50 Investment
requirements
51 Statement of
investment policies and procedures
52 Review,
confirmation or amendment of investment statement
53 Safeguarding of
investments
54 General
investment rules
55 Allocation and
distribution of assets on winding‑up
Part 4
Division and Distribution of Benefits on
Relationship Breakdown
56 Definitions
57 Matrimonial
property orders
58 Division and
distribution of benefits
59 Calculation of
benefits
60 Adjustment of
member‑pension partner’s share
60.1 50% unlocking of non‑member‑pension partner share
61 Fees
Part 5
Termination, Winding‑up, Withdrawal and Succession
63 Rules on plan
termination and MUPP employer withdrawal
64 Qualifications
for signing termination report
64.1 Missing persons
65 Predecessor and
successor plans and employers
Part 6
Miscellaneous Provisions
66 Repayment of
funds wrongfully transferred
67 Surplus and
excess assets
67.1 Prescribed legislation
68 Exemptions
73.1 Transitional ‑
financial statements
73.2 Transitional ‑
LIRAs and LIFs
Schedules
Interpretation for
purposes of the Act
1(1) For
the purposes of the Act,
(a) “Canada
Revenue Agency” means the body commonly known as the Canada Revenue Agency;
(b) “personal
information” means personal information within the meaning of the Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
(c) “plan
termination basis” means a basis for determining in a review the value of a
plan’s liabilities arising from defined benefit provisions that
(i) is predicated on the hypothesis of the plan’s terminating at the
review date and takes into account any benefit increases or decreases as a
result of the hypothetical termination, other than decreases resulting from a
reduction in benefits as contemplated by section 55, and
(ii) is based on assumptions and methods and a manner for the
determination of commuted values that meet the conditions of section
1(1)(h)(i)(A) and (C) of the Act and, unless the Superintendent so allows in
writing, the conditions set out in section 29 of this Regulation;
(d) “predecessor
plan” means the pension plan from which members are transferred in a
transaction referred to in section 65(2);
(e) “review”
means a review of defined benefit provisions under section 13(4) of the Act;
(f) “review
date” means, in relation to a review, the date as of which that review is made
or was required to be made;
(g) “solvency
deficiency” means the amount, if any, by which the plan’s liabilities that
arise from defined benefit provisions, determined on a plan termination basis
and as of the review date for that determination, exceed,
(i) in the case of a pension plan that is not wholly terminating, the
value of those of its assets that relate to defined benefit provisions as
determined under section 2(2), and
(ii) in the case of a plan that is wholly terminating, the value of
those of its assets that relate to defined benefit provisions as determined
under section 2(2), excluding the items specified in section 2(2)(b)(ii);
(h) “successor
plan” means the pension plan to which members are transferred in a transaction
referred to in section 65(2).
(2) Repealed
AR 197/2006 s2.
(3) For
the purposes of section 1(1)(p) of the Act, the prescribed assets and
liabilities of a pension plan are respectively,
(a) in
respect of defined contribution provisions,
(i) the market value of those of its assets that derive from defined
contribution provisions, and
(ii) the liabilities that are equal to the aggregate of those of its
assets that derive from defined contribution provisions that
(A) represent employer and member contributions
with interest, and
(B) are or may be required by the plan to be
applied for the provision of benefits,
and
(b) in
respect of defined benefit provisions, those of the plan’s going concern assets
and going concern liabilities that relate to defined benefit provisions, as
stated in the most recent actuarial valuation report or cost certificate filed.
(4) The conditions prescribed for the
purposes of section 1(1)(x) of the Act are
(a) those
prescribed in section 39, or
(b) that
the RRSP was treated as locked in by the Employment Pension Plans Regulation
(AR 364/86) (repealed), as it existed until February 3, 1993.
(c) repealed
AR 197/2006 s2.
(5) Repealed AR 197/2006 s2.
(6) The provisions of the tax Act prescribed
for the purposes of section 1(1)(ii) of the Act are subsections 8515(1) and (4)
of the Income Tax Regulations (Canada) (CRC Vol X c945).
(7) The conditions prescribed for the
purposes of section 1(1)(nn)(i) of the Act are those specified in section 40.
(8) Where
reference is made in the Act to a pension plan, except in section 19 and 20(1)
and (3) of the Act, the reference is to be taken as a reference to a plan that
has been registered under the legislation or under the equivalent laws of a designated
jurisdiction.
(9) For
the purposes of the Act, a person is adversely affected by an amendment to a
pension plan if the amendment negatively affects the person’s entitlement or
potential entitlement to a benefit or increases the cost to the member of
securing a benefit.
(10) For the purposes of the Act, money
is locked in to a pension plan, LIRA, LIF or annuity if the money to which an
individual is entitled may only be paid in the form of a pension, retirement
income or annuity, as the case may be, or if the withdrawal, surrender or
commutation of the money is prohibited by or as the result of the application
of
(a) section
35(1) or (2) or 64(2) of the Act,
(b) section
32(1), 39, 40, 41 or 46.1 of this Regulation, or
(c) in
the case of a pension plan, any legislation of a designated jurisdiction that
is similar to a provision referred to in clause (a) or section 32(1) or 46.1 to
the extent, where applicable, that it applies with respect to plans.
(11) For
the purposes of interpreting any provision of the Act as it applies in respect
of a DC RIA, the definition of “pension” in section 1(1)(dd) of the Act
includes DC RIA benefits.
(12) For
the purposes of interpreting any provision of the Act that refers to the
execution of a waiver form, the exercise of an Option or the waiving or giving
up by a pension partner of any pension partner rights or entitlements, by
reference to a prescribed form or a portion of a prescribed form, that
provision is to be treated as referring to
(a) the
full execution (including the signing) of that form or the relevant portion of
that form, as the case may be, in the form, and in a manner that meets all the
procedural and other requirements, prescribed in that form or that part of the
form, and
(b) the provision of that form or the relevant
portion of it by any person (including another person after a signer’s death)
to the relevant administrator or financial institution.
AR 35/2000
ss1,72;245/2003;197/2006
Interpretation
2(1) In
this Regulation,
(a) “acknowledged”
means, in relation to a financial institution, currently acknowledged under
section 38 in relation to LIRAs or LIFs or both, as the case may be;
(a.1) “addendum”
means the portion of this Regulation and of a LIRA or LIF that is prescribed by
Form 1 or 2, comprising material required by section 39 or 40 to be included in
a LIRA or LIF, as the case may be, and “LIRA addendum” and “LIF addendum” are
to be construed accordingly;
(a.2) “Alberta
locked‑in money” means money in a pension plan, LIRA or LIF
(i) that
(A) originally belonged to a member who
terminated membership in Alberta,
(B) belongs to a surviving pension partner of
(I) a member who died while employed in Alberta,
(II) a former member who terminated membership
while employed in Alberta, or
(III) the original owner of a LIRA,
or
(C) belongs to a non‑member‑pension
partner owing to the application of Parts 4 of the legislation and originally
belonged to a member who was employed in Alberta at the end of the period of
joint accrual referred to in section 57(a),
and
(ii) with respect to which the locking‑in requirements of the
legislation are still required to be met;
(a.3) “annuity”
means a non‑commutable life annuity contract issued or to be issued by an
insurance business that meets the conditions set out in paragraph 60(l) of the Income
Tax Act (Canada) and that will not commence before the person entitled to
it attains the age of 50 years;
(a.4) “audited
financial statements” means financial statements that are
(i) prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted
accounting principles, as described in the Handbook of the Canadian Institute
of Chartered Accountants, as amended up to the relevant date, and
(ii) accompanied by an audit report that is prepared
(A) by or under the auspices of a public
accounting firm within the meaning of the Regulated Accounting Profession
Act, and
(B) in accordance with Canadian generally
accepted auditing principles, as described in the Handbook, as amended,
referred to in subclause (i);
(a.5) “certified
copy”, used in relation to a form, means a copy that is certified by a
commissioner for oaths or a notary public as a true copy of the original signed
form or of a copy that was so certified;
(a.6) “DC RIA”
(an acronym for defined contribution retirement income account) means an
account, if any, created under defined contribution provisions of a pension
plan that provides the benefits referred to in section 46(8) of the Act in the
manner set out in section 46.1 of this Regulation;
(a.7) “DC RIA
benefits” means the benefits referred to in clause (a.6);
(a.8) “estate”,
used in relation to a deceased person, means the personal representatives of
the deceased’s estate in their representative capacity;
(a.9) “50%
unlocking option” means the option offered or to be offered under or in
relation to Schedule 1.1;
(b) “filed”,
subject to section 1(1)(q.1) of the Act, means filed with the Superintendent
under the legislation or under the former Act;
(b.1) “financial
institution” means the underwriter or depositary of a LIRA or LIF, as the case
may be and, where the context relates to an annuity, includes an insurance
business referred to in clause (a.3);
(c) “fiscal
year”, except where not used in relation to a pension plan, means the fiscal
year of the plan in question;
(c.1) “Form”,
followed by a number, means the form set out in Schedule 1 corresponding to
that number;
(d) “going
concern assets” means the value of the assets of a plan as of the relevant
review date, determined on the basis of a going concern valuation;
(e) “going
concern liabilities” means the actuarial present value of a plan’s benefits as
of the relevant review date, determined on the basis of a going concern
valuation;
(f) “going
concern valuation” means a valuation, prepared on the basis of actuarial
assumptions and methods that are adequate and appropriate and that are in
accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles, of the assets and
liabilities of a plan respecting which no decision has been made to terminate
it or to wind it up;
(g) “insured
plan” means a pension plan under which all the benefits are insured by a
contract with an insurance business under which that business is obligated to
pay those benefits;
(h) repealed
AR 197/2006 s3;
(i) “LIF”
means a retirement income arrangement, known as a life income fund, that is a
RRIF that meets the conditions set out in section 40;
(j) repealed
AR 197/2006 s3;
(k) “LIRA”
means a locked‑in retirement account;
(l) “LRIF”
means a former retirement income arrangement known as a locked‑in
retirement income fund that was a RRIF and that is or was liable to conversion
or transfer pursuant to section 41;
(m) “non‑DC RIA
portion of a plan” means
(i) the defined benefit provisions of a pension plan, or
(ii) those defined contribution provisions of a plan that do not make
provision for a DC RIA;
(n) “Option”,
(i) followed by the numeral “1”, means the option, so entitled, in
Part 1 of Form 6 agreeing to the unlocking of up to 50% of commuted value or
the value of the vehicle account in question,
(ii) followed by the numeral “2”, means the option, so entitled, in
Part 1 of Form 6 giving up the right to receive the minimum 60% survivor
pension or annuity, and
(iii) followed by the numeral “3”, means the option , so entitled, in
Part 2 of Form 6 giving up all rights as automatic designated beneficiary,
such option being
exercisable by a pension partner;
(o) “normal
actuarial cost” means the amount estimated by a reviewer, on the basis of a
going concern valuation, to be the cost to persons required to contribute to a
plan of the plan’s benefits for a fiscal year, excluding any special payments,
determined in accordance with the same methods and assumptions that are used to
determine the going concern liabilities;
(p) “original
owner” means, in the context of a LIRA or LIF, an individual who was a member
or former member of a pension plan and who made a transfer pursuant to section
38 or 30(5) of the Act or section 39, 40, 41 or 46.1 of this Regulation
(whether before or after the commencement of this clause), the assets deriving
from which transfer are currently held in a LIRA or LIF, as the case may be;
(p.1) “owner”
means
(i) an original owner,
(ii) a surviving pension partner owner, or
(iii) a non‑member‑pension partner who owns a LIRA or LIF,
as the case may be, as a result of the application of Parts 4 of the
legislation;
(q) “portability”
means the capacity to transfer money on a locked‑in basis from one
vehicle to another;
(q.1) “publicly
funded plan” means a pension plan, including a supplemental pension plan,
(i) that is wholly or partially funded, whether directly or
indirectly, from a public entity that operates on a non‑profit basis and
that is, was or has the potential to be an employer under a pension plan
covered by the Public Sector Pension Plans Act or Schedule 1 to the Teachers’
and Private School Teachers’ Pension Plans (AR 203/95) or from
a source related to such an entity, and
(ii) that is designated by the Superintendent, by written notice to
that entity and the plan’s administrator, as a publicly funded plan for the
purposes of the legislation;
(r) “retirement
income” means a series of payments to the owner of a LIF, or DC RIA
benefits, and includes future entitlements to any such payments or benefits;
(r.1) “retirement
income commencement” means, with respect to the money in question, the time
when a former member or an original owner initially transfers or transferred
the money from a pension plan or a LIRA to a LIF, a DC RIA or an LRIF
(before its abolition);
(s) “reviewer”
means the person referred to in section 9(2) making the review in question;
(t) “RRIF”
means a retirement income fund within the meaning of the tax Act that is
registered under the tax Act;
(u) repealed
AR 197/2006 s3;
(v) “solvency
ratio” means the fraction obtained by dividing the value of a plan’s assets
determined by applying subsection (2)(a) and (b)(i), by the liabilities of that
plan calculated on a plan termination basis as of the latest review date;
(w) “special
payments” means payments referred to in section 48(3)(b) or (c), (4) or (5);
(x) “statement
of investment policies and procedures” means the statement established under
section 51(1);
(x.1) “surviving
pension partner owner” means, in relation to money that is currently held in a
LIRA or a LIF, as the case may be, an individual who made a transfer pursuant
to section 39(6) of the Act or section 39(27) of this Regulation;
(x.2) “the
legislation” means the Act or this Regulation or both, as the case may be;
(x.3) “transferee
financial institution” means a financial institution that has received or is to
receive money for deposit into a LIRA, LIF or annuity;
(x.4) “transferor
financial institution” means a financial institution that has transferred or is
to transfer money for deposit into a pension plan, LIRA, LIF or annuity;
(y) “unfunded
liability” means the amount, if any, by which a plan’s going concern
liabilities exceed its going concern assets;
(z) “vehicle”
means a pension plan generally, the DC RIA or non‑DC RIA
portion of a plan specifically, a LIRA, a LIF or an annuity.
(2) For the purposes of section 1(1)(g),
the value of a plan’s assets is
(a) to
be determined as of the latest review date and on the basis of their market
value, but reduced by the actuary’s estimate of the expenses that would be
incurred in winding up the plan, and
(b) to
include
(i) any cash balances and accrued and receivable income, and
(ii) the actuarial present value, determined using the same methods
and assumptions as are used in the valuation of the plan’s liabilities for the
purposes of section 1(1)(g), of any special payments referred to in section
48(3)(b) that are
(A) payable in respect of benefits for
employment before the effective date of the plan, if no benefits for that
employment have been provided under the plan previous to the establishment of
those special payments, or
(B) payable over the 5 years following the
plan’s latest review date and not included in paragraph (A).
(3) Where
a provision of this Regulation requires or allows a person to provide a
certified copy of a Form to another person, that provision is met if the
original is provided instead.
(4) Section 27 of the Act, as it relates
to Part 3 and section 1 of the Act, also applies with respect to Part 3 and
sections 1 and 2 of this Regulation respectively.
(5), (6) Repealed AR 197/2006 s3.
AR 35/2000
s2;109/2003;133/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Application of
legislation to new Universities pension plan
2.1 The Act and this Regulation
apply to the new pension plan regulated under that legislation and called the
“Universities Academic Pension Plan” subject to the exemptions and other
provisions that are contained in Schedule 0.1.
AR 218/2000 s2;245/2003
Part 1
Administration
Collection of personal
information
3(1) The
Superintendent may collect personal information about persons entitled to
benefits under a pension plan if the information is necessary to determine
whether the plan is in full compliance with the Act and this Regulation.
(2) Without
limiting any other rights as to the collection, use or disclosure of personal
information, the Superintendent and a financial institution may collect and use
such information as is needed to implement section 41.1.
(3) For
the purposes of section 87(1)(d.1) of the Act, the Superintendent may collect
and may disclose to the Director of Maintenance Enforcement such information
relating to maintenance, and owners who the Superintendent considers are or are
probably debtors, within the meaning of the Maintenance Enforcement Act,
as that Director needs for the purposes of a program under that Act.
AR 35/2000 s3;197/2006
Extension of time
limits
4 For the purposes of section 9 of the Act, the prescribed
provisions are
(a) sections
8, 12.1(4), 14(1), (2) and (3), 15(1) and (4), 19(1), 20(1) and (1.1), 23(2),
36(5), 45(1) and (2), 50(1), 73(1), 76(3) and (4) and 77.1(3) of the Act, and
(b) sections 7, 8, 10(2), 12, 13.1, 14 to 17,
19(1), 20, 22(1), 23, 24, 27(2), (3) and (5), 55(9), (10) or (11) and 63(2)(a) of
this Regulation.
AR 35/2000
s4;245/2003;197/2006
Attachment of
conditions to consents, etc.
4.1 Where a provision of this
Regulation empowers the Superintendent to give a consent, approval, exemption
or other permission, if the permission is given in writing, the Superintendent
may attach any conditions in and to it that are considered appropriate in the
circumstances.
AR 197/2006 s6
Participation
agreements
5(1) The conditions referred to in section 1(1)(cc.1) of the
Act, so far as it relates to a specified multi‑employer plan, whether or
not any particular employer was a party to the original agreement where there
is more than one agreement, are that the agreement or agreements
(a) set
the terms of employer participation in the plan,
(b) bind
all the employers to the terms of the trust deed or agreement or similar
document, and
(c) make
each employer responsible for making contributions and special payments to the
plan as required by the applicable collective agreement.
(2) The conditions referred to in
section 1(1)(cc.1) of the Act, so far as it relates to a multi‑unit plan,
and that are also prescribed for the purposes of section 11(2) of the Act,
whether or not any particular employer was a party to the original agreement
where there is more than one agreement, are that the agreement or agreements
(a) set
the terms of employer participation in the plan,
(b) bind
all the employers to the terms of the trust deed or agreement or similar
document, and
(c) make each employer responsible for making
contributions and special payments to the plan as required under the plan by
the administrator.
AR 35/2000
s5;245/2003;197/2006
Removal and
appointment of
administrator ‑ relevant periods
5.1(1) The
number of days prescribed for the purposes of
(a) section
12.1(3) of the Act is 30, and
(b) section
12.1(4) of the Act is 30.
(2) If the Superintendent considers that the plan
is in imminent danger of serious damage to its financial viability or that
persons who are entitled to benefits are in imminent danger of not being paid
those benefits, the Superintendent may reduce or nullify the number of days
specified in subsection (1)(a) or (b) or both and, if so, shall give the notice
under section 12.1(3) of the Act at the earliest time practicable and allow as
long as practicable for representations under section 12.1(4) of the Act.
AR 197/2006 s8
Fees
6(1) The
fee for filing a return referred to in section 14(3)(a)(ii) of the Act or an
application for registration under section 19(1) of the Act is payable at the
rate of $7.00 for each person who was a member of the pension plan at the
effective date of the plan in the case of such an application or at the end of
the fiscal year in the case of such a filing, subject to a minimum fee of $200
and a maximum fee of $20 000 for each filing.
(2) Where
a return referred to in section 14(3)(a)(ii) of the Act is not filed before the
time specified in section 8(2)(a) of this Regulation, an additional fee equal
to 10% of the fee required by subsection (1) is payable within 30 days after
that time.
(3) Repealed AR 197/2006 s9.
