Superintendent considers appropriate in the circumstances and
specifies in the notice.
1986 cE‑10.05 s4
Administrators of
specified multi-employer plans
10(1) A specified multi‑employer plan must have
a board of trustees or other similar body constituted under a trust deed or
agreement or similar document acceptable to the Superintendent to administer
the plan.
(2) Where a specified multi‑employer plan is
established, or maintained pursuant to contributions required, under a
collective agreement, the number of members of the board of trustees or similar
body representing members of the plan must not be less than the number
representing employers.
1986 cE‑10.05
s5;1988 cL‑1.2 s207;1992 c13 s4;1999 c21 ss6,54
Administration and
organization of multi-unit plans
11(1) A multi‑unit plan must have a board of
trustees or other similar body constituted under a trust deed or agreement or
similar document acceptable to the Superintendent to administer the plan or
there must be filed with the Superintendent an agreement among all the
participating employers designating one of them to administer the plan.
(2) With respect to a multi‑unit plan, the
participating employers must execute one or more participation agreements that
meet the prescribed conditions.
1999 c21 s7
Administrators of single
employer plans
12 A pension plan that is not a specified multi‑employer
plan or a multi‑unit plan may have a board of trustees constituted to
administer the plan if there is a collective agreement between the employer and
a trade union that represents members of the plan, and if that agreement
(a) requires
that there be a board of trustees for the plan and places full authority and
responsibility for the administration of the plan on the board of trustees,
(b) sets
out, whether specifically or generally, some or all of the terms to be included
in the plan, and
(c) contains provisions that have the effect of
limiting the employer’s responsibilities and authority with respect to
contributions to the plan to making contributions in accordance with the
agreement.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s12;2005 c26 s9
Removal of administrator
and appointment of temporary administrator
12.1(1) Notwithstanding
sections 10, 11 and 12 and any other law, where the Superintendent considers,
with respect to a pension plan that is not being wound up, that
(a) either
(i) the administrator cannot be located, is insolvent or is unable or
unwilling to perform, or has failed in a substantial manner to perform
diligently, the duties or functions that an administrator has under this Act or
the terms of the plan,
(ii) the plan does not have an administrator, or
(iii) the plan or its administration fails in a substantial manner to
comply with this Act,
and
(b) either
(i) the security of the plan is jeopardized or compromised to a
significant extent, or
(ii) it is in the best interests of the members and the other persons
entitled or potentially entitled to benefits,
the Superintendent
may, if there is an administrator, in writing remove that administrator from
the office and, whether or not there is an administrator, may appoint the
Superintendent or any other person to be the administrator temporarily.
(2) The administrator appointed under
subsection (1) holds office until the Superintendent is satisfied that the
person or body who will be the administrator after that appointment terminates
is fully willing and able to perform the administrator’s duties and functions
and the Superintendent rescinds the appointment.
(3) The Superintendent shall, at least
the prescribed number of days before the effective date of an appointment to be
made under subsection (1), give notice of the proposed removal and appointment,
if applicable, to an administrator who is to be removed.
(4) An administrator who is to be
removed may make written representations about the proposed removal and
appointment to the Superintendent within the prescribed number of days after
service of the notice under subsection (3).
(5) Notwithstanding anything in this
section, the Superintendent may, in the instrument appointing the temporary
administrator, restrict the powers, duties or functions that that administrator
would otherwise have under this Act or impose any terms or conditions on the
appointment.
(6) Subject to any restrictions under
subsection (5), the temporary administrator may amend the terms of the plan.
(7) The
administration expenses of the plan before and during its temporary
administration period, including any costs of the administrator’s removal and
the temporary administrator’s appointment, are to be paid in accordance with
the terms of the plan.
2005 c26 s10
General responsibilities
of administrators
13(1) The administrator of a pension plan is
responsible for administering and shall administer the plan in accordance with
this Act.
(2) The administrator shall ensure that
the plan, including its contractual provisions and the other plan documents,
complies with this Act.
(3) Where
a plan has been terminated, the administrator shall ensure that it is wound up
in accordance with this Act.
(4) The
administrator shall, if the plan contains a defined benefit provision, have the
defined benefit provisions of the plan reviewed in accordance with the
regulations and have the results of the review set out in the form of an
actuarial valuation report and a cost certificate.
(5) While
acting in the capacity of administrator, the administrator stands in a
fiduciary capacity in relation to members, former members and others entitled
to benefits.
(6) The administrator shall ensure that none of the
other plan documents contain any provision that a pension plan is prohibited by
this Act from containing.
RSA 2000 cE‑8
s13;2005 c26 s11
Reports and returns by
administrators
14(1) The administrator of a pension plan shall
ensure that the Superintendent has been informed in writing of the
administrator’s name and address within 30 days after becoming the
administrator.
(2) The
administrator shall inform the Superintendent in writing of any change in the
administrator’s name or address within 60 days after that change.
(3) Subject
to this section, the administrator shall file with the Superintendent,
(a) at
the times prescribed and in the form required by the Superintendent,
(i) in the case of a plan for connected individuals, a certificate
executed by the administrator stating that the plan has not been terminated and
that it complies with this Act, or
(ii) in the case of any other plan, returns containing information
respecting
(A) the administration of the plan,
(B) contributions to it,
(C) membership in it, and
(D) any other information that is necessary to
enable the Superintendent to carry out the Superintendent’s duties under this
Act,
(b) in
the case of a plan, other than a plan for connected individuals, that contains
a defined benefit provision, at the times prescribed or on the request of the
Superintendent,
(i) actuarial valuation reports that
<