(4) The fee for obtaining a written
notice of consent from the Superintendent under section 83(1)(c) of the Act is
a fee based on the cost of the service provided, calculated in accordance with
subsection (5).
(5) The fee is in the amount of $100 for
each hour or portion of an hour spent by each person in performing the service,
except that
(a) there
is no fee if the surplus or excess assets to be paid or transferred amount to
less than $500, and
(b) the
total fee is not to exceed 25% of those surplus or excess assets.
(6) The
amount of time charged for shall be as evidenced in a notice given by the
Superintendent to the administrator requesting payment.
AR 35/2000
s6;172/2000;245/2003;197/2006
Consolidated copies
of plans and other documents
7 Where there are 5 or more
amendments to a pension plan or any other plan document, the Superintendent may
require the administrator to provide a certified consolidated copy of the plan
or document, incorporating all amendments to date, within 180 days of the
Superintendent’s requiring it in writing, and the administrator shall comply
with that requirement.
AR 35/2000
s7;245/2003;197/2006
Returns by
administrators
8(1) A
certificate referred to in section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Act must be filed by the
deadline when, if it were a return referred to in section 14(3)(a)(ii) of the
Act, it would have to be filed under subsection (2).
(2) A return referred to in section
14(3)(a)(ii) of the Act must be filed
(a) where
the plan has not been terminated, within 180 days after the end of each fiscal
year,
(b) where
the plan has been terminated and approval to postpone the winding‑up has
not been given, within 60 days after the date of the termination, or
(c) where
the plan has been terminated and approval to postpone the winding‑up has
been given, within 60 days after the date of the termination and thereafter
within 60 days after each anniversary date of the termination,
and also, if applicable, at the end of any period in which
the employer is required to make payments into the plan under section 73(2) of
the Act and section 63.
AR 35/2000 s8;245/2003
Review of plan
9(1) This
section and section 10 apply only to pension plans that contain one or more
defined benefit provisions.
(2) The review of a plan must be made by
a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries except that, in the case of an
insured plan, it may be made by a person who is authorized to prepare or sign
an actuarial valuation report or cost certificate under section 10(1).
(3) An administrator shall have the plan
reviewed
(a) in
the case of a new plan, as of the effective date of the plan,
(b) where
the Superintendent sends a notice to the administrator requesting that a review
be made of the plan, as of the date specified in the notice, and
(c) subject
to clauses (a) and (b) and subsections (4) to (8), as of the end of a fiscal
year and within intervals not exceeding 3 years after the immediately preceding
review date.
(4) Subsection (3)(c) does not apply
with respect to a plan that is terminated and with respect to which the
employer is still required to make payments towards the elimination of a
solvency deficiency or has eliminated it.
(5) A plan may state a review date other
than the fiscal year end required by subsection (3)(c), in which case the
maximum 3‑year interval in subsection (3)(c) applies with reference to
that changed date, but once another date has been so established, the plan may
not be again amended to change that date within the 5‑year period
following that when the change was made.
(6) The Superintendent may, on
application by the administrator, in writing extend any interval referred to in
subsection (3)(c) where he considers that the circumstances of the case justify
it, but the total period of the interval must not exceed 33/4 years and the next review must be performed by the
deadline that would have applied had the extension not been given.
(7) Where
(a) an
amendment to the plan, or
(b) benefits
provided at the discretion of the administrator
affect the cost of
benefits provided by the plan, create an unfunded liability or otherwise affect
the solvency or funding of the plan, the administrator shall have the plan
reviewed or the latest review revised as of the date the amendment is made or
the discretionary benefits are provided, as the case may be.
(8) Where subsection (7) is applied, the
administrator shall have the next review performed not later than 3 years after
the last day of the fiscal year or the other date established under subsection
(5), as the case may be, preceding the date when the amendment was made or the
discretionary benefits were provided, as the case may be.
Actuarial valuation
report and cost certificate
10(1) For
the purposes of section 14(3)(b) of the Act, an actuarial valuation report or a
cost certificate respecting an insured plan may be prepared or signed, as the
case may be, by any person so authorized by the insurance business.
(2) Actuarial
valuation reports and cost certificates resulting from reviews performed as at
dates after the effective date of the plan must be filed not later than,
(a) in
the case of a specified multi‑employer plan or multi‑unit plan, 270
days, and
(b) in
the case of any other plan, 180 days,
after the review date.
(3) An actuarial valuation report or a
cost certificate resulting from a review must be prepared in a manner that is
consistent with the recommendations for the preparation of actuarial valuation
reports in connection with pension plans issued by the Canadian Institute of
Actuaries and, subject to this section, must include the following, so far as
applicable:
(a) the
estimated total dollar cost of benefits for all members, showing separately the
employer contributions and the member contributions relating to the normal
actuarial cost,
(i) for the fiscal year following the review date, where that date
falls on the last day of a fiscal year, or
(ii) for the fiscal year in which the review date falls, where that
date falls on any other day;
(b) the
rules for computing normal actuarial cost and for allocating that cost between
the employer and the members in respect of employment in the period covered by
the report or certificate;
(c) the
date of establishment and the unamortized balance of any unfunded liability,
the special payments to be made to amortize that liability and the date at
which that liability will be amortized;
(d) either
(i) a statement that in the opinion of the reviewer there is no
solvency deficiency, or
(ii) the date of establishment and the unamortized balance of any
solvency deficiency, the special payments to be made to amortize, and the value
of the assets and liabilities used to determine, that solvency deficiency,
together with the assumptions and valuation methods used to calculate those
liabilities, and the date at which that solvency deficiency will be amortized;
(e) either
(i) a statement that in the opinion of the reviewer, the solvency
ratio is not less than one, or
(ii) if the solvency ratio is less than one, the solvency ratio, the
value of the assets and liabilities used to determine the solvency ratio and
the assumptions and valuation methods used to calculate those liabilities;
(f) the
surplus assets or excess assets, as the case may be, of the plan and, if known
to the reviewer, a description of how they will be utilized;
(g) the
value of the assets of the plan on a market and, if available, a book basis,
the value of the going concern assets and a description of the valuation method
used to determine the going concern assets;
(h) the
value of the going concern liabilities with respect separately to
(i) members,
(ii) as a single grouping,
(A) former members who have not commenced to
receive their pensions under the plan, and
(B) other persons, other than members, who have
a future entitlement to receive payments from the plan,
and
(iii) as a single grouping,
(A) former members receiving their pensions, and
(B) other persons who are receiving payments
from the plan,
and a description of the
assumptions and valuation methods used to determine those values;
(i) in
the case of a review occurring after the effective date of the plan, a
reconciliation of the results of the review and identification of the sources
of experience gains and losses since the immediately previous review date;
(j) with
respect to a defined benefit provision of a specified multi‑employer plan
where employer contributions are based on a fixed rate of dollars and cents per
hour of employment,
(i) the respective average rate per hour per member that will be
contributed by the employer and the members,
(ii) a breakdown of the rate specified under subclause (i), stating
the rate per hour attributable to the plan’s normal actuarial cost and the
amortization of an unfunded liability or solvency deficiency and the rate per
hour that is to be applied as part of a contingency reserve, and
(iii) the average number of hours of employment per member per fiscal
year that has been assumed for the purposes of the review;
(k) such
other information as the Superintendent requires to be able to determine
whether the plan will meet the solvency tests.
(4) Where a going concern valuation is
made in respect of a plan that provides a pension based on a rate of salary
during a period immediately before the date of pension commencement or on
average rates of salary over a specified and limited period, a projection of
the current salary of each member shall be used to estimate the salary on which
the pension payable at pension commencement will be based.
(5) Where the actuarial method used in a
review is such that an unfunded liability or solvency deficiency may not be
revealed, the reviewer shall perform supplementary calculations to show that
the solvency tests are being met, and the reviewer shall certify that they are
being met.
(6) Where all the benefits under an
insured plan established before the initial qualification date are funded by
level premiums that do not extend beyond the pensionable age for each member or
former member, an actuarial valuation report or cost certificate may confirm
the adequacy of the premiums to provide for the payment of all benefits instead
of providing the information required by subsection (3).
(7) Where a person who is authorized by
subsection (1) to prepare or sign an actuarial valuation report or cost
certificate respecting an insured plan certifies that
(a) all
benefits relating to a defined benefit provision of the plan are insured by a
contract with an insurance business under which that business is obligated to
pay those benefits and that no further benefits are to accrue under that
provision without further amendment of the plan, and
(b) all
future benefits will accrue under a defined contribution provision of the plan,
the administrator is not required to file any further
actuarial valuation reports or cost certificates until the plan again provides
for benefits to accrue under a defined benefit provision.
AR 35/2000
s10;245/2003;197/2006
Collective agreement,
etc., or financial statements
11(1) The
period prescribed for the purposes of section 14(3)(c) of the Act is 30 days.
(2) The
period prescribed for the purposes of section 14(3)(d) of the Act is 180 days
or such shorter period as the Superintendent specifies by notice in writing to
the administrator.
(3) The
financial statements prescribed for the purposes of section 14(3)(d) of the Act
are,
(a) in
the case of a specified multi‑employer plan, the audited financial
statements of the plan,
(b) in
the case of any plan that is not a specified multi‑employer plan and that
contains defined benefit provisions and where the market value of its assets
related to the defined benefit provisions, as at the end of the latest fiscal
year, equal or exceed $3 000 000, the audited financial statements of
the pension fund that relate, or so far as those statements relate, to those
provisions,
(c) in
the case of any plan that is not a specified multi‑employer plan and that
contains defined contribution provisions and where at least
$1 000 000 in market value of the assets related to those provisions,
as at the end of the latest fiscal year, are invested solely at the direction
of the employer, the audited financial statements of the pension fund that relate,
or so far as those statements relate, to those provisions, and
(d) if so requested by the Superintendent by
notice in writing in respect of any plan, including one referred to in clause
(a), (b) or (c), the audited financial statements of the plan or the pension
fund or any other financial statements, as specified by the Superintendent in
the notice, covering any material and in the form and as of the date so
specified.
AR 35/2000
s11;245/2003;197/2006
Timing of explanation
or summary
12(1) The
administrator of a pension plan, pursuant to section 15(1)(a) of the Act, shall
provide an explanation or summary of the plan, including its name and Canada
Revenue Agency registration number, and of the relevant entitlements and
obligations under the plan,
(a) in
the case of a new plan, to each member within 120 days after the effective date
of the plan,
(b) in
the case of an existing specified multi‑employer plan that has not
received the approval of the Superintendent under section 31(4) of the Act, to
each member who has not already received one at the same time as the first
statement is provided to the member under section 14(1) or within 30 days after
a request made by him for the explanation or summary is received by the
administrator, whichever occurs first, and
(c) in
the case of any other existing plan, to each employee referred to in section
15(1)(a) of the Act,
(i) at least 30 days before the employee first becomes eligible or is
required to be a member of that plan, or
(ii) on or before the employee’s date of employment, if he becomes
eligible or is required to be a member at or less than 30 days after the date
of his employment.
(2) Unless an explanation or summary of
the same amendment has already been provided under section 13.1, the administrator
shall, pursuant to section 15(1)(a) of the Act, provide an explanation or
summary of an amendment to the plan and of the relevant entitlements and
obligations under that amendment,
(a) repealed
AR 197/2006 s13,
(b) in
the case of a specified multi‑employer plan referred to in subsection
(1)(b), at the same time as the next following statement is provided to the
member under section 14(1) or within 30 days after a request made by him for
the explanation or summary is received by the administrator, whichever occurs
first, or
(c) in any other case affecting benefits or
contributions, within 90 days after the registration of the amendment.
AR 35/2000
s12;245/2003;197/2006
Additional
explanation or summary requirements
13(1) The
administrator of a pension plan, pursuant to section 15(1)(a)(ii) of the Act,
shall provide with or in the relevant explanation or summary referred to in
section 12(1),
(a) a
statement identifying the fund holder,
(b) where
member required contributions related to a defined benefit provision are
receiving interest at a rate set by reference to the CANSIM rate within the
meaning of section 33(1)(b), a statement to that effect and a statement as to
when interest is calculated and applied,
(c) where
the fund rate of return within the meaning of section 33(1)(e) is applied under
section 33 and some or all of the investments are directed by the employer,
(i) a brief description of how the plan’s assets are invested,
(ii) a statement that the fund rate of return may be positive or negative,
and
(iii) a statement as to when interest will be calculated and applied,
(d) where
the fund rate of return within the meaning of section 33(1)(e) is applied under
section 33 and the member provides direction with respect to some or all of the
investments,
(i) a statement as to how the member is to provide that direction,
(ii) a statement that describes the investment options available, and
(iii) a statement of how contributions will be dealt with by default if
the member fails to provide direction regarding the investments,
(e) where
a change is made respecting how the investments referred to in clause (c) are
made, an explanation of the change,
(f) where
a change is made respecting any matter referred to in clause (d), an
explanation of the change and, so far as applicable, an update of the relevant
statements referred to in clause (d)(i), (ii) and (iii), and
(g) where
any other change is made to any of the information provided under clauses (a)
to (d), a statement summarizing the change.
(2) Repealed
AR 197/2006 s14.
AR 35/2000
s13;245/2003;197/2006
Provision of proposed
amendments
13.1(1) The
administrator shall provide, pursuant to section 15(1)(a.1) of the Act, the
explanation or summary referred to in that clause not less than 45 days before
the effective date of the amendment.
(2) The
administrator shall provide to each person who
(a) is
not a member,
(b) is
unconditionally entitled to a benefit, whether it is currently being received
or will be received in the future, and
(c) could
be adversely affected by a proposed amendment that the administrator has
decided to implement at a future date,
an explanation or summary of that proposed amendment not
less than 45 days before the effective date of the amendment.
AR 197/2006 s15
Annual statement
14(1) An
administrator shall provide, pursuant to section 15(1)(b) of the Act and within
180 days after the end of each fiscal year, an annual statement for the fiscal
year just ended containing or accompanied by the following information so far
as applicable respecting the member:
(a) the
name of the plan and its Canada Revenue Agency registration number;
(b) the
member’s name;
(b.1) the
date of birth;
(b.2) the
name of the pension partner as currently recorded in the plan’s records;
(b.3) the
date of enrolment in the plan;
(c) the
date or, if the date is not known, the month of the commencement of his
employment;
(d) his
designated beneficiary under the plan;
(e) in
respect of contributions that have been transferred from another plan and
applied under a defined benefit provision and where no period of employment has
been credited for the purposes of determining benefits, the amount of pension
that will be provided by the plan by those contributions;
(f) in
respect of employer contributions under a defined contribution provision,
(i) the balance at the end of the fiscal year previous to that
covered by the statement,
(ii) the contributions made during the fiscal year covered,
(iii) the amount of interest accrued during the fiscal year covered,
and
(iv) the rate of interest applied during the fiscal year covered or
the manner in which interest was applied and, if the rate of interest is net of
transaction fees and charges, the gross rate of interest before the reduction
for fees and charges;
(g) subject
to section 18(2), in respect of each of the following categories of
contribution, that is
(i) contributions transferred from another plan that have not been
applied under a defined benefit provision and that are locked in,
(ii) required member contributions,
(iii) as a single categorization, both contributions transferred from
another plan that have not been applied under a defined benefit provision and
that are not locked in and additional voluntary contributions, and
(iv) optional ancillary contributions,
the items referred to in
clause (f)(i) to (iv);
(h) in
the case of a defined benefit provision,
(i) the period of employment credited for the purposes of determining
the member’s benefits,
(ii) assuming full vesting, the estimated annual pension accrued to
the end of the fiscal year covered and payable at pensionable age, and
(iii) if the formula for determining benefits provides for a reduction
of the pension by an amount payable under the Canada Pension Plan (Canada),
the Quebec Pension Plan (Quebec) or the Old Age Security Act (Canada)
or another pension plan, a statement to that effect;
(i) if
the solvency ratio, as of the latest review date, is less than one,
(i) the solvency ratio expressed as a percentage,
(ii) a statement that, on a plan termination basis, the plan’s assets
are not sufficient to cover the liabilities accrued in respect of benefits
promised, as of the latest review date, and
(iii) confirmation that special payments are being made to make the
plan solvent in accordance with the Act and this Regulation;
(j) if,
in the case of a specified multi‑employer plan, the member has not
completed at least 350 hours of employment during the period of the last 2
consecutive completed fiscal years of the plan, a statement informing the
member of that fact and that he may apply for a transfer under section 38(3)
or, if applicable, (6) of the Act;
(k) where
the plan permits a member to make optional ancillary contributions,
(i) the estimated amount of optional ancillary contributions that he
could make to purchase the available optional ancillary benefits as of certain
ages, assuming continuous employment and current earnings, and
(ii) a statement that there is a risk of forfeiture of part of those
contributions under the tax Act;
(l) if
the member’s membership is suspended pursuant to the plan, the dates on which
he has the right to have his suspension lifted.
(2) The
annual statement may, without limiting any other effective mode of service, be
sent by ordinary mail to the last address of the member known to the
administrator.
AR 35/2000
s14;245/2003;197/2006
Statement on
termination of membership
15(1) Subject
to section 18, an administrator shall provide, pursuant to section 15(1)(c) of
the Act and within 60 days after the termination of membership or the receipt
of the written request for information under that clause, as the case may be, a
statement containing the following information:
(a) the
name of the plan and its Canada Revenue Agency registration number;
(b) the
former member’s name;
(b.1) with
respect to the former member,
(i) the date of birth,
(ii) the name of the pension partner as currently recorded in the
plan’s records,
(iii) the date of enrolment in the plan, and
(iv) the designated beneficiary under the plan;
(c) the
date of the commencement of his employment;
(d) the
date of the termination of his membership;
(e) the
extent to which a pension has vested in him;
(f) to
the extent that a pension has not vested in him,
(i) the information referred to in section 14(1)(e) and (g), updated,
(ii) an explanation of the options available, and
(iii) the deadlines for choosing any option available and the
consequences, if any, of not meeting them;
(g) to
the extent that a pension has vested in him,
(i) in the case of a defined contribution provision, the information
referred to in section 14(1)(f) and (g), updated,
(ii) in the case of a defined benefit provision,
(A) the information referred to in section
14(1)(e), (g) and (h), updated,
(B) the commuted values of the pensions referred
to in section 14(1)(e) and (h) respectively, and
(C) the amount of his excess contributions
referred to in section 37(2) of the Act, if applicable,
(iii) an explanation of the options available for each of the
additional voluntary contributions, optional ancillary contributions, excess
contributions referred to in section 37(2) of the Act, contributions
transferred from another plan, the pension referred to in section 14(1)(e) and
the accrued pension, and
(iv) the deadlines for choosing any option available and the
consequences, if any, of not meeting them;
(h) if
he is eligible to choose a deferred pension,
(i) the date on which pension payments may commence,
(ii) the benefit payable on death before and after pension
commencement, including an explanation of the joint pension and the pension
partner’s waiver option under section 40 of the Act,
(iii) optional early, disability and postponed pension commencement
dates available, and an explanation of any adjustments to the amount of pension
in each case, and
(iv) the name and address of the person to whom application must be
made to start receiving the pension and when the application may be made;
(i) where
there is a transfer deficiency within the meaning of section 35(1)(b),
(i) a statement that a transfer deficiency exists and that the
balance of accrued benefits owing to him may not be transferred until the
deficiency has been funded in accordance with the solvency tests,
(ii) the amount of the transfer deficiency,
(iii) the latest date at which it will be transferred, and
(iv) a statement of the obligation under section 35(9) to notify the
administrator of where the balance owing is to be transferred;
(j) if
the former member has attained the age of 50 years and the plan allows for
DC RIAs or transfers to LIFs or annuities, a statement containing
(i) an explanation of the 50% unlocking option, including the
different options for implementing it,
(ii) the amount based on which that unlocking option may be exercised,
and
(iii) if that person has a pension partner, the requirement for an
executed Option 1 waiver if the 50% unlocking option is exercised.
(2) In subsection (1), “updated” means,
to the extent applicable, completed in respect of the most recently completed
fiscal year and further extending to cover the period between then and at least
the termination of membership or the date of the receipt of the request for
updated information, as the case may be.
(3) Subsection
(1) does not apply to a former member if a statement has been provided to him
pursuant to section 17(1) in respect of his termination of membership.
AR 35/2000
s15;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Retirement statement
16(1) Subject
to section 18, an administrator shall provide, pursuant to section 15(1)(d) of
the Act and within 90 days after receiving a completed application in the form
required by the administrator for commencement of the pension, a statement
containing the following information:
(a) the
name of the plan and its Canada Revenue Agency registration number;
(b) the
name of the member or former member;
(c) with
respect to the member or former member,
(i) the date of birth,
(ii) the date of enrolment in the plan, and
(iii) the designated beneficiary under the plan;
(d) the
date when pension payments are to commence;
(e) in
the case of a defined contribution provision,
(i) the information referred to in section 14(1)(f) and (g), updated,
(ii) a brief description of the payment options available, and
(iii) confirmation that the member or former member, on making a
request for it, will receive a statement as to the amount of pension that could
be provided based on amounts underlying the updated information referred to in
subclause (i);
(f) in
the case of a defined benefit provision,
(i) the information referred to in section 14(1)(e), (g) and (h),
updated, and
(ii) the amount of his excess contributions referred to in section
37(2) of the Act, if applicable;
(g) an
explanation of the normal and optional forms of pension available, the
adjustment in the amount of pension if a form other than the normal form is
chosen and the procedure for choosing;
(h) if
the plan’s records show that the member or former member has a pension partner,
(i) the pension partner’s name and date of birth according to those
records,
(ii) an explanation of the joint pension and the pension partner’s
waiver option under section 40 of the Act, and
(iii) the amount of pension payable while both are alive and to each on
the death of the other;
(i) if
the member or former member has additional voluntary contributions, the options
available, including the amount of pension that will be provided if the
contributions are left in the plan;
(j) if
he has optional ancillary contributions, the selection of optional ancillary
benefits available to him to enhance the pension and, if his contributions
exceed the maximum value of optional ancillary benefits available for purchase,
the amount of that excess and the fact that the excess is retained in the plan;
(k) if
he has excess contributions referred to in section 37(2) of the Act, the
options available under that subsection;
(l) the
basis for future indexation, if applicable;
(m) the
deadline for choosing any option available and the consequences, if any, of not
meeting it;
(n) repealed
AR 197/2006 s18;
(o) if
the plan allows for DC RIAs or transfers to LIFs or annuities, a statement
containing the information specified in section 15(1)(j)(i) to (iii).
(2) In
subsection (1), “updated” means, to the extent applicable, completed in respect
of the most recently completed fiscal year and further extending to cover the
period between then and pension commencement.
AR 35/2000
s16;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Transfer statement
for specified multi-employer plans
17(1) Subject
to section 18, the administrator of a specified multi‑employer plan shall
provide, pursuant to section 15(1)(e) of the Act and within 90 days after
receiving a completed application in the form required by the administrator for
the transfer, a statement containing the following information:
(a) the
name of the plan and its Canada Revenue Agency registration number;
(b) the
member’s name;
(b.1) with
respect to the member,
(i) the date of birth,
(ii) the name of the pension partner as currently recorded in the
plan’s records,
(iii) the date of enrolment in the plan, and
(iv) the designated beneficiary under the plan;
(c) the
date of the commencement of his employment;
(d) the
information referred to in section 14(1)(e), (f), (g) and (h), updated;
(e) to
the extent that section 14(1)(e) and (h) apply, the commuted values of the
respective pensions and excess contributions referred to in section 37(2) of
the Act, if any;
(f) an
explanation of the options available for those excess contributions under
section 37(2) of the Act, and for additional voluntary contributions, if
applicable;
(g) an
explanation of the options available for the accrued pension under section
38(1) and (2) of the Act;
(h) the
information required by section 15(1)(i), if applicable;
(i) if
the member has attained the age of 50 years and the plan allows for
DC RIAs or transfers to LIFs or annuities, a statement containing the
information specified in section 15(1)(j)(i) to (iii).
(2) In
subsection (1), “updated” means, to the extent applicable, completed in respect
of the most recently completed fiscal year and further extending to cover the
period between then and the date of the receipt of the application for the
transfer.
AR 35/2000
s17;245/2003;197/2006
Exemptions from
sections 14 to 17
18(1) An
administrator is not obliged to comply with section 15, 16 or 17 in respect of
a request or application referred to in that section made by any person if the
administrator has already provided the relevant information under that section
and in respect of that person within the 12 months preceding the application or
request.
(2) Where
a member or a former member was permitted but not required to make
contributions to a specified multi‑employer plan that has not received
the approval of the Superintendent under section 31(4) of the Act, and those
contributions were made for the purpose of providing a benefit under a defined
benefit provision and are not a significant portion of the commuted value of
the member’s or former member’s pension, then, unless the Superintendent
otherwise directs, those contributions are not required to be included in the
statements of information described in sections 14(1)(g), 15(1)(g), 16(1)(f)
and 17(1)(d).
AR 35/2000 s18;245/2003
Statement on death
before pension commencement
19(1) An
administrator shall provide, in relation to a member or former member who died
before pension commencement, pursuant to section 15(1)(f) of the Act and within
90 days after proof of the death is provided to the administrator, a statement
containing the following information:
(a) the
name of the plan and its Canada Revenue Agency registration number;
(b) the
deceased’s name;
(b.1) with
respect to the deceased,
(i) the date of birth,
(ii) the name of the individual recorded in the plan’s records as
being the pension partner at the date of death,
(iii) the date of enrolment in the plan, and
(iv) the designated beneficiary under the plan;
(c) the
information referred to in section 14(1)(e) and (g), updated;
(d) if
the deceased had no pension partner at his death or a pension had not vested in
him, the total lump sum available for refund and an explanation of any other
benefits or options available under the plan;
(e) if
the deceased was a member who had a pension partner at his death and to the
extent that a pension had vested in him,
(i) the information referred to in section 14(1)(f) and (h), updated,
(ii) an explanation of the benefits and options available under
section 39 of the Act and any others provided by the plan, and
(iii) the deadline for choosing any option available and the
consequences, if any, of not meeting it;
(f) the
information required by section 15(1)(i), if applicable;
(g) if
the plan allows for DC RIAs or transfers to LIFs or annuities and the
pension partner has attained the age of 50 years, a statement (to go only to
the pension partner) containing the information specified in section
15(1)(j)(i) and (ii).
(2) In
subsection (1), “updated” means, to the extent applicable, completed in respect
of the most recently completed fiscal year and further extending to cover the
period between then and the date of the administrator’s receiving notice of the
death.
AR 35/2000
s19;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Calculation data
20 An administrator shall provide, pursuant to
section 15(1)(g) of the Act, the data referred to in that clause within 30 days
after receiving the request for it.
AR 35/2000 s20;245/2003
Notice of intention
to terminate or wind up
21 An administrator shall provide, pursuant
to section 15(1)(h) of the Act, the notice in respect of the termination or
winding‑up of the plan that is required by that clause
(a) at
least 60 days before the proposed termination or commencement of the winding‑up,
as the case may be, or
(b) if it is intended to terminate or to
commence to wind up the plan, as the case may be, less than 60 days after the
decision is made, forthwith after that decision is made.
AR 35/2000 s21;245/2003
Termination or winding-up
statement
22(1) Subject
to subsection (2), an administrator shall provide, pursuant to section 15(1)(i)
of the Act and within 60 days after the approval by the Superintendent of the
report filed under section 76(3) and, if applicable, section 76(4) of the Act,
(a) the
information, so far as applicable, referred to in sections 15 and 16,
(b) if
benefits are not fully funded at the termination of the plan, a statement
acceptable to the Superintendent of the extent of and the reasons for the
deficiency, and the consequences to the member or former member,
(c) if
there are surplus assets, how they will be utilized, and
(d) any
other rights and options that the member or former member may have.
(2) The
Superintendent may, where section 76(4) of the Act will apply, exempt the
administrator from the requirements of subsection (1) with respect to the
provision of information following approval of the report filed under section
76(3) of the Act.
AR 35/2000 s22;245/2003
Statement on
reduction in working time
23 An administrator shall provide, pursuant
to section 15(1)(j) of the Act and within 60 days after the making of an
agreement referred to in section 47(1) of the Act, a statement containing
(a) the
amount of pension the member could expect to receive at pensionable age if he
did not take any lump sum payments under section 47 of the Act,
(b) the
maximum lump sum payment the member is permitted to receive under section 47 of
the Act in the year covered by the statement, and
(c) the
amount of the reduced pension payable at pensionable age if the member
withdraws the maximum lump sum referred to in clause (b),
and shall provide a
further updated statement in each subsequent year while the agreement remains
in force on or before each anniversary of the provision of the first statement
relating to the agreement.
AR 35/2000 s23;245/2003
Information on
spousal relationship breakdown
24(1) The
information prescribed for the purposes of section 15(1)(k) of the Act is as
set out in this section.
(2) An administrator shall provide to
the member‑pension partner and non‑member‑pension partner,
within 90 days after receiving a written request for it from either, a
statement specifying
(a) an
estimate of the member‑pension partner’s total entitlement, as calculated
under section 59, and, except where payment of the pension has already
commenced, the value of the member‑pension partner’s additional voluntary
contributions and optional ancillary contributions with interest, if
applicable, but only up to and as of the date specified in the request,
(b) the
date on which the member‑pension partner became a member, and
(c) the
date, if applicable, on which the member‑pension partner terminated his
membership.
(3) An administrator shall provide to
the non‑member‑pension partner, within 90 days after receiving a
matrimonial property order, a statement containing
(a) the
options available under section 58 to the non‑member‑pension
partner and a summary of the benefits to which the non‑member‑pension
partner may become entitled on exercising each of the options, and
(b) the
deadline for choosing any option available and the consequences, if any, of not
meeting the deadline.
(4) An administrator shall provide to
the member‑pension partner, within 90 days after the division takes
place, a statement containing
(a) the
date the division became effective, and
(b) a
summary and description of the remaining benefits to which the member‑pension
partner will be entitled after the distribution of the non‑member‑pension
partner’s share.
(5) Section
56 applies with respect to the interpretation of this section.
AR 35/2000
s24;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
DC RIA
statements
24.1(1) This
section applies in respect of a pension plan with defined contribution
provisions that provide for DC RIAs.
(2) In
this section,
(a) “DC RIA
participant” has the meaning ascribed to that term in section 46.1(1)(b);
(b) “year”
means a calendar year.
(3) The
administrator shall, within 60 days after the end of each year, provide to each
DC RIA participant a statement containing the following information about
that DC RIA participant so far as applicable:
(a) the
name of the plan and its Canada Revenue Agency registration number;
(b) the
DC RIA participant’s name;
(c) the
date of birth;
(d) the
date the DC RIA was established;
(e) the
name of the designated beneficiary;
(f) except
where the DC RIA participant is a surviving pension partner and to the
extent applicable, the name of the pension partner who executed the Option 2
waiver at retirement income commencement
and acknowledgement that a pension partner has executed the Option 3 waiver;
(g) the
account balances as at the beginning and the end of that previous year;
(h) the
interest earned during that year;
(i) the
total amount withdrawn from the account during that year;
(j) the
amounts transferred into the account during that year;
(k) the
fees charged against the account during that year;
(l) the
minimum and maximum amounts that may be withdrawn during the current year
being, respectively,
(i) the Canada Revenue Agency minimum for RRIFs, and
(ii) the greater of
(A) the amount calculated under section 46.1(15)
(as it incorporates section 40(34)(a)), and
(B) the gains, if any, earned in the immediately
previous year;
(m) the
deadline for making the election as to the timing of the payment from the
account for the current year;
(n) the
process for changing that election;
(o) if
that election is not made, the amount that will be paid, applying the tax Act,
and the date when that payment will be made.
(4) The
administrator shall, in relation to a DC RIA participant who died, provide
to the person entitled to receive the balance of the DC RIA benefits,
within 60 days after proof of the death is provided to the administrator, a statement
containing the following information about the deceased so far as applicable
(and adapted by reference to the fact of the death):
(a) the
information referred to in subsection (3)(a) to (f);
(b) the
account balances as at the beginning of the year in which death occurred and as
at death;
(c) the
interest earned from the beginning of that year to death;
(d) the
total amount withdrawn from the account during the period referred to in clause
(c);
(e) the
amounts transferred into the account during that period;
(f) the
fees charged against the account during that period;
(g) a
statement that the account balance will be adjusted with interest to the date
of payment;
(h) the
options as to how the income payments are to be made;
(i) if
the plan so permits and subject to the tax Act, any option that exists for a
surviving pension partner to remain in the plan;
(j) if
a surviving pension partner to whom section 46.1(12) applies elects to remain
in the plan, the information under subsection (3)(l) updated;
(k) the
deadline for the election of options;
(l) what
will happen if a specific election of options is not duly made.
(5) Where
the information referred to in subsection (4)(j) has to be provided, it must be
accompanied by the necessary forms to enable the pension partner to stipulate
the amount of DC RIA benefits to be paid out.
(6) The
administrator shall, in relation to a DC RIA participant who has applied
in writing to transfer money out of the DC RIA, provide to that
DC RIA participant, within 90 days after the making of the application,
the following information about that DC RIA participant so far as
applicable:
(a) the
information referred to in subsection (3)(a) to (f);
(b) the
account balances as at the beginning of the year in which the application was
made and as at the time the application is processed;
(c) the
interest earned from the beginning of that year to the time the application is
processed;
(d) in respect of that period, the information
referred to in subsection (4)(d) to (h) and (k), where applicable.
AR 197/2006 s21
Examination and
provision of copies
25(1) The
following are the prescribed documents for the purposes of section 15(4)(f) of
the Act:
(a) where
the person entitled to the benefit and seeking the examination is
(i) a member, the most recent explanation or summary and other
information provided under section 15(1)(a) of the Act and sections 12 and 13
of this Regulation,
(ii) a former member, the last such explanation or summary and other
information that was current when that former member was a member, or
(iii) any other person, the last such explanation or summary and other
information that was current when the person through whom that other person
derives the entitlement was a member;
(a.1) the
plan’s 3 most recently filed audited financial statements referred to in
section 11(3) except that if the pension fund has been subdivided into separate
portions as between money arising from defined benefit provisions and money
arising from defined contribution provisions, then only those portions of those
statements that relate to those provisions that are applicable to the person
entitled to the benefit;
(a.2) all
agreements referred to in section 23(1) of the Act;
(b) where
the person entitled to the benefit and seeking the examination is a member of a
specified multi‑employer plan or a multi‑unit plan,
(i) repealed AR 197/2006 s22,
(ii) any participation agreement that is relevant to that member;
(c) a
report under section 76(3) or (4) of the Act, except any portions of the report
stating the benefits of individual members or former members;
(d) the
current statement of investment policies and procedures, with all amendments,
or a summary of it.
(2) The period prescribed for the
purposes of section 15(5) of the Act is 30 days from the providing of the
notice referred to in section 67(2).
(3) The
period referred to in section 15(9) of the Act is 12 months.
AR 35/2000
s25;218/2000;245/2003;197/2006
Part 2
Registration and Amendment
Registration of plans
26 The documents prescribed for the purposes
of section 19(1)(a)(iv) of the Act are, where applicable,
(a) any
participation agreements respecting the plan, and
(b) repealed
AR 197/2006 s23,
(c) any agreements between the administrator and
the fund holder or custodian that give the responsibility for making actual
pension payments to the administrator.
AR 35/2000
s26;245/2003;197/2006
Amendment of plans
27(1) The
period prescribed for the purposes of section 20(1) of the Act is the period of
60 days beginning on the date when the amendment is made.
(2) Subject
to subsection (3), where an amendment referred to in section 9(7) is made, the
administrator shall file,
(a) at
the same time as the certified copy of the amendment required by section 20(1)
of the Act,
(i) an interim cost certificate, signed by an actuary, showing the
effect that the amendment will have on the plan’s liabilities, the special
payments and the normal actuarial cost, or
(ii) a statement, signed by an actuary, as to the effect that the
amendment will have on the plan’s liabilities and confirmation that the
amendment will have no material effect on the special payments or the normal
actuarial cost,
or
(b) if
the administrator informed the Superintendent in writing of the intention to do
so at the time when the certified copy of the amendment was filed, within 180
days after the amendment is made, a new actuarial valuation report.
(3) The
Superintendent may, by notice in writing, require the administrator to file,
within 60 days after service of that notice, a new actuarial valuation report
and cost certificate, prepared as at the effective date of the amendment,
instead of the interim cost certificate or statement referred to in subsection
(2)(a).
(4) The period prescribed for the purposes
of section 20(1.1) of the Act is the period ending 60 days after the plan’s
designation by the Superintendent as a multi‑unit plan.
(5) After
a proposed amendment referred to in section 15(1)(a.1) of the Act is eventually
made, the administrator shall file, at the same time as the certified copy of
the amendment, written confirmation that the explanation or summaries required
by section 13.1 were duly provided.
AR 35/2000
s27;245/2003;197/2006
Part 3
Provisions Respecting Contractual Plan Provisions
Direction of
investments
27.1 In addition to the matters
provided for in section 28(1) of the Act, a pension plan must contain a
provision stating whether the member or the administrator or both are
responsible for the direction of the plan’s investments.
AR 197/2006 s25
Benefit and
contribution formulas
28(1) For
the purposes of section 28(1)(h) of the Act, formulas for determining benefits,
member and employer contributions and the allocation of contributions under a
pension plan must comply with this section.
(2) The formulas for determining
benefits under defined benefit provisions, member contributions relating to
defined benefit provisions and contributions relating to defined contribution
provisions of a plan must be uniform
(a) for
each year of future employment, and
(b) for
each member of a class prescribed in section 30(1),
except to the extent
that the Superintendent approves a variation in any formula that the
Superintendent considers reasonable.
(3) The formula for determining the
pension under a defined benefit provision may not be based on a member’s age on
joining the plan.
(4) Where a formula relating to a
defined contribution provision provides for contributions on a basis other than
(a) a
percentage of a member’s remuneration, or
(b) a
fixed dollar amount in respect of each member,
the formula for
establishing the amount of those contributions may not be based solely on the
age of the member and it must be based on factors other than the accumulated
value of the contributions made by or on behalf of the member with interest at
the date that amount is established.
(5) Where
an additional amount of benefit is payable from pension commencement and the
plan provides for that additional amount to cease or be reduced at the date when
a pension becomes available, or when receipt of the pension occurs, under the Canada
Pension Plan (Canada), the Quebec Pension Plan (Quebec) or the Old
Age Security Act (Canada), then, for the purposes of the plan, that date
shall be treated as being the date when the person entitled to that pension
attains the age of 65 years, notwithstanding that that pension may actually be
payable at another time.
AR 35/2000
s28;245/2003;197/2006
Administration
expenses
28.1 Where
(a) a
pension plan provides that administrative expenses related to the plan will be
paid from the plan’s pension fund and that an employer who pays any such
expenses to another person directly is entitled to be reimbursed for the money
so paid, and
(b) an
employer lawfully so pays any expenses so provided for from its own resources,
the employer may be reimbursed for those paid expenses from
the pension fund.
AR 197/2006 s27
Purchase of annuity
28.2 Where, with respect to defined
benefit provisions of a pension plan, an annuity is to be purchased, other than
under section 38(2)(c)(i) of the Act or where section 55(5) is applied, instead
of the provision of a pension from the plan, the income from the annuity must
be in the same amount and form as the income that the recipient would have received
from the pension.
AR 197/2006 s27
Commuted value
29(1) For
the purposes of section 1(1)(h)(i)(B) of the Act,
(a) the
actuarial present value of benefits must be determined in accordance with the
most recently adopted official guidelines or standards issued by the Canadian
Institute of Actuaries, as amended to the relevant time.
(b) repealed
AR 197/2006 s28.
(2) Where the Superintendent considers
that the actuarial basis or the assumptions or methods relating to that basis
do not meet the requirements of section 1(1)(h)(i) of the Act, he shall notify
the administrator in writing of that fact and shall direct the administrator to
have the basis or assumptions or methods amended so as to comply with that
subclause.
(3) The administrator shall forthwith
comply with the direction.
(4) Sections 25 and 26 of the Act apply
in respect of the direction as if the Superintendent were cancelling a
registration.
(5) Repealed AR 197/2006 s28.
(6) Subject
to subsection (7), where the commuted value of a benefit under a defined
benefit provision of a pension plan that is not wholly terminated is to be
determined, it must be determined as at the date of termination of membership,
death or pension commencement, as the case may be, and must be adjusted for interest,
in respect of the period between that date and a date not earlier than the end
of the month immediately preceding the month in which the payment or transfer
of the commuted value out of the plan was effected, at a rate not less than the
rate of interest that was assumed in determining that commuted value.
(7) Where
the period between the date as of which the commuted value was determined under
subsection (6) and the date of the payment or transfer of the commuted value
out of the plan exceeds 120 days, the administrator may elect to recompute the
commuted value as of the date of the payment or transfer instead of adjusting
the commuted value for interest under subsection (6).
(8) Where the commuted value of a
benefit under a defined benefit provision of a pension plan the whole of which
plan is terminated is to be determined, it must be determined as at the date of
the termination of the plan and, in respect of the period between that date and
a date not earlier than the end of the month immediately preceding the month in
which the payment or transfer of the commuted value out of the plan was
effected,
(a) that
commuted value must be adjusted for interest, and
(b) interest
must be paid on excess contributions that are required by section 37 of the Act
to be paid from the plan,
at the rate of return earned by the plan during that
period.
AR 35/2000
s29;245/2003;197/2006
Entitlement of
employees to join plan
30(1) The
prescribed classes of employees referred to in section 29(1) of the Act are
employees who fall within any of the following classes:
(a) employees
who are paid a salary;
(b) employees
who are paid on an hourly basis;
(c) employees
who are members of a trade union within the meaning of the Labour Relations
Code;
(d) employees
who are not members of such a trade union;
(e) supervisory
employees;
(f) management
employees;
(g) executive
employees;
(h) employees
who are officers of the employer;
(i) employees
who are significant shareholders within the meaning of section 49(2) of the Act;
(j) persons
who fall within clause (c) or (d) and also any of clauses (a) or (b) or (e) to
(i);
(k) employees
who fall within a class designated under subsection (1.1).
(1.1) On
the written application of the administrator, the Superintendent may in writing
designate any class of employees not described in subsection (1)(a) to (j) that
the Superintendent considers to be identifiable and appropriate for
categorization as a class under subsection (1).
(2) The times prescribed for the
purposes of sections 29(1) and 30(3)(b) of the Act are the first day, and the
first day of the 7th month, of any fiscal year.
(3) A
plan for connected individuals in which all the members are employees who, but
for this subsection, fall within one or more of the classes described in
subsection (1)(g), (h) and (i) is exempt from section 29 of the Act, and those
employees shall be treated for the purposes of the Act and this Regulation as
not falling within that class or those classes.
AR 35/2000
s30;245/2003;197/2006
Pensioner’s recommencing employment
31(1) A
pension plan must provide that where a former member of the plan who has
commenced to receive his pension from the plan recommences work or service in
an employment covered by the plan,
(a) payment
of the pension is to continue and he is not eligible to become a member, or
(b) payment
of the pension is to be suspended and he is to become a member with effect from
the date of his commencing that subsequent employment,
but the plan may make
the provisions specified in both clauses (a) and (b) applicable under differing
circumstances.
(2) A specified multi‑employer
plan respecting which the approval of the Superintendent under section 31(4) of
the Act has not been received may provide that where a former member of that plan
who has commenced to receive his pension commences work or service in an
employment covered by another specified multi‑employer plan in Canada
that has a transfer agreement referred to in section 23(1) of the Act with the
first‑mentioned plan,
(a) payment
of the pension is to continue and he is not eligible to become a member of the
first‑mentioned plan, or
(b) payment
of the pension is to be suspended, he is to become a member of either plan from
the date of his commencing that work or service and the pension is to
recommence from the first day of the month immediately following the cessation
of that work or service,
but the plan may make
the provisions referred to in both clauses (a) and (b) applicable under
differing circumstances.
(3) Where a plan provides for the
suspension of payment of the pension as provided in subsection (1)(b) or
(2)(b), the amount of the pension payable at the member’s subsequent pension
commencement must be at least equal to the sum of the amount of the pension
that is provided for his employment from the date of his commencing the
subsequent employment to his subsequent pension commencement under the terms of
the plan at that subsequent pension commencement and either,
(a) if
the initial pension commencement occurred before pensionable age, the amount of
the pension that would have been payable had the initial pension commencement
occurred at pensionable age reduced in accordance with the terms of the plan as
they were at the initial pension commencement, or
(b) if
the initial pension commencement occurred at or after pensionable age, the
amount of pension payable at the initial pension commencement.
(4) The calculation of a reduction under
subsection (3)(a) must be based on the assumption of the member’s having
attained an age that is equal to his age, in years and any portion of a year,
at the subsequent pension commencement less the number of years and any portion
of a year between his initial pension commencement and the effective date of
the suspension.
(5) Notwithstanding
subsections (2), (3) and (4), the plan may provide that the amount of pension
that was payable at the initial pension commencement and that becomes payable
at the subsequent pension commencement be increased in such an alternative
manner that the Superintendent considers reasonable and appropriate.
(6) In this section, “pension” does not include
DC RIA benefits.
AR 35/2000
s31;245/2003;197/2006
Locking in
32(1) To
the extent that section 35(3) of the Act applies to any part of a pension
deriving from optional ancillary contributions, that exception to section 35(1)
and (2) of the Act does not apply
(a) to
the extent that the money was locked in when it entered into the pension plan
as optional ancillary contributions, or
(b) to
earnings originally deriving from such locked‑in money.
(1.1) Section
35(4.1) of the Act applies with respect to a member or former member who has a
pension partner at the date of the declaration of non‑residency or death,
as the case may be, only if that pension partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
(2) The
breaks in employment prescribed for the purposes of section 35(12) of the Act
are those described in section 1(3.1) of the Act, and the member is to be
treated as employed by a participating employer during those breaks.
AR 35/2000
s32;245/2003;197/2006
Interest
33(1) In
this section,
(a) “accumulated
contributions” means contributions, including compounded interest;
(b) “CANSIM
rate” means the rate of interest calculated on the basis of the average of the
yields of the 5‑year personal fixed term chartered bank deposit rates,
published in the Bank of Canada Review as CANSIM Series V 122151, over the
most recent period for which the rates are available, with an averaging period
equal to the number of months in the period for which interest is to be applied
to a maximum of 12 months and, where that rate results in a fraction of 1% that
is expressed otherwise than as a multiple of a full 1/10 of 1%, rounded
downwards to the next full 1/10 of 1%;
(c) “contributions”
means contributions to which interest must or may be applied pursuant to
section 36 of the Act in respect of a member;
(d) “full
rate” means the full CANSIM rate or fund rate of return, as the case may be;
(e) “fund
rate of return” means, with respect to the period between consecutive valuation
dates, the increase or decrease, if any, expressed as a percentage, in the
value of the accumulated contributions as at the latest valuation date in
comparison with that value as at the immediately preceding valuation date, in
both cases after deducting
(i) plan administration costs, and
(ii) any additional expenses of administering those accumulated
contributions
incurred during the period,
that were not paid for by the employer;
(f) “valuation
date” means the date in question as at which the accumulated contributions are
valued.
(2) For
the purposes of section 36(5) of the Act, interest shall be
(a) calculated
in a manner that is specified in the plan and that meets the minimum rate
requirements of and otherwise complies with this section, and
(b) applied,
as so calculated, to accumulated contributions or to contributions, as the case
may be, at the times provided by this section.
(3) Subject
to this section, the rate of interest to be applied for the purposes of section
36(1) of the Act
(a) on
member required contributions under defined benefit provisions is the CANSIM
rate or the fund rate of return, and
(b) on
any other contributions is the fund rate of return.
(4) The
actual rate of return and the methodology chosen to ensure that subsection (3)
is adhered to must be specified in the plan, and once the method so specified
has been selected, it may not be changed in respect of any subsequent year
without the prior written consent of the Superintendent.
(5) Interest
must be calculated and applied as at the end of each fiscal year at least.
(6) Where
interest is to be calculated only as at, and not also before, the end of the
fiscal year, it shall be applied,
(a) if
the member has not had a benefit paid or transferred from the plan during the
fiscal year,
(i) to the contributions made during the just completed fiscal year,
at 1/2 the full rate, and
(ii) to the accumulated contributions as at the end of the immediately
preceding fiscal year, at the full rate,
and
(b) if
the member has a benefit paid or transferred from the plan during the fiscal
year, as at the end of the month immediately preceding the month in which the
benefit was, or commenced to be, paid or transferred,
(i) to the contributions made during that current fiscal year to the
end of that month, at 1/2 the full rate, prorated over the number of completed
months during which the person was a member in that uncompleted current fiscal
year, and
(ii) to the accumulated contributions, as at the end of the
immediately preceding fiscal year, at the full rate, prorated as specified in
subclause (i).
(7) For
the purposes of applying subsection (6)(b), where the fund rate of return in
any period would, but for this subsection, result in a negative interest rate,
the fund rate of return is 0%.
(8) Where
interest is to be calculated more frequently than annually, it shall be applied
when it is calculated, and if the calculation is to be done less frequently
than monthly, interest shall be applied in a manner that is consistent with
subsection (6) and, if applicable, subsection (7).
(9) Notwithstanding anything in this section, a
plan may provide for interest to be calculated in such other manner and at such
other rates as the Superintendent considers reasonable and appropriate.
AR 35/2000
s33;245/2003;197/2006
Treatment of excess
contributions
34(1) Where
the circumstances described in section 37(1) of the Act apply and the plan is
amended while the member is employed in Alberta or a designated jurisdiction to
provide in effect that benefits on and after the effective date of the
amendment will be determined for the member under a defined contribution
provision, then, if the defined benefit provision is to continue to apply with
respect to employment before the effective date of the amendment, the amount of
any excess contributions is not to be determined until the termination of
membership or of the whole plan, commencement of the member’s pension, the
member’s death or any subsequent conversion of the defined benefit provision.
(2) Where
the circumstances described in section 37(1) of the Act apply and the plan is
amended while the member is employed in Alberta or a designated jurisdiction to
provide in effect that all benefits, whenever accrued, are to be the subject of
a conversion to a defined contribution provision, the amount of any excess
contributions is to be determined as at the time of the conversion and the
excess contributions may be used in accordance with the options listed in
section 37(2) of the Act.
AR 35/2000
s34;245/2003;197/2006
Manner and extent of
transfers
35(1) In
this section,
(a) “transfer”
means a transfer of assets of a pension plan pursuant to, or pursuant to a plan
provision made under, section 30(5), 38 or 39(6) of the Act or section 58 of
this Regulation;
(b) “transfer
deficiency” means, where a pension plan has a solvency ratio of less than one,
the amount by which the commuted value of a benefit exceeds the product of that
commuted value and the solvency ratio.
(2) Subject to this section, references
in this section to impairment of the solvency of a plan are to be taken to mean
such impairment as would prevent an administrator, without consent or
direction, from making a transfer under section 82(3) of the Act.
(3) The manner in and the extent to
which a transfer may be made are as set out in this section.
(4) Where a plan has a solvency ratio of
at least one, a transfer shall not, subject to this subsection, be considered
to impair the solvency of the plan, but the Superintendent, on the written
request of the administrator, may permit the administrator to refuse the
transfer if the Superintendent agrees with the administrator’s assessment that
the transfer would in fact impair the solvency of the plan.
(5) Where the transfer value under a
defined benefit provision of a plan is higher than the amount that would result
if section 1(1)(h)(i) of the Act were applied, the administrator shall ensure
that supplementary calculations are made to ensure that the solvency of the
plan will not be impaired by the transfer.
(6) Where
a plan has a solvency ratio of less than one, a transfer is to be considered as
impairing the solvency of the plan unless, prior to the making of the transfer,
the employer has remitted sufficient money to the plan to eliminate any
transfer deficiency relating to the transfer.
(7) Notwithstanding subsection (6), the
transfer of an amount equal to the commuted value of a benefit less the
transfer deficiency related to that benefit shall not be considered to impair
the solvency of the plan.
(8) Any transfer deficiency that remains
untransferred shall be transferred within 5 years of the initial transfer and
must include interest up to the end of the month immediately preceding the date
when the last transfer is made.
(9) The
person entitled to have the transfer deficiency transferred shall notify the
administrator of where the transfer is to be made at least 60 days before the
expiry of the 5‑year period.
AR 35/2000
s35;245/2003;197/2006
Minimum amount for
compulsory transfer
36 For the purposes of section 38(7) of the Act,
the prescribed amount for the commuted value of the pension is 20% of the
Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings for the calendar year in which the most
recent determination of the commuted value in question has been done.
AR 35/2000
s36;245/2003;197/2006
Exercise of options
37 Where a person is entitled to
exercise an option under section 37(2), 38(1) and (2) or 39(6) or (7) of the
Act or section 58(2) of this Regulation, the person must exercise the option
within 90 days of the receipt of the information required by section 15, 16,
17, 19, 22 or 24, as the case may be, and where he does not exercise the option
within the 90‑day period, his options with respect to his benefits are
limited to those, if any, provided by the plan.
AR 35/2000 s37;245/2003
Acknowledged
institutions
38(1) The
Superintendent shall, for the purposes of both or either of sections 39 and 40
in relation to any given financial institution, establish and maintain a list
of the financial institutions that are acknowledged for those purposes and that
are thereby authorized to issue the categories or category, being LIRAs and
LIFs or either of those vehicles as the case may be, that are or is identified
in that list in relation to the financial institution in question.
(2) For the purposes of this Regulation,
a financial institution (other than an insurance business in respect of an
annuity) is acknowledged in relation to a LIRA or LIF if, after the commencement
of this subsection,
(a) there
have been filed
(i) a completed application, with certification, on that financial
institution’s behalf in the form prescribed in Schedule 2, and
(ii) any other relevant documents that the Superintendent has required
it to file,
and
(b) the
Superintendent has provided written notice to the financial institution stating
that it has been acknowledged and placed on the list for that vehicle,
and to the extent that
the institution has not been removed under subsection (3).
(3) The Superintendent may, without
affecting the obligations or liabilities of a financial institution in relation
to any transfer, LIRA or LIF, remove the financial institution completely from
the list, or from the list so far as it relates to LIRAs or LIFs, if the
financial institution has acted in breach of any of its obligations under the
legislation.
(4) A financial institution shall not issue or
administer a LIRA or a LIF until and unless it is acknowledged in relation to
that vehicle.
AR 35/2000 s38;197/2006
Locked‑in
retirement account conditions
39(1) The
conditions on which a transfer of money to a LIRA (including a transfer from
one LIRA to another) are to be made and the rules that apply with respect to
LIRAs in general, including rules applicable to transfers from a LIRA, are as
set out or referred to in section 38 of the Act and this section, in the LIRA
addendum and in other provisions of the legislation dealing with LIRAs.
(2) Subject
to the provisions of the legislation allowing for money to be withdrawn from a
LIRA, the purpose of a LIRA is, with respect to and only to Alberta locked‑in
money, to provide a financial vehicle for the holding and investment of money
in it until it is all transferred to another vehicle in accordance with this
section with a view ultimately to the securing of the provision of a pension,
retirement income or an annuity in a form and manner required or permitted by
the legislation.
(3) This
section applies with respect to a LIRA held after the commencement of this
subsection, whether the LIRA was entered into before or after the commencement
of this subsection.
(4) An
RRSP that is intended as a LIRA must contain, as an attachment, an addendum
corresponding exactly to the wording in Form 1 (with instructions appropriately
followed) and section 26(1) of the Interpretation Act does not apply
with respect to that form, and a LIRA addendum so completed and attached
becomes a part of the LIRA.
(5) An
RRSP becomes a LIRA when, and not until, the completed LIRA addendum is
attached to the RRSP and, notwithstanding subsection (4), the RRSP with that
addendum attached remains a LIRA if the addendum ceases to be so attached.
(6) To
the extent that a LIRA does not in any respect effect a provision required by
this Regulation to be included in or incorporated into a LIRA (including the
LIRA addendum), the LIRA is deemed to make such provision in that respect as
would make it comply with this Regulation.
(7) Notwithstanding anything in this
Regulation, a LIRA must comply with the conditions for registration relating to
RRSPs under the tax Act and, once so registered, must be kept in such a form as
to ensure continuation of that registration.
(8) A
transfer to a LIRA may be made only from
(a) the
non‑DC RIA portion of a plan or another LIRA, under section 30(5),
38 or 39(6) of the Act, this section or section 58(2), as the case may be, of
this Regulation, or
(b) a
vehicle comprising a sum administered as a locked‑in RRSP pursuant to an
agreement originally entered into under section 16 of the Regulations under
The Pension Benefits Act (AR 446/66) (repealed).
(9) A transferor administrator or
financial institution shall not transfer money to a LIRA without first
(a) ascertaining
that the transferee financial institution is acknowledged in relation to LIRAs,
(b) advising
the transferee financial institution in writing that the money being
transferred is Alberta locked‑in money, and
(c) if
the transfer is being effected by a former member or an original owner who has
a pension partner at the time of the transfer who has executed the Form 3
waiver, providing the transferee financial institution with a certified copy of
that waiver.
(10) A transferee financial institution
shall not accept a transfer of money to a LIRA unless
(a) that
institution is acknowledged in relation to LIRAs,
(b) the
money comes from a source referred to in subsection (8), and
(c) all
the money to be transferred in is Alberta locked‑in money to the best of
that institution’s knowledge.
(11) A
financial institution issuing a LIRA shall provide the owner with a copy of the
whole LIRA forthwith after its issue.
(12) If
a financial institution pays money out of a LIRA in a manner that contravenes
the legislation, it shall ensure and secure the provision to the owner of a
pension, retirement income or annuity in a manner and in the amounts that would
have been provided had the money not been paid out.
(13) If the transferor administrator or
financial institution contravenes subsection (9)(a) and transfers the money to
an entity that is not acknowledged in relation to LIRAs, that transferor
remains bound by the terms of the vehicle from which the transfer was made and
retains all the responsibilities, liabilities and rights in relation to that
vehicle and the owner that it had immediately before the transfer.
(14) If
the transferor administrator or financial institution contravenes subsection
(9)(b) and, as a result, the transferee financial institution pays out any of
the money received from the transferor in a manner that does not meet the
requirements of the legislation relating to locking in, that transferor shall
transfer anew to the transferee financial institution a sum of money equal to
the amount that the transferor was originally liable to transfer to the
transferee financial institution or such greater sum as the transferee
financial institution paid to the owner as a result of the circumstances
underlying that contravention, and the owner retains the interest in the LIRA
and its value on the same basis as would have applied had there been no
contravention.
(15) Where the owner receives any money
from the transferee financial institution in the circumstances referred to in
subsection (14), then, to the extent that the owner obtains, in effect, a double
payment or a payment as well as a continuing interest in the LIRA, the
transferor administrator or financial institution has a right of action against
the owner for the amount or the extra amount so received.
(16) If
the transferor administrator or financial institution contravenes subsection
(9)(c) and the transferee financial institution pays out money as a result of
the non‑receipt of the waiver copy to a pension partner who executed the
Form 3 waiver, that transferor shall transfer to the transferee financial
institution anew a sum of money equal to the amount that the transferee, as a
result, paid out to that pension partner, and
(a) the
transferee shall pay that money to the deceased’s designated beneficiary or
estate, as the case may be, and
(b) the
transferor has a right of action against that pension partner for the amount
that the transferee financial institution paid to that person.
(17) Subsections
(13) to (16) apply if the transfer‑in rules of section 39, as it existed
before its repeal by section 36 of the Employment Pension Plans (General,
2006) Amendment Regulation, were contravened in a transaction before the
commencement of this subsection.
(18) A financial institution shall ensure
that a LIRA issued by it or the money standing to the credit of such a LIRA or
both, as the case may be,
(a) is
administered in accordance with the legislation,
(b) is
invested in a manner that complies with the rules for the investment of RRSP
money contained in the tax Act,
(c) does
not include any money that the financial institution knows is not Alberta
locked‑in money, and
(d) subject
to the withdrawal provisions referred to in subsection (2), is ultimately
transferred to, and only to,
(i) a pension plan,
(ii) another LIRA,
(iii) a LIF, or
(iv) an annuity.
(19) An
owner may transfer money from a LIRA on a locked‑in basis only if the
transferor financial institution has previously
(a) informed
the transferee administrator or financial institution in writing that the money
is Alberta locked‑in money,
(b) provided
the owner with a written statement showing the balance in the LIRA,
(c) ascertained,
if the transfer is to another LIRA or to a LIF, that the transferee financial
institution is appropriately acknowledged,
(d) confirmed,
if the transfer is to a pension plan, that the appropriate provisions of the
plan permit the transfer in,
(e) if
the transfer is to the non‑DC RIA portion of a plan or to another
LIRA and is being effected by an original owner who has a pension partner at
the time of the transfer who has executed a Form 3 waiver, provided the
transferee administrator or financial institution with a certified copy of that
waiver,
(f) if
the transfer is to a DC RIA, LIF or annuity, offered the owner in writing
the 50% unlocking option and, if the owner is an original owner with a pension
partner at the time of the transfer and exercises the 50% unlocking option,
received an executed Option 1 waiver, and
(g) if
the transfer is to a DC RIA or a LIF or to an annuity other than at least
a 60% joint life annuity and the owner is an original owner with a pension
partner at the time of the transfer, provided the transferee administrator or
financial institution with a certified copy of an executed Option 2 waiver.
(20) Where
money is to be transferred from a LIRA to a DC RIA, LIF or annuity, the
transferor financial institution shall provide to the owner a statement
containing
(a) an
explanation of the 50% unlocking option, including the different options for
implementing it,
(b) the
amount based on which that unlocking option may be exercised, and
(c) if
the owner is an original owner with a pension partner at the time of the
transfer, an explanation of the requirement for an executed Option 1 waiver if
that unlocking option is to be exercised.
(21) A
transferor shall retain the Option 1 waiver as long as it is potentially
applicable.
(22) Where
a financial institution transfers money from a LIRA to another LIRA or to a LIF
or annuity of which it is also the issuer, the financial institution is deemed
for the purposes of the legislation to be acting at arm’s length in relation to
the 2 vehicles and therefore to be the transferor financial institution in
relation to the former vehicle and the transferee financial institution in
relation to the latter.
(23) Notwithstanding anything in this
section, the owner of a LIRA is entitled, on an application by the owner to the
financial institution, to withdraw all the money in the LIRA
(a) as
a lump sum if the owner provides written evidence that the Canada Revenue
Agency has confirmed that the owner has become a non‑resident for the
purposes of the tax Act, or
(b) as
a lump sum or a series of payments for a fixed term if a physician certifies
that the owner has a terminal illness or that due to a disability the owner’s
life is likely to be considerably shortened,
and if, where that
owner is an original owner with a pension partner at the time of the
application, that pension partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
(24) A LIRA that is not eligible for the
payment option referred to in section 45(2) may not be severed so as to
transform it into 2 or more LIRAs, LIFs, DC RIAs or annuities or any
combination of them that would make any of them so eligible.
(25) A
pension partner of an original owner who is potentially entitled to receive
money from a LIRA may, before that owner's death and before the money is paid
out or transferred, waive the right to all the money in the LIRA by executing a
Form 3 waiver.
(26) Where
an owner dies with a balance in the LIRA, the benefit payable on the death is
the value of the LIRA account and,
(a) if
the owner is an original owner with a pension partner at the time of death who
has not executed a Form 3 waiver, is to be used in accordance with subsection
(27), or
(b) if
clause (a) does not apply, is payable in cash to the designated beneficiary or,
if there is no valid designation of a beneficiary, to the deceased’s estate.
(27) Within
60 days after the delivery to the financial institution of the relevant
documents required by it following the death of an original owner referred to
in subsection (26)(a), the balance in the LIRA is to be used for the ultimate
securing of a pension, retirement income or annuity for the non‑waiving
pension partner and is to be transferred, at his or her option,
(a) to
a LIRA,
(b) to
a pension plan on a locked‑in basis, if that plan so permits, or
(c) if
the pension partner has attained the age of 50 years, to a DC RIA, LIF or
annuity.
(28) Within
60 days after the delivery to the financial institution of the relevant
documents required by it following the death of an owner other than one to whom
subsection (27) applies, the balance in the LIRA is to be paid in cash to the
deceased’s designated beneficiary or, if there is no valid designation of a
beneficiary, to the deceased’s estate.
(29) Where
a transfer is made under subsection (27)(c), the pension partner has the same
entitlements with respect to the 50% unlocking option as if he or she were the
original owner.
(30) Parts
4 of the legislation apply with respect to a LIRA, and where money was subject
to those Parts immediately before its transfer to a LIRA, that money continues
to be subject to them.
(31) Where Parts 4 of the legislation apply with
respect to the share in a LIRA of a non‑member‑pension partner, the
conditions set out in those Parts (including the locking‑in provisions)
continue to apply to that share when it is transferred to another vehicle on
that person’s behalf.
(32) Notwithstanding subsection (4), where an amendment
is required to a LIRA addendum as a result of an amendment to Form 1, that
amendment may be effectuated by a textual amendment process if such a process
is specified in writing by the Superintendent.
AR 35/2000
s39;109/2003;133/2003;245/2003;212/2005;197/2006
Life income fund
conditions
40(1) In
this section except subsection (8), “year” means the calendar year.
(2) The conditions on which a transfer of money to a
LIF (including a transfer from one LIF to another) are to be made and the rules
that apply with respect to LIFs in general, including rules applicable to
transfers from a LIF, are as set out or referred to in section 38 of the Act
and this section, in the LIF addendum and in other provisions of the
legislation dealing with LIFs.
(3) Subject
to the provisions of the legislation allowing for money to be withdrawn from a
LIF, the purpose of a LIF is, with respect to and only to Alberta locked‑in
money, to provide a financial vehicle for the holding and investment of money
in it and for the provision of retirement income in a form and manner required
or permitted by the legislation.
(4) This
section applies with respect to a LIF held after the commencement of this
subsection, whether the LIF was entered into before or after the commencement of
this subsection.
(5) An
RRIF that is intended as a LIF must contain, as an attachment, an addendum
corresponding exactly to the wording in Form 2 (with instructions appropriately
followed) and section 26(1) of the Interpretation Act does not apply
with respect to that form, and a LIF addendum so completed and attached becomes
a part of the LIF.
(6) A
LIF is not established, and the RRIF has no effect as a LIF, unless and until
the owner is at least 50 years of age and the completed LIF addendum is attached
to the RRIF.
(7) Notwithstanding
subsection (5), the RRIF with the LIF addendum attached remains a LIF if the
LIF addendum ceases to be so attached.
(8) The
fiscal year of a LIF is the calendar year.
(9) To
the extent that a LIF does not in any respect effect a provision required by
this Regulation to be included in or incorporated into a LIF (including the LIF
addendum), the LIF is deemed to make such provision in that respect as would
make it comply with this Regulation.
(10) Notwithstanding anything in this
Regulation, a LIF must comply with the conditions for registration relating to
RRIFs under the tax Act and, once so registered, must be kept in such a form as
to ensure continuation of that registration.
(11) A
transfer to a LIF may be made only from a pension plan, another LIF, a LIRA or
an LRIF under section 38 or 39(6) of the Act, this section or section 39, 41,
46.1 or 58(2), as the case may be, of this Regulation.
(12) A transferor administrator or
financial institution shall not transfer money to a LIF without first
(a) ascertaining
that the transferee financial institution is acknowledged in relation to LIFs,
(b) advising
the transferee financial institution in writing that the money being
transferred is Alberta locked‑in money, and
(c) if
the transfer is being effected by a former member or an original owner,
(i) attempting to ascertain whether or not that person has a pension
partner at the time of the transfer and, if so, his or her identity, and
(ii) if that person does have a pension partner at the time of the
transfer, providing the transferee financial institution with a certified copy
of
(A) the Option 2 waiver, and
(B) if applicable, the Option 3 waiver,
duly executed
(13) A transferee financial institution
shall not accept a transfer of money to a LIF unless
(a) that
institution is acknowledged in relation to LIFs,
(b) the
money comes from a source referred to in subsection (11), and
(c) all
the money to be transferred in is Alberta locked‑in money to the best of
that institution’s knowledge.
(14) A financial institution issuing a
LIF shall attach any waiver provided under subsection (12)(c) to the LIF,
whereupon it becomes part of the LIF, and shall provide the owner with a copy
of the whole LIF forthwith after its issue.
(15) If
a financial institution pays money out of a LIF in a manner that contravenes
the legislation, it shall provide or secure the provision to the owner of
retirement income or an annuity in a manner and in the amounts that would have
been provided had the money not been paid out.
(16) If the transferor administrator or
financial institution contravenes subsection (12)(a) and transfers the money to
an entity that is not acknowledged in relation to LIFs, that transferor remains
bound by the terms of the vehicle from which the transfer was made and retains
all the responsibilities, liabilities and rights in relation to that vehicle
and the owner that it had immediately before the transfer.
(17) If
the transferor administrator or financial institution contravenes subsection
(12)(b) and, as a result, the transferee financial institution pays out any of
the money received from the transferor in a manner that does not meet the
requirements of the legislation relating to locking in, that transferor shall
transfer anew to the transferee financial institution a sum of money equal to
the amount that the transferor was originally liable to transfer to the
transferee financial institution or such greater sum as the transferee
financial institution paid to the owner as a result of the circumstances
underlying that contravention, and the owner retains the interest in the LIF
and its value on the same basis as would have applied had there been no
contravention.
(18) Where the owner receives any money
from the transferee financial institution in the circumstances referred to in
subsection (17), then, to the extent that the owner obtains, in effect, a
double payment or a payment as well as a continuing interest in the LIF, the
transferor administrator or financial institution has a right of action against
the owner for the amount or the extra amount so received.
(18.1) If
(a) the
transferor administrator or financial institution transfers money in
contravention of subsection (12)(c) (excluding subsection (12)(c)(ii)(A)),
(b) as
a result of the circumstances underlying the contravention, the transferee
institution establishes a LIF, and
(c) there
is a pension partner who has not executed the Option 2 waiver,
that transferor is
liable to that pension partner for the joint life pension to which that person
is entitled and the transferee financial institution shall refund the money
transferred to it by that transferor.
(19) If
the transferor administrator or financial institution contravenes subsection
(12)(c) and the transferee financial institution pays out money as a result of
the non‑receipt of the waiver copy to a pension partner who executed the
Option 3 waiver, that transferor shall transfer to the transferee financial
institution anew a sum of money equal to the amount that the transferee, as a
result, paid out to that pension partner, and
(a) the
transferee shall pay that money to the deceased’s designated beneficiary or
estate, as the case may be, and
(b) the
transferor has a right of action against that pension partner for the amount
that the transferee financial institution paid to that person.
(20) Subsections
(16) to (19) apply if the transfer‑in rules of section 40, as it existed
before its repeal by section 36 of the Employment Pension Plans (General, 2006)
Amendment Regulation, were contravened in a transaction before the
commencement of this subsection.
(21) A financial institution shall ensure
that a LIF issued by it or the money standing to the credit of such a LIF or
both, as the case may be,
(a) is
administered in accordance with the legislation,
(b) is
invested in a manner that complies with the rules for the investment of RRIF
money contained in the tax Act,
(c) does
not include any money that the financial institution knows is not Alberta locked‑in
money, and
(d) subject
to the withdrawal provisions referred to in subsection (3), is used to provide
retirement income in accordance with the legislation or is transferred to, and
only to,
(i) another LIF,
(ii) subject to subsection (22), a DC RIA, or
(iii) an annuity.
(22) An
owner may transfer money from a LIF to a DC RIA only if and to the extent
that the DC RIA provisions so permit and the transferor financial
institution has previously
(a) informed
the transferee administrator in writing that the money is Alberta locked‑in
money that must be administered in accordance with the legislation,
(b) if
the transferor financial institution has an executed Option 2 waiver or Option
2 and 3 waivers or a certified copy of it or them, provided a certified copy of
it or them to that administrator, and
(c) provided
that administrator with
(i) a copy of the information provided to the owner under subsection
(33)(a), and
(ii) a copy of the decision made by the owner respecting the amount to
be withdrawn during the current year.
(23) Where
the balance in the LIF is to be transferred to an annuity and the original
owner had a pension partner at retirement income commencement, that pension
partner is the designated beneficiary of that owner, whether actually so
designated or not, unless that pension partner has executed an Option 3 waiver.
(24) A
pension partner of an original owner who has executed an Option 2 waiver under
a LIF is entitled, at any time prior to the death of the original owner or a
transfer of the money out of the LIF, but is under no obligation, to execute
the Option 3 waiver.
(25) Where
a financial institution transfers money from a LIF to another LIF or to an
annuity of which it is also the issuer, the financial institution is deemed for
the purposes of the legislation to be acting at arm’s length in relation to the
2 vehicles and therefore to be the transferor financial institution in relation
to the former vehicle and the transferee financial institution in relation to
the latter.
(26) Notwithstanding anything in this
section, the owner of a LIF is entitled, on an application by the owner to the
financial institution, to withdraw all the money in the LIF
(a) as
a lump sum if the owner provides written evidence that the Canada Revenue
Agency has confirmed that the owner has become a non‑resident for the
purposes of the tax Act, or
(b) as
a lump sum or a series of payments for a fixed term if a physician certifies
that the owner has a terminal illness or that due to a disability the owner’s
life is likely to be considerably shortened,
and if, where that
owner is an original owner with a pension partner at retirement income
commencement, that pension partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
(27) A LIF that is not eligible for the
payment option referred to in section 45(2) may not be severed so as to
transform it into 2 or more LIFs , DC RIAs or annuities or any combination
of them that would make any of them so eligible.
(28) Within
60 days after the delivery to the financial institution of the relevant
documents required by it following the death of the owner, the balance of the
LIF is,
(a) if
the deceased was an original owner who had a pension partner at retirement
income commencement who did not, prior to the death, execute an Option 3
waiver, to be paid to, or transferred to an RRSP or a RRIF on behalf of, that
pension partner at his or her option, or
(b) if
the deceased is any other owner, to be paid in cash to the deceased’s
designated beneficiary or, if there is no valid designation of a beneficiary,
to the deceased’s estate.
(29) Parts
4 of the legislation apply with respect to a LIF, and where money was subject
to those Parts immediately before its transfer to a LIF, that money continues
to be subject to them.
(30) Where Parts 4 of the legislation apply with
respect to the share in a LIF of a non‑member‑pension partner, the
conditions set out in those Parts (including the locking‑in provisions)
continue to apply to that share when it is transferred to another vehicle on
that person’s behalf.
(31) A
financial institution administering a LIF shall provide to each owner, within
30 days after the beginning of each year, a year‑end statement containing
the following information about that owner’s account so far as applicable:
(a) the
account balances as at the beginning and the end of the year in question;
(b) the
interest earned during that year;
(c) the
total amount paid out of the account during that year;
(d) the
amounts transferred into the account during that year;
(e) the
fees charged against the account during that year;
(f) the
minimum and maximum amounts that may be withdrawn during the current year
being, respectively,
(i) the Canada Revenue Agency minimum for RRIFs, and
(ii) the greater of
(A) the amount calculated under subsection
(34)(a), and
(B) the gains, if any, earned in the immediately
previous year;
(g) the
deadline for selecting the amount and timing of the income payment from the
account for the current year;
(h) if
that selection is not made, the amount that will be paid applying the tax Act
and the date when that payment will be made;
(i) the
process for changing that selection.
(32) The
owner must establish and notify the financial institution in writing of the
amount of retirement income that is to be paid out during the current year,
except that if the LIF guarantees the rate of return of the LIF over a period
that is greater than one year, then the owner may establish and notify at the
beginning of that period the amount of retirement income to be paid during any
one or more of the years that end not later than the expiration of that period,
but the owner may, at any time during a year, change the amount provided that
the amount will always result, by the end of the year, in a payment or payments
that are at least equal to the minimum amount required by the tax Act and that
do not exceed the maximum amount calculated in accordance with subsection (34).
(33) A
financial institution that has issued a LIF shall provide
(a) to
an owner who transfers money out of the
LIF, a reconciliation of the LIF balance as at the date of the transfer with
the balance as at the end of the immediately previous year, showing the amounts
transferred into, the interest earned by, the payments made out of, and the fees
charged against, the LIF during the intervening period,
(b) to
an owner who receives a payment under subsection (26), a reconciliation of the
LIF balance as at the date of the payment with the balance as at the end of the
immediately previous year, showing the information referred to in clause (a),
and
(c) to
a surviving pension partner or designated beneficiary or the estate, as
applicable, and before making a payment under subsection (28), the
reconciliation referred to in clause (b).
(34) Subject
to subsections (35) to (38), the amount of retirement income paid from a LIF
during a year is not to exceed the greatest of
(a) M,
with that symbol being calculated in accordance with the following formula:
M = C
F
where
C is the balance of the money in the LIF on the first day of the
year, and
F is the value on January 1 of the year in which the calculation is
made of a guaranteed amount of which the annual payment is $1 payable at the
beginning of each year between that date and December 31 of the year during
which the owner reaches the age of 85 years and calculated by using
(i) an interest rate of not more than 6% per
year, or
(ii) for the first 15 years after the date of the
valuation, an interest rate exceeding 6% per year if that rate does not exceed
the interest rate obtained on long‑term bonds issued by the Government of
Canada for the month of November preceding the year of the valuation, as
compiled by Statistics Canada and published in the Bank of Canada Review as
CANSIM Series B‑14013, and using an interest rate not exceeding 6% in
subsequent years,
(b) the
minimum amount required to be withdrawn in accordance with the tax Act, and
(c) the
gains, if any, earned in the immediately previous year.
(35) For
the initial year of payment of retirement income from a LIF,
(a) the
limit M is prorated in proportion to the number of months in the year in which
the LIF was established for which such income was paid divided by 12, with any
part of an incomplete month counting as one month,
(b) the
minimum amount to be paid, as referred to in subsection (34)(b), is set at
zero, and
(c) gains
referred to in subsection (34)(c) are 6% of the fair market value of the LIF
prorated, where applicable, as referred to in clause (a).
(36) Subject
to subsection (32), if the money in the LIF is transferred to another LIF or to
a DC RIA, payments to the owner will continue in the same manner as the
owner selected at the beginning of the year of the transfer.
(37) If
the LIF so permits, an owner may make an additional transfer to the LIF and,
(a) if
that additional transferred amount has never been under a DC RIA or a LIF
before, an additional withdrawal is allowed in that year, and
(b) the
additional withdrawal is to be calculated in accordance with subsection (34)
and prorated in accordance with subsection (35) with respect to the amount that
was transferred in.
(38) Where
the exception in subsection (32) applies, subsections (34) to (37) apply with
such modifications as the circumstances require to determine, as at the
beginning of the first year of the interval, the amount of retirement income to
be paid for each year in that interval.
(39) Notwithstanding
subsection (5), where an amendment is required to a LIF addendum as a result of
an amendment to Form 2, that amendment may be effectuated by a textual
amendment process if such a process is specified in writing by the
Superintendent.
AR 35/2000
s40;109/2003;133/2003;245/2003;197/2006
LRIFs - abolition,
temporary saving and transitional
41(1) Subject
to this section, the LRIF is abolished for the purposes of the legislation and
no further LRIFs may be issued.
(2) This
section applies notwithstanding the abolition of the LRIF and the closing of
the former list of financial institutions holding LIRAs, LIFs and LRIFs as a
result of section 36 of the Employment Pension Plans (General, 2006)
Amendment Regulation.
(3) This
section prevails over section 40 to the extent of any inconsistency between
them.
(4) A
financial institution that, immediately before the commencement of this
section, was lawfully a party to an LRIF (in this section referred to as an
“LRIF institution”) and that wishes to have the vehicle continued in different
form after this subsection ceases to have any force in relation to it must, before
the end of 2007 or such later time as the Superintendent allows it under
subsection (5),
(a) submit
a written application to the Superintendent to be placed on the new list, so
far as it relates to LIFs, established under section 38,
(b) undertake
in writing to attach the LIF addendum to all LIFs to be issued by it,
(c) as
soon as practicable after being acknowledged under section 38 in respect of
LIFs,
(i) establish a new LIF in the name of the owner of the LRIF,
(ii) transfer all Alberta locked‑in money in the LRIF to that
LIF, and
(iii) provide the owner with a copy of the whole LIF (including the LIF
addendum),
(the period between
the commencement of this section and the end of 2007 or, if applicable, that
later allowed time being in this section referred to as the “transition
period”).
(5) The
Superintendent, on an application made in writing by a specific LRIF
institution before December 16, 2007, may in writing extend the end of 2007
deadline referred to in subsection (4) for that institution until a date not
later than the end of June 2008.
(6) An
LRIF institution may continue to administer an LRIF lawfully established before
and subsisting immediately before the commencement of this section, and that
LRIF remains valid during the transition period in accordance with the
legislation in force immediately before the commencement of this section, and
the legislation that applied at that time to any extent in respect of LRIFs
continues to apply to the same extent with respect to LRIFs during the transition
period.
(7) Notwithstanding
subsection (6),
(a) section
68(6), Schedule 1.1, Form 6, as it applies in respect of Option 1, and other
provisions of this Regulation that apply Schedule 1.1 or that portion of Form 6
apply in respect of LRIFs as they apply to LIFs and the provisions of Form 2
relating to the 50% unlocking option and the waiver by a pension partner of
beneficiary rights, with supporting definitions in Form 2, are deemed to form
part of the LRIF addendum continued as a result of subsection (6) with suitable
adaptations,
(b) subject
to subsection (8), a transfer of money from an LRIF to a LIRA and the receipt
by a LIRA of money from an LRIF are prohibited,
(c) sections
3(2) and (3) and 40(21)(b) and (24) apply in respect of LRIFs as they apply to
LIFs, and
(d) the
definitions of “Alberta locked‑in money” in section 2 and Form 2 are to
be treated as including money in an LRIF.
(8) Where
a transfer of Alberta locked‑in money was initiated between an LRIF and a
LIRA, LIF or annuity before the commencement of this section and that transfer
was not completed immediately before that commencement, then the conditions set
out for the transfer in this Regulation, as it existed as at that time, are to
continue to apply to the transaction.
(9) An
LRIF institution that does not wish to establish new LIFs and effect money
transfers under subsection (4) shall, as soon as practicable and in any case
before December 16, 2007, transfer all its LRIFs to another financial
institution that has been acknowledged under section 38 in relation to LIFs,
and such a transferring financial institution continues to have all the
obligations and liabilities under the LRIFs until all such transfers are duly
completed and the transferee financial institution has assumed all the
obligations and liabilities respecting the LRIFs under the new LIFs.
(10) If
an LRIF institution fails to comply with subsection (4) or (9) or has failed to
receive acknowledgement in relation to LIFs, it shall provide to the
Superintendent, within 7 days after the end of the transition period, a list of
all persons who held and continue to hold an LRIF referred to in subsection
(4), and the LRIF institution continues to have all the obligations and
liabilities under the LRIFs until the Superintendent notifies it in writing
that those liabilities are extinguished.
(11) The
LRIF owner and the LRIF institution are deemed to have executed the LRIF
addendum provisions referred to in subsection (7), whether they did so or not.
(12) If
an LRIF institution does not in effect convert all its LRIFs and transfer the
money in accordance with this section before the end of the transition period,
the Superintendent may take whatever steps are considered necessary and
appropriate to protect the interests of the owners and to have the LRIFs
converted in effect into LIFs, and for that purpose may direct that LRIF
institution to take any action that he or she considers necessary.
(NOTE: Section 66(4) of AR 197/2006
provides as follows:
(4) Subject to the continuing liabilities of the financial
institution imposed, and the continuing rights of the Superintendent given, by
sections 41 and 73.2, those sections are repealed at the end of the last
transition period, within the meaning of section 41(4) and 73.2(2) respectively,
applicable to the financial institution.)
AR 35/2000
s41;133/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Withdrawals from
LIRAs, etc., on ground of financial hardship
41.1(1) A
LIRA or LIF must provide for the right of its owner to withdraw, on application
to the financial institution that administers it, the whole or part of the
money held in that vehicle if the Superintendent has previously given written
consent, pursuant to Schedule 4, to the owner’s application for the withdrawal
on the grounds of being in circumstances of financial hardship and need.
(2) RRSPs
containing money to which section 35(2) of the Act applies are deemed to
provide for the withdrawal of money from them provided for in subsection (1)
and those RRSPs are exempted from section 35(1) and (5) of the Act with respect
to such withdrawals.
(3) An owner who has made 2 applications for
withdrawals under subsection (1) or (2) or a combination of both in the
previous 12 months may not apply for a third under this section.
AR 133/2003 s5;197/2006
LIRAs and LIFs on
spousal relationship breakdown
42(1) Part
4 of the Act and Part 4 of this Regulation, as they apply with respect to
benefits, also apply, subject to the adaptations set out in this section, to
money contained in a LIRA or LIF at the time of the marriage breakdown.
(2) In applying Part 4 to money
contained in a LIRA or LIF,
(a) “total
entitlement” is to be taken as the total value of the LIRA or LIF, as the case
may be, at the time mentioned in the matrimonial property order or agreement as
the end of the period of joint accrual, and
(b) section
58(2) does not apply and the non‑member‑pension partner’s share may
be transferred to the non‑member‑pension partner’s pension plan, if
permitted by that plan, or to a LIRA, LIF or annuity.
(3) Sections
24 and 45(2) apply with respect to money of a member‑pension partner or
non‑member‑pension partner held in a LIRA or LIF, with references
in section 24 to the administrator being treated as references to the financial
institution.
AR 35/2000 s42;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Waiver forms
43(1) The
form of the waiver for the purposes of section 39(5.1) of the Act is Form 3.
(2) The
form of the waiver for the purposes of section 40(4)(a) of the Act is
(a) Part
1 of Form 4 where benefits are to be paid from the plan under a defined benefit
provision, and
(b) Part
1, as it relates to Option 2, of Form 6 in any other case.
(3) The
form of the waiver for the purposes of section 40(4.2)(a) of the Act is
(a) Part
2 of Form 4 where benefits are to be paid from the plan under a defined benefit
provision, and
(b) Part
2 of Form 6 in any other case.
(4) The
form of the waiver for the purposes of section 46(5) of the Act is Form 5.
(5) A
waiver under Part 1 or Part 2 of Form 4 or Option 1, 2 or 3 operates only to
waive entitlements that are the subject‑matter of that Part of Form 4 or
of that Option and not with respect to entitlements that are the subject‑matter
of the other Part of Form 4 or of another Option, as the case may be.
(6) Where
the legislation makes provision directly or indirectly for a waiver by a
pension partner in a Form, the requirement as to form is met if the pension
partner executed a waiver before the commencement of this subsection in the
form prescribed with respect to that provision, or its equivalent, as that
provision or its equivalent existed and was in force at the time of the signing
of the waiver, provided that the effect of that provision was the same or
similar to the provision as it currently reads.
(7) A
waiver by a pension partner of any entitlement has no effect as against the
pension plan, LIRA, LIF or annuity to which it has to be sent following its
signing and, for the purposes of this Regulation, is not validly executed,
unless it has and can be proved to have been sent to the administrator or
financial institution, as the case may be.
(8) A
waiver under Form 3 or Part 2 of Form 4 or the Option 3 waiver may be
(a) signed
by an individual who is entitled to sign it at any time prior to the death of
the original plan member referred to in it, or
(b) revoked
at any time before it becomes effective.
(9) The
signing of the waiver referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (3) satisfies the
conditions and proof requirements for the purposes of section 39(5.1),
40(4)(b), 40(4.2)(b), as the case may be, of the Act.
AR 35/2000
s43;245/2003;197/2006
Cost‑of‑living
adjustments as ancillary benefits
44 For the purposes of section
42(1)(d) of the Act, cost‑of‑living adjustments are prescribed to
be ancillary benefits except to the extent that they must be paid under the
terms of the plan.
AR 35/2000
s44;245/2003;197/2006
Conversion of
optional ancillary contributions to benefits
44.1 Optional ancillary
contributions must be converted to ancillary benefits on an actuarially
equivalent basis that is consistent with generally accepted actuarial practice
standards established by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, or on any other
basis considered reasonable by the Superintendent and allowed by the tax Act.
AR 197/2006 s39
Maximum commutable
amounts
45(1) Subject to subsection (1.1), a pension plan
must provide for the payment option referred to in section 46(1) of the Act at
the earliest of termination of membership or of the plan, death or pension
commencement if,
(a) in
the case of any plan containing a defined benefit provision,
(i) the monthly pension payments that would be payable to him at or
after pensionable age do not exceed 1/12 of 4% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings for the
calendar year in which that earliest event occurred, or
(ii) the commuted value of the pension to which he is entitled does
not exceed 20% of that year’s Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings,
or
(b) in
the case of a plan containing only defined contribution provisions, that
commuted value does not exceed that 20%.
(1.1) Where
pension commencement is deferred, the pension plan must provide for the payment
option referred to in section 46(1) of the Act on the administrator’s being
requested in writing to make the payment in accordance with the terms of the
plan if,
(a) in
the case of a plan containing a defined benefit provision,
(i) the monthly pension payments that would be payable as a result of
that request do not exceed 1/12 of 4% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable
Earnings for the year in which that request was made, or
(ii) the commuted value of the pension, as calculated at the time of
that request, does not exceed 20% of that year’s Year’s Maximum Pensionable
Earnings,
or
(b) in
the case of a plan containing only defined contribution provisions, that
commuted value, as so calculated, does not exceed that 20%.
(1.2) Where
(a) a
member suspended membership in one plan and became a member of another plan to
which the employer was required to contribute on the member’s behalf,
(b) a
member or former member is entitled to benefits from 2 or more pension plans as
a result of a plan transfer within the meaning of section 65(1)(b), or
(c) a
member or former member is entitled to benefits arising both from defined
benefit provisions and defined contribution provisions of a particular plan,
the benefits under
both or all of those plans or kinds of provision are to be aggregated for the
purposes of the calculations under this section.
(2) A LIRA or LIF must provide for the
payment option referred to in section 46(1) of the Act, on application to the
financial institution for the payment, at any time
(a) if
the value of that vehicle does not exceed 20% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable
Earnings for the calendar year in which the application is made, or
(b) if
(i) the owner has attained the age of 65 years, and
(ii) the balance in the account does not exceed
40% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings for the year in which the
application is made.
AR 35/2000
s45;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Conversion of
pensions to other benefits
46 The conversion of pensions or
parts of pensions to benefits payable under section 46(3) of the Act must be
done using actuarial assumptions that do not take into account the shortened
life expectancy of the person referred to in that subsection.
AR 35/2000 s46;245/2003
DC RIA component
46.1(1) In
this section,
(a) “DC
account” means the portion of a pension fund to which the plan’s defined
contribution provisions apply, exclusive of all DC RIAs;
(b) “DC RIA
participant” means, if the person afterwards referred to in this clause has
attained the age of 50 years,
(i) a former member who has, or has applied to establish, a
DC RIA, or
(ii) a person who is a member by virtue of the re‑employment
circumstances described in subsection (19),
and, if the rules so
permit, includes a surviving pension partner of such a DC RIA participant
in whose name the DC RIA is or is to be continued;
(c) “rules”
means those defined contribution provisions of a pension plan, if any, that
provide for DC RIAs;
(d) “year”
means a calendar year.
(2) To
the extent that there is any conflict or inconsistency between them,
(a) this
section prevails over any other provisions of the legislation, and
(b) the
tax Act prevails over this section.
(3) The
benefits prescribed for the purposes of section 46(8) of the Act are the
variable benefits that are allowed by paragraph 8506(1)(e.1) and subsections
8506(4) to (7), so far as applicable, of the Income Tax Regulations (Canada)
(CROC., c.945), being those provided for in this section.
(4) A
pension plan with defined contribution provisions may provide for the payment
of retirement income in the form of DC RIA benefits, and where a plan allows
the establishment of a DC RIA and provides for such DC RIA benefits,
the provisions of this section set out required contractual provisions of the
plan that apply with respect to the DC RIA and the DC RIA benefits.
(5) Only
Alberta locked‑in money may be transferred into a DC RIA.
(6) The
administrator shall not transfer money from a DC account to a DC RIA
(a) unless
the DC RIA participant has been offered the 50% unlocking option,
(b) where
the DC participant has a pension partner at the time of the transfer and
exercises the 50% unlocking option, unless the pension partner has exercised
Option 1, and
(c) where
the DC RIA participant has a pension partner at the time of the transfer,
unless that pension partner has exercised Option 2.
(7) In
addition to providing for the transfer of money from the DC account to the
DC RIA, the rules may permit a DC RIA participant, so far as
applicable, to make a transfer into the DC RIA from the DC RIA
participant’s LIRA or LIF or a DC account or a DC RIA in another pension
plan, or from any 2 or more of them, and the rules must provide for such of
those additional transfer options, if any, that are to be offered.
(8) The
rules must provide that a DC RIA participant may transfer money from the
DC RIA to, but only to,
(a) a
LIF,
(b) an
annuity, or
(c) a
DC RIA with another pension plan, if the rules of that plan so permit.
(9) The
administrator shall not transfer any money from a DC RIA on a locked‑in
basis unless the administrator has
(a) informed
the transferee administrator or financial institution in writing that the money
is Alberta locked‑in money,
(b) if
the transfer is being effected by a DC RIA participant who is not a
surviving pension partner and who had a pension partner at retirement income
commencement, provided the transferee with a certified copy of an executed
Option 2 and, if applicable, Option 3 waiver, and
(c) where
the transfer is to a LIF, ascertained that the transferee financial institution
is acknowledged in relation to LIFs.
(10) Where
a transfer is made from a DC RIA, the administrator shall forthwith
provide the transferee administrator or financial institution with
(a) a
statement reconciling the DC RIA balance immediately after the transfer
with the balance as at the end of the immediately previous year, showing the
amounts transferred into, the interest earned by, the payments made out of, and
the fees charged against, the DC RIA during the intervening period, and
(b) a
copy of any decision made by the DC RIA participant respecting the amount
to be withdrawn during the current year.
(11) The
rules must provide that, within 60 days after the delivery to the administrator
of the relevant documents required by it following the death of a DC RIA
participant with a surviving pension partner who has not executed the Option 3
waiver, the DC RIA benefits will be paid to the surviving pension partner
(a) in
cash,
(b) if
and to the extent permitted by or under the tax Act, as a transfer to an RRSP
or a RRIF, or
(c) as
a transfer to an annuity,
at the election of
that pension partner.
(12) Notwithstanding
subsection (11), the rules may provide that, if the surviving pension partner
so elects and if and to the extent allowed by the tax Act, DC RIA benefits
will continue to be paid from the DC RIA to that pension partner.
(13) The
rules must provide that, within 60 days after the delivery to the administrator
of the relevant documents required by it following the death of a DC RIA
participant who had no surviving pension partner or whose surviving pension
partner had executed the Option 3 waiver, the DC RIA benefits will be paid
to the deceased’s designated beneficiary or, if there is no valid designation
of beneficiary, to the deceased’s estate in cash or, in the case of a designated
beneficiary and if and to the extent permitted by the tax Act, as a transfer to
an RRSP or a RRIF.
(14) The
rules must provide
(a) that,
within 60 days after receipt of the information required by section 24.1(3)(g)
to (k), the DC RIA participant will establish and notify the administrator
in writing of the amount of the DC RIA benefits that is to be paid during
the current year, except that if the rules guarantee the rate of return of the
DC RIA benefits over a period that is greater than one year, then the DC RIA
participant may establish and notify, at the beginning of that period, the
amount of DC RIA benefits to be paid during any one or more of the years
that end not later than the expiration of that period,
(b) that
the DC RIA participant may,
at any time during the year or that extended period, change that amount
provided that the amount will always result, by the end of the year or that
extended period, in a payment or payments that are at least equal to the
minimum amount required by the tax Act and that do not exceed the maximum
amount calculated in accordance with subsection (15), and
(c) for
the default arrangements referred to in section 24.1(3)(o) if no election is
made.
(15) The
rules must provide for the matters provided for in section 40(34) to (38),
substituting in those subsections
(a) “DC RIA
benefits” for “retirement income”,
(b) “DC RIA”
for “LIF”, and
(c) “DC RIA
participant” for “owner”.
(16) A
DC RIA that is not eligible for a payment option referred to in section 45
may not be severed so as to transform it into 2 or more LIFs, DC RIAs or
annuities or any combination of them, one or more of which is so eligible.
(17) Section
40(26) applies in respect of a DC RIA.
(18) Section
31 does not apply to a DC RIA but the rules must provide that, where a
DC RIA participant receiving DC RIA benefits becomes a member with
respect to defined contribution provisions of the plan,
(a) at
the option of that person, DC RIA benefit payments are to continue or are
suspended as long as that person remains such a member,
(b) the
additional money in the DC account resulting from the further employment is not
to be commingled with the money in the DC RIA while the DC RIA
participant remains a member,
(c) the
DC RIA participant, on the termination of the subsequent membership is to
have the same portability rights and 50% unlocking options with respect to that
DC account as if that person were a terminated member under section 38(1) and
(2) of the Act, and
(d) if applicable, DC RIA benefit payments
that were suspended under clause (a) are to recommence when the person again
terminates membership.
AR 197/2006 s41
Consent re financial
hardship commutation, etc.
46.2 The basis for the
Superintendent’s consent under section 46(9) of the Act is that set out in
section 41.1 and Schedule 4.
AR 197/2006 s41
Variation for
reduction in working time
47(1) This
section sets out the prescribed conditions, amount and adjustment for the
purposes of section 47(1) and (2) respectively of the Act.
(2) The maximum lump sum payment amount
referred to in section 47(1) of the Act is an amount equal to the lowest of
(a) 70%
of the reduction in remuneration resulting from the reduction in working time
during the year in question,
(b) 40%
of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings for that year, prorated accordingly
where the agreement does not cover the full year, and
(c) the
value of what would be the member’s benefits if he ceased to be a member on the
date he applies for the payment of the lump sum.
(3) The receipt of the lump‑sum
payment does not in itself affect the member’s continued membership in the plan
or the continuing accrual of benefits.
(4) The administrator shall ascertain
the amount of that portion of the pension that would have been payable to the
member if he were to terminate at pensionable age, or on the date of the
payment of the lump sum if he has already reached pensionable age, that is
equivalent to each lump‑sum payment under this section.
(5) The pension to be paid when the
member ultimately terminates is to be reduced
(a) if
payment of the pension is to commence at his pensionable age, by an amount that
is equivalent to the amount ascertained under subsection (4), or
(b) if
payment of the pension is to commence at any other time, by an amount that is
equivalent to the amount by which it would have been reduced had clause (a)
been applied.
(6) The administrator shall make the
calculations for the purposes of subsections (4) and (5), as at the date of the
payment of the lump sum, according to the same actuarial assumptions and
methods, other than those related to early or postponed payment of the pension,
as are used in applying section 37 of the Act.
(7) The remuneration paid during the
period in respect of which the member is entitled to the lump‑sum payment
is not to be taken into account in computing the benefits relating to
employment that does not relate to that period, unless it is to the advantage
of the member.
(8) The member must apply to the
administrator each time a payment is requested but may not apply more than once
each calendar year.
(9) If
the member has a pension partner, no lump sum to which this section applies may
be paid unless the pension partner consents in writing to that particular
payment.
AR 35/2000
s47;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Solvency tests and
funding of plans
48(1) This
section applies only in relation to pension plans that contain defined benefit
provisions.
(2) The tests referred to in section
48(2) of the Act for the solvency of plans are as set out in, and plans shall
be funded in accordance with, this section, and this section also contains
certain matters referred to in sections 55(1) and 63(1).
(3) Subject to subsection (4) and
section 49(2), an employer shall pay into a plan,
(a) in
respect of current employment, an amount of employer contributions on at least
a monthly basis equal to the normal actuarial cost allocated to the employer,
as stated in the most recent actuarial valuation report or cost certificate
filed,
(b) where
the plan has one or more unfunded liabilities, payments consisting of equal
payments made at least monthly that are sufficient to amortize the unfunded
liability or each unfunded liability over a period not exceeding 15 years from
the review date relating to its establishment, and
(c) where
the plan has one or more solvency deficiencies, payments consisting of equal
payments made at least monthly that are sufficient to amortize the solvency
deficiency or each solvency deficiency over a period not exceeding 5 years from
the review date relating to its establishment.
(3.1) The
criteria prescribed for the purposes of section 48(4) of the Act are that
(a) the
jointly funded pension plan is a publicly funded plan,
(b) the
administrator has applied in writing to the Superintendent for the joint
funding portion of that subsection to apply to the plan, and
(c) the
Superintendent has approved that application in writing.
(4) Subject
to subsection (4.1), the employer may, instead of making the special payments
referred to in subsection (3)(b) or (c), make at least monthly payments
expressed in such a manner that
(a) either
(i) each payment is a constant percentage of the future payroll of
the members projected as at the date of the original establishment of the
unfunded liability or solvency deficiency, as the case may be, in question, or
(ii) the payments are expressed as a dollars and cents per hour amount
based on current and actually negotiated future contribution rates,
and
(b) the
actuarial present value of all the payments over the period selected, not
exceeding the maximum period referred to in subsection (3)(b) or (c), as the
case may be, is equal to that liability or deficiency.
(4.1) To
the extent that subsection (4) deals with a solvency deficiency, that
subsection does not apply where payments are required by section 73(2) or (3)
of the Act.
(5) An employer or employers, as the
case may be, shall make the payments required by section 73(2) or (3) of the
Act in accordance with the payment schedule established under subsection (3)(c)
and other applicable provisions of this section.
(6) Each unfunded liability or solvency
deficiency must be funded separately and not combined with any other unfunded
liability or solvency deficiency, as the case may be.
(7) Where a review is made and
(a) it
is determined that a new unfunded liability exists, or
(b) it
is determined that no new unfunded liability exists but the reviewer considers
that an actual termination of the plan would result in benefit decreases to the
members or former members,
the reviewer shall
perform supplementary calculations to determine whether a new solvency
deficiency exists.
(8) Where a solvency deficiency has been
amortized, the reviewer may recalculate any special payments for an unfunded
liability that has not been amortized and the employer may make the special
payments as recalculated instead of the special payments calculated at the
review date relating to the establishment of the unfunded liability.
(9) In
subsection (9.1), “going concern actuarial gain” means the actuarial value, as
at a valuation date, of the net positive financial impact, if any, caused by
economic and demographic experience, determined on a going concern basis in
accordance with accepted actuarial practice, in the period between the review
date of the most recently filed actuarial valuation report and the current
valuation date.
(9.1) Where
a filed actuarial valuation report or cost certificate reveals that the plan
has a going concern actuarial gain,
(a) the
going concern actuarial gain shall be used to amortize or, where insufficient
to amortize, then to reduce the outstanding balance of an unfunded liability,
with the established unfunded liabilities being amortized or reduced according
to the chronological order in which they were established, and
(b) where
the going concern actuarial gain is used to reduce an unfunded liability under
clause (a), further special payments under subsection (3)(b) may be reduced for
that unfunded liability on a prorated basis over the remainder of the period
over which they are payable.
(10) In
subsection (10.1), “solvency actuarial gain” means the actuarial value, as at a
valuation date, of the net positive financial impact, if any, caused by
economic and demographic experience, determined on a solvency basis in
accordance with accepted actuarial practice, in the period between the review
date of the most recently filed actuarial valuation report and the current
valuation date.
(10.1) Where a filed actuarial valuation
report or cost certificate reveals that the plan has a solvency actuarial gain,
(a) the
solvency actuarial gain shall be used to amortize or, where insufficient to
amortize, then to reduce the outstanding balance of a solvency deficiency, with
the established solvency deficiencies being amortized or reduced according to
the chronological order in which they were established, and
(b) where
the solvency actuarial gain is used to reduce a solvency deficiency under
clause (a), further special payments under subsection (3)(c) may be reduced for
that solvency deficiency on a prorated basis over the remainder of the period
over which they are payable.
(11) Where a filed actuarial valuation
report or cost certificate reveals that the plan has excess assets, the excess
assets shall be
(a) used
to increase benefits,
(b) left
in the plan,
(c) unless
the plan specifically provides that an employer may not reduce the employer
contributions referred to in subsection (3)(a) by the use of excess assets and
to the extent that the employer contributions do not relate to a solvency
deficiency, applied to reduce those employer contributions,
(d) if
the plan so permits, applied to reduce member required contributions, or
(e) if
no solvency deficiency exists and subject to section 83 of the Act and section
67 of this Regulation, paid or transferred to the employer,
or applied to any 2 or
more of those objectives.
(12) A
specified multi‑employer plan or a multi‑unit plan may, in applying
this section, provide that some or all of the assets and liabilities (including
excess assets) and the administrative expenses relating to each participating
employer are to be separately determined and allocated, in which case each
participating employer shall comply with this section with respect to its
allocated share of contributions required to fund the plan.
(13) The rate of amortization of an
unfunded liability or solvency deficiency under a schedule established under
subsection (3) or (4) may be increased by
(a) increasing
the amount of the special payments,
(b) making
special payments in advance, or
(c) making
additional payments of any kind,
and where, in respect
of a fiscal year, that rate of amortization is so increased, the amount of a
special payment for a subsequent fiscal year may, subject to subsection (14),
be reduced or eliminated, as the case may be.
(14) The reduction or elimination of a
special payment under subsection (13) may not result in the outstanding balance
of an unfunded liability or solvency deficiency being at any time greater,
taking into account any reduction of an unfunded liability by virtue of
subsection (10)(a) and any increase in the rate of amortization under
subsection (13), than it would have been had the full special payments required
by subsection (3) or (4) for the subsequent fiscal years been made and the
reduction of the unfunded liability or the increase in the amortization rate,
as the case may be, not been effected.
(15) Notwithstanding subsection (3),
where a plan is reviewed or the latest review revised pursuant to section 9(7),
the 15‑ and 5‑year periods referred to in subsection (3)(b) and (c)
respectively of this section shall be treated as commencing to run from the
date when the change is made.
(16) Where a plan has a transfer
agreement within the meaning of section 23(1) of the Act, the reviewer shall
establish the basis for transfers so that no transfer under it will impair the
solvency of the plan, for which purpose section 35(2) applies.
(17) Where employer contributions under a
defined benefit provision of a specified multi‑employer plan are based on
a fixed rate of dollars and cents per hour of employment, the reviewer shall
perform supplementary tests to demonstrate that the rate and amount of the
contributions are sufficient to meet the normal actuarial cost and special
payments, and where that sufficiency cannot be demonstrated, he shall so advise
the administrator and propose options for implementing remedial action.
(18) At or before the earlier of the date
on which the administrator selects an option referred to in subsection (17) and
the date on which the latest actuarial valuation report and cost certificate
referred to in section 10(2) or 27(3), or interim cost certificate, statement
or actuarial valuation report referred to in section 27(2), as the case may be,
is due, the administrator shall also file the options and indicate which option
will be implemented.
(19) If an employer has withdrawn from a
multi‑unit plan and there is an outstanding solvency deficiency with
respect to members who are that employer’s employees, that employer shall make
solvency deficiency payments to the plan in accordance with this section.
(20) Where a plan has an unfunded
liability or a solvency deficiency and the requirements of this section with
respect to special payments differ from those under the laws of any designated
jurisdiction to which the plan is also subject, the Superintendent may permit
an appropriate variation from the requirements of this section with respect to
the special payments required.
(21) Where a fiscal year is longer or
shorter than 12 months, the amount required to be paid under this section shall
be increased or reduced proportionately.
(22) Plans for specified individuals are
subject to such funding limitations as are imposed by the tax Act.
(23) Where
an insured plan established before January 1, 1967 is funded by level premiums
to pensionable age for each individual member, it shall be treated as meeting
the solvency tests.
AR 35/2000
s48;218/2000;245/2003;197/2006
Remitting of
contributions
49(1) The
period within which contributions must be remitted under section 50(1) of the
Act is a period that ends,
(a) in
the case of member contributions, 30 days after the end of the month in which
the contributions were received by the employer or were deducted from the
member’s remuneration,
(b) in
the case of employer contributions determined in accordance with a formula
relating to a defined contribution provision,
(i) if that formula relates to profits of the employer and those employer
contributions are not minimum required contributions, 90 days after the end of
the fiscal year, or
(ii) if that formula does not so relate or if those employer
contributions are minimum required contributions, 30 days after the end of the
month for which those contributions are payable,
(c) in
the case of employer contributions under defined benefit provisions of
specified multi‑employer plans or multi‑unit plans, 30 days after
the end of the month for which those contributions are payable, and
(d) subject
to clause (c), in the case of employer contributions that
(i) relate to normal actuarial costs, or
(ii) are special payments
in respect of defined
benefit provisions that are payable on at least a monthly basis, 30 days after
the end of each period in respect of which they are payable.
(2) Notwithstanding
subsection (1)(d) and section 48(3), when an actuarial valuation report and
cost certificate referred to in section 14(3)(b) of the Act are being prepared,
employer contributions referred to in subsection (1)(d) do not need to be
remitted until the earlier of 30 days after the date the actuarial valuation
report is filed and 30 days after the end of the second, or in the case of a
specified multi‑employer plan the third, quarter following the review
date, but they must include interest from the latest date when they would have
been remitted under subsection (1)(d) to the date of remittance, at the same
interest rate as was used in determining the employer contributions referred to
in subsection (1)(d).
(3) The
period prescribed for the purposes of section 50(2) of the Act is 30 days.
(4) The
period prescribed for the purposes of section 50(3) of the Act within which the
ultimate recipient must report to the Superintendent is 30 days.
(5) The time prescribed for the purposes
of section 50(3.2) of the Act is any time within 30 days after the beginning of
the fiscal year in question.
AR 35/2000
s49;245/2003;197/2006
Investment
requirements
50(1) In
this section,
(a) “federal
Regulations” means the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985
(Canada) (SOR/87‑19), as amended from time to time;
(b) “investments”
includes loans, deposits and derivatives;
(c) “Schedule
III” means Schedule III to the federal Regulations.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in this
Regulation, in interpreting Schedule III for the purposes of this section,
expressions used in Schedule III and defined in the Pension Benefits
Standards Act, 1985 (Canada) or in the federal Regulations have the
meanings assigned to them by that Act or those Regulations, as the case may be,
except that references to the Superintendent are to be deemed to be references
to the Superintendent of Pensions.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of
any pension plan or any instrument governing a plan but subject to this
section, the assets of a plan must be invested, and the investments made, in
accordance with Schedule III.
(4) The references to “1994” in
subparagraphs 12(1)(a)(ii), 13(1)(a)(ii) and 14(a)(ii) of Schedule III are to
be treated as reading “1996”.
(5) Where
any provisions of Schedule III or of this section or of both differ from the
corresponding provisions under the laws of a designated jurisdiction, the
Superintendent may, in the case of a plan having members in that designated
jurisdiction, apply in whole or in part those corresponding provisions instead
of those provisions of Schedule III, this section or both, as the case may be.
AR 35/2000 s50;197/2006
Statement of
investment policies and procedures
51(1) The
administrator of a pension plan shall, before the plan is registered, having
regard to all factors that may affect the funding and solvency of the plan and
the ability of the plan to meet its financial obligations, establish on the
plan’s behalf a written statement of investment policies and procedures in
respect of the plan’s portfolio of investments, including
(a) the
categories of investments,
(b) diversification
of the portfolio,
(c) the
asset mix,
(d) the
rate of return expectations,
(e) the
liquidity of the investments,
(f) the
lending of cash or securities,
(g) the
retention or delegation of voting rights acquired through investments,
(h) the
method of and the basis for valuation of investments that are not regularly
traded on a public exchange, and
(i) related
party transactions permitted by section 17 of Schedule III and the criteria to
be used to establish whether the value of a transaction is nominal or whether a
transaction is immaterial to the plan.
(2) The statement of investment policies
and procedures must include a description of the funding and solvency factors
referred to in subsection (1) and the relationship of those factors to those
policies and procedures.
(3) If the plan has any defined benefit
provisions, the administrator shall provide a copy of the statement of
investment policies and procedures to the plan’s actuary on or before the day
that is
(a) 60
days after the establishment of the statement, or
(b) the
effective date as of which the actuary is appointed,
whichever is the
later.
(4) If
the plan allows members to make investment choices, the administrator shall
ensure that the plan offers sufficient investment options to enable the members
to make prudent investment choices.
(5) Notwithstanding
subsections (1) to (3), if investments are entirely directed by the members, a
statement of investment policies and procedures is not required.
AR 35/2000 s51;197/2006
Review, confirmation
or amendment of investment statement
52(1) The
administrator shall review and confirm or amend the statement of investment
policies and procedures at least once in each fiscal year.
(2) If the plan has any defined benefit
provisions, the administrator shall provide a copy of any amendment to the
statement of investment policies and procedures to the plan’s actuary within 60
days after the amendment is made.
Safeguarding of
investments
53(1) The
administrator shall ensure that
(a) a
current record is established and maintained clearly identifying each of the
plan’s investments and the name in which each investment is registered or, if
not registered, held, and
(b) subject
to section 51(5), the plan’s investments are made in accordance with the
statement of investment policies and procedures, the Act and this Regulation.
(2) Each of the plan’s investments must
be registered or held according to one of the following forms:
(a) registration
in a name that clearly indicates that the investment is held in trust for the
plan,
(b) provided
that registration under this clause is permitted by a custodian agreement, registration
in the name of
(i) a financial institution acting as custodian,
(ii) the nominee or subcustodian of a financial institution that acts
as custodian or the nominee of a financial institution that is the fund holder,
or
(iii) another person acting directly or indirectly for an entity
referred to in subclause (i) or (ii),
where the ownership of the
investment can be clearly and indisputably traced through written records back
through such a financial institution to the fund holder’s holding of the
investment pursuant to section 49(1) of the Act,
(c) registration
in the name of a domestic or foreign depositary or clearing agency that is
authorized to operate a book‑based system, or its nominee, provided that
such registration is permitted by a custodian agreement, or
(d) holding
in bearer form, if
(i) the investment is not capable of being registered or registration
of it would not be in the best interests of the plan, and
(ii) the holding in bearer form is part of a transitional strategy
that will be replaced by investment in another form after a short period.
(3) For
the purposes of subsection (2), “custodian agreement” means an agreement
referred to in section 1(1)(i.1) of the Act.
(4) The custodian agreement must provide
that
(a) investments
made or held on behalf of the plan under the agreement
(i) constitute part of the plan’s pension fund, and
(ii) will not at any time constitute assets of the financial
institution, nominee or subcustodian or any person other than the legal owners
of the plan’s pension fund,
and
(b) records
are to be maintained that are sufficient to enable those legal owners’
ownership interests in the investments to be traced at any time through every
stage in the investment process.
(5) Nothing
in this section relieves any entity that is a fund holder from any of its
obligations or duties under the legislation.
AR 35/2000
s53;245/2003;197/2006
General investment
rules
54(1) An
officer or employee of an employer, a trustee or administrator of a plan or a
trade union or other association of employees any of whose members are members
of a plan or any of its officers or employees shall not accept or be the
beneficiary of, whether directly or indirectly, any fee, brokerage, commission,
gift or other consideration for or on account of any investment, purchase,
sale, payment or exchange made by or on behalf of the plan.
(2) The administrator shall not borrow
money on behalf of the plan except where
(a) the
borrowing is necessary to cover a short term contingency and is for a period
not exceeding 90 days, and
(b) the
market value of plan assets that are subject to any mortgage, charge, pledge,
lien or other security interest effected to secure that borrowing does not
exceed 110% of the amount of the borrowing.
Allocation and
distribution of assets on winding-up
55(1) The
prescribed basis for the methods of allocating and distributing assets and for
the making of payments for the purposes of section 55(1) of the Act, and the
rules prescribed with respect to plan terminations for the purposes of section
73(2) and (3) of the Act, are as set out in this section and in sections 48 and
63 of this Regulation.
(2) Any outstanding solvency deficiency
identified in the report filed under section 76(3) of the Act must be amortized
in accordance with this section.
(3) Where, at the termination of the
plan, there is a solvency deficiency and payments will continue to be made in
accordance with section 73(2) or (3) of the Act, as the case may be, assets are
to be allocated so that each member or other person who is entitled to receive
benefits will receive an initial amount equal to the product of the commuted
value of that benefit to which he is entitled on the plan’s termination and the
solvency ratio.
(4) Where some but not all payments are
made under section 73(2) or (3) of the Act and the plan’s assets are not
sufficient to pay all the benefits payable at plan termination, the proceeds
are to be allocated and distributed to the persons entitled under and according
to the ratios set out in subsection (3).
(4.1) Subsections (5) to (7) apply
(a) with
respect to pension plans to which section 48(6) of the Act applies, only where
there is a termination of the whole plan,
(b) with
respect to multi‑unit plans, only where one or more of the participating
employers are declared bankrupt, and
(c) with
respect to any other plan, only if payments by an employer under section 73(2)
of the Act stop due to the employer’s being declared bankrupt.
(5) Where no payments are made under
section 73(2) or (3) of the Act and the plan’s assets are not sufficient to pay
all the benefits payable at plan termination, methods of allocating the balance
of the assets must meet the following conditions, with the distribution being
made accordingly:
(a) assets
must be allocated firstly to provide for benefits equal to the value of
contributions, with interest, made by and transferred from another plan in
respect of members and former members;
(b) to
the extent that assets remain after the initial allocation under clause (a),
those assets must be allocated to provide for accrued benefits in respect of
which there is no unamortized unfunded liability in place at the date of the
commencement of the winding‑up of the plan;
(c) to
the extent that assets remain after the allocation under clause (b), those
assets must be allocated to provide for accrued benefits in respect of which
unfunded liabilities have not been amortized at the date of the winding‑up
of the plan.
(6) An unfunded liability that has not
been amortized at the date of the winding‑up has the effect of reducing
the benefits for employment which led to the establishment of the unfunded
liability in proportion to the extent to which those benefits remain unfunded.
(7) Each unfunded liability is to be dealt
with separately and applied only to the benefits in respect of which it was
established.
(7.1) Notwithstanding
subsection (4.1)(a),
(a) if
some or all of the assets and liabilities of a participating employer in a
specified multi‑employer plan are dealt with separately for the employer,
subsections (5) to (7) are to be applied separately in respect of those assets
and liabilities in accordance with section 48(12), and
(b) a
specified multi‑employer plan must provide that, on the termination of
the whole plan and in its winding up, if there are insufficient assets after
section 48 has been applied, the assets will be distributed in accordance with
subsection (5).
(7.2) Where
a participating employer in a multi‑unit plan is declared bankrupt, this
section applies separately to that employer as distinct from the plan’s other
participating employers.
(8) Returns or certificates under
section 14(3)(a) of the Act must be filed after termination of the plan until a
solvency deficiency is eliminated.
(9) Within 60 days after the last
payment towards the elimination of a solvency deficiency, the administrator
shall file the additional report required by section 76(4) of the Act, but
updated.
(10) When the updated report referred to
in subsection (9) is approved by the Superintendent, the administrator shall
forthwith pay to members and other persons entitled to benefits the balance of
their benefits that was not previously paid, with a prorated share of the
interest earned by the plan between the plan termination date and the date of
payment of the remaining benefits.
(11) Any
portion of a solvency deficiency that remains undistributed must be distributed
within 5 years after the initial distribution.
AR 35/2000
s55;245/2003;197/2006
Part 4
Division and Distribution of Benefits on Relationship Breakdown
Definitions
56(1) Definitions
in section 58(1) of the Act apply with respect to the interpretation of this
Part.
(2) In this Part,
(a) “matrimonial
property order” or “order”, in addition to having the same meaning as
“matrimonial property order” in section 1(1)(x.2) of the Act, includes a
matrimonial property agreement;
(b) “total entitlement” means the total benefit,
or the value of that benefit, accrued to the member‑pension partner
immediately before the division under Part 4 of the Act and on which that
division is to be based under that Part, before applying any of the provisions
of the Matrimonial Property Act, Part 4 of the Act or, except for
applying section 59(3), this Part.
AR 35/2000 s56;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Matrimonial property
orders
57 A matrimonial property order must specify
(a) the
dates when the period of joint accrual of the benefit began and ended for the
purposes of the Matrimonial Property Act,
(b) the
non‑member‑pension partner’s share, having regard to section 63(4)
of the Act or, where distribution is to be delayed under section 58(2)(c)(ii)
or (iii), how the amount of that share is to be calculated at that future time,
and
(c) subject to section 58, how that share is to be
distributed.
AR 35/2000
s57;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Division and
distribution of benefits
58(1) The
conditions prescribed for the purposes of sections 62 and 64(3) of the Act, and
the manner in which benefits are to be divided and the non‑member‑pension
partner’s share distributed for the purposes of section 62 of the Act, are as
set out in this section.
(2) The non‑member‑pension
partner’s share may
(a) to
the extent that a right to a pension has not vested in the member‑pension
partner, at the non‑member‑pension partner’s option, be paid as a
lump sum or, if permitted by that person’s own pension plan, transferred to
that plan,
(b) to
the extent that such a right is vested and, at the time of the marriage
breakdown, the member‑pension partner is not yet within 10 years of
pensionable age and has not yet commenced to receive a pension, at the non‑member‑pension
partner’s option, be transferred in any manner specified, and subject to all
the conditions set out, in section 38(2) of the Act, but to a vehicle belonging
to the non‑member‑pension partner, or
(c) if
such a right is fully vested and at that time the member‑pension partner
is within that 10‑year period or has attained pensionable age, and has
not yet commenced to receive a pension, at the non‑member‑pension
partner’s option,
(i) be transferred in accordance with an option specified in clause
(b),
(ii) be so transferred when the member‑pension partner
ultimately terminates, commences his pension or dies or when the plan
terminates, or
(iii) if the plan so provides, be paid as a pension from the plan to
the non‑member‑pension partner when the member‑pension
partner ultimately terminates, commences his pension or dies or when the plan
terminates.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), if
any of the circumstances described in section 45(1)(a) or (b) applies with
respect to the share, the share may, at the option of the non‑member‑pension
partner, be paid to the non‑member‑pension partner.
(4) Where
a pension has already commenced to be paid, the non‑member‑pension
partner’s share is to be paid in the form of a pension or, if the plan so
permits, the value of that share may be transferred in accordance with an
option referred to in subsection (2)(b).
(5) Where the non‑member‑pension
partner’s share is contained in a DC RIA, the share must be transferred in
accordance with section 46.1(8).
AR 35/2000
s58;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Calculation of
benefits
59(1) The
total entitlement, total pre‑division benefit and non‑member‑pension
partner’s share are to be calculated in the manner set out in this section.
(2) The proportion prescribed for the
purpose of section 63(4) of the Act is that proportion of the total period for
which the benefit was accruing that is represented by the period between the beginning
and end dates referred to in section 57(a).
(3) The total entitlement, to be
calculated at the same time as the total pre‑division benefit,
(a) to
the extent that a right to a pension has not vested in the member‑pension
partner, is equal to the value of the member’s contributions, if any, with
interest,
(b) subject
to subsection (4), to the extent that such a right is vested and if the member‑pension
partner has not yet commenced to receive a pension and the non‑member‑pension
partner does not make the choice, if applicable, given by clause (c), is equal
to the commuted value of the pension, calculated as if the member‑pension
partner had terminated membership on the date mentioned in the order as the end
of the period of joint accrual of the benefit and on the assumption that the
member‑pension partner will commence to receive the pension at
pensionable age or on the date mentioned in the order, if he has already
reached pensionable age,
(c) where
the non‑member‑pension partner is entitled to choose and chooses
the method of distribution set out in section 58(2)(c)(ii), is the actuarial
present value of the member’s pension or the value of any other benefit as at
the date when it is to be received or commence to be received,
(d) where
the non‑member‑pension partner is entitled to choose and chooses
the method of distribution set out in section 58(2)(c)(iii), is the pension
itself, or
(e) where
the member‑pension partner has already commenced to receive a pension, is
the pension itself,
and, for the avoidance
of any doubt, is to exclude any value deriving from the member‑pension
partner’s having made any additional voluntary contributions or optional
ancillary contributions where no pension has yet commenced to be paid.
(4) The total pre‑division benefit
is to be calculated according to the following formula:
where
A = the total pre‑division benefit
B = the total entitlement
C = the period between the beginning and end
dates referred to in subsection (2)
D = the period during which the total
entitlement accrued.
(5) The
non‑member‑pension partner’s share is to be calculated as the total
pre‑division benefit multiplied by the fractional proportion of it
awarded or given to the non‑member‑pension partner in the
matrimonial property order.
AR 35/2000
s59;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Adjustment of member‑pension
partner’s share
60 The manner in which the administrator
must adjust the member‑pension partner’s share, after the division, for
the purposes of section 66 of the Act, is that
(a) the
adjustment results in the share after and as a consequence of the division
being such that the plan neither gains nor loses, and
(b) the adjustment calculation follows generally
accepted actuarial principles.
AR 35/2000 s60;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
50% unlocking of non‑member‑pension
partner share
60.1 If applicable, a non‑member‑pension
partner may exercise the 50% unlocking option in relation to the non‑member‑pension
partner share that are given by Schedule 1.1.
AR 197/2006 s52
Fees
61(1) The
maximum amount prescribed for the purposes of section 68 of the Act is
(a) in
the case of a pension plan containing only defined benefit provisions, $500,
(b) in
the case of a pension plan containing only defined contribution provisions,
$150, and
(c) in
the case of a pension plan containing both defined benefit and defined
contribution provisions, $650.
(2) The fee under section 68 of the Act
is payable in equal proportions by the pension partners.
(3) The
administrator may deduct a pension partner’s share of the fee from any benefit
payment that is to be made to or on behalf of that pension partner.
AR 35/2000
s61;109/2003;245/2003
62 Repealed AR 197/2006 s53.
Part 5
Termination, Winding‑up, Withdrawal
and Succession
Rules on plan
termination and MUPP employer withdrawal
63(1) The
rules prescribed for the purposes of section 73(2) and (3) of the Act
respecting the making of payments by employers are as set out in section 48.
(2) If a participating employer
withdraws in the circumstances described in section 73(3) of the Act,
(a) the
report that would be required by section 76(3) of the Act if the plan were
terminating must be filed within 60 days after the withdrawal,
(b) the
payments required of that employer by section 73(3) of the Act are to be
determined by the method specified in the plan and in accordance with section
48 of the Act and section 48 of this Regulation, and
(c) the
members and other persons affected by the withdrawal are to receive benefits,
reduced according to the solvency ratio applying to that employer’s share of
the plan’s assets and liabilities as at the time of the withdrawal, forthwith
after the Superintendent approves the report referred to in clause (a).
(3) After all outstanding solvency
deficiencies attributable to the withdrawing employer referred to in subsection
(2) are paid off, the administrator shall pay the remaining balance of the
benefits in accordance with section 55(10).
(4) The administrator shall ensure that
each employer withdrawing from a multi‑unit plan who is responsible for
making special payments in respect of a solvency deficiency remits those
special payments.
(5) Where
a multi‑unit plan is terminated, each participating employer’s share of
the solvency deficiency is to be determined by the method specified in the
plan.
AR 35/2000 s63;245/2003
Qualifications for
signing termination report
64 A report under section 76(3) of the Act,
in respect of
(a) an
insured plan, may be prepared by any person so authorized by the insurance
business, or
(b) a plan that consists solely of defined
contribution provisions, may be prepared by a representative of the fund holder
who is so authorized by that fund holder, by the administrator or by another
person approved by the Superintendent.
AR 35/2000 s64;245/2003
Missing persons
64.1(1) The
period prescribed for the purposes of section 77.1(3) of the Act is the period
ending
(a) subject
to clause (b), one year after the consent under section 77(1.1) of the Act was
obtained, or
(b) if
the plan is receiving payments under section 73(2) of the Act, 60 days after
the last payment under that subsection was made.
(2) The
information prescribed for the purposes of section 77.1(3)(b)(i) of the Act is,
in respect of each person,
(a) the
name of the missing person and, if different, of the member or former member in
question,
(b) the
date when the member or former member’s employment initially commenced,
(c) the
date when the member or former member joined the plan,
(d) the
date, if applicable, when the former member terminated membership in the plan,
(e) the
date, if applicable, when the member or former member died or when the plan
terminated, and
(f) the
balance in the person’s account in the plan.
(3) The amount prescribed for the purposes of
section 77.1(13) of the Act is such amount as the Superintendent decides and
publishes on the Superintendent’s website.
AR 197/2006 s54
Predecessor and
successor plans and employers
65(1) In
this section,
(a) “active
plan” means a pension plan to which contributions will be made on a current
basis and in which benefits in respect of future employment will accrue, and
“inactive plan” means a plan that is not an active plan;
(b) “plan
transfer” means a transaction referred to in subsection (2);
(c) “predecessor
employer” means, where there are 2 or more employers involved in a plan
transfer, the employer from whose employment members are transferred;
(d) repealed
AR 197/2006 s55;
(e) “successor
employer” means, where there are 2 or more employers involved in a plan
transfer, the employer to whose employment members are transferred.
(f) repealed
AR 197/2006 s55.
(1.1) This section sets out the rules relating to
section 80 of the Act.
(2) This section applies where all or a
specific and identifiable class or group of the members of a plan become
members of another plan that is an active plan, due to
(a) the
disposal of all or part of an employer’s business, undertaking or assets,
(b) a
merger between an employer and another entity,
(c) the
merger of plans,
(d) the
division of a plan into 2 or more plans,
(e) the
withdrawal from a specified multi‑employer plan or a multi‑unit
plan of an employer, or
(f) any
other similar transaction.
(2.1) The
administrator of the successor plan shall disclose to everyone affected by the
plan transfer all the information required, and in the manner required, by the
Superintendent.
(3) Nothing in this section precludes
any other action or inaction available pursuant to or required by any other
provision of the legislation.
(4) The plan transfer is to be treated
as not in itself effecting or resulting in any break in or cessation of
employment or plan membership for the purposes of the legislation including,
without placing any limitation on those purposes, the purposes of determining
(a) the
length of employment with respect to any eligibility condition of the successor
plan for the purposes of section 29 of the Act,
(b) whether
a pension vests in a member of either plan, or
(c) whether
the commuted value of a pension under either plan is locked in under section 35
of the Act,
and, for the purposes
of determining any matter referred to in clause (a), (b) or (c), the employee’s
employment with the predecessor and successor employers or, where the plan
transfer is due to the merger of plans or the division of a plan, the
employee’s total employment with that employer, shall be taken into account.
(5) If a successor employer assumes
responsibility for a predecessor plan’s assets and liabilities relating to
members of the predecessor plan transferring as a result of the plan transfer,
those assets and liabilities may,
(a) subject
to the condition set out in subsection (8), be transferred from the predecessor
plan to an existing active plan of which the successor employer is the
administrator to become part of that plan’s assets and liabilities,
(b) subject
to the condition set out in subsection (9), be transferred from the predecessor
plan to a new plan to be administered as an active plan by the successor
employer,
(c) where
a predecessor plan will continue to exist and only part of that plan’s
membership is transferring as a result of the plan transfer, be transferred
from the predecessor plan to a new inactive plan to be administered by the
successor employer under the same rules and terms as the predecessor plan
except for its being inactive and subject to the condition set out in
subsection (9), or
(d) if
the successor employer has assumed responsibility for the whole of the
predecessor plan, be maintained in the predecessor plan with that plan being
administered by the successor employer under the condition that there is to be
no change made to the plan except amendments to make it inactive and to provide
that future service of the transferring members is to accrue in an existing
active plan of the successor employer.
(6) Where the successor plan and an
inactive plan referred to in subsection (5)(c) or (d) terminate, the successor
plan is to be treated as having no surplus assets unless all liabilities under
that inactive plan have been fully discharged.
(7) If the successor employer does not
assume responsibility for any of the predecessor plan’s assets and liabilities,
then, subject to subsection (4), the predecessor plan, as it relates to the members
transferring as a result of the plan transfer, is terminated.
(8) The condition referred to in
subsection (5)(a) is that the transfer of assets and liabilities requires the
prior written consent of the Superintendent, to receive which
(a) the
predecessor plan’s administrator must have filed a report that is acceptable to
the Superintendent
(i) showing that plan’s assets, liabilities and the allocation of
unfunded liabilities or excess assets (if applicable) and, if the predecessor
plan will continue to exist, the impact of the transfer on the predecessor
plan,
(ii) listing the accrued benefits and the length of service for each
transferring member, and
(iii) showing the assets and liabilities being transferred from the
predecessor plan to the successor plan,
and
(b) the
successor employer must file a report showing the impact of the transfer on the
successor plan.
(9) The
condition referred to in subsection (5)(b) and (c) is that the transfer
requires the prior written consent of the Superintendent, to receive which
subsection (8)(a) applies.
(10) In
addition to other information required by this Regulation, the administrator of
the predecessor plan shall provide to members who are transferring to the
successor plan and, where applicable, to persons who remain members of the
predecessor plan after the plan transfer, the information that the
Superintendent, by notice in writing given to the administrator, requires to be
provided.
AR 35/2000
s65;245/2003;197/2006
Part 6
Miscellaneous Provisions
Repayment of funds
wrongfully transferred
66(1) Where,
in the opinion of the Superintendent, an administrator has transferred money
out of a pension plan in contravention of section 82(3) of the Act or of the
terms and conditions referred to in section 82(4) of the Act, the
Superintendent may make an order requiring the person who currently holds the
money to repay the money, with any earnings on it, to the plan.
(2) If the person holding the money does
not repay the money transferred, with interest, within the period specified in
the order, the Superintendent may apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench by
originating notice on 3 days’ notice, supported by an affidavit, for an order
to compel the payment.
(3) The originating notice must be
served on the person holding the money and on the administrator who transferred
the money.
(4) The
Court may make the order if it is satisfied that the money was originally
transferred out of the plan in contravention of section 82(3) of the Act or of
the terms and conditions referred to in section 82(4) of the Act, and may make
the order subject to any conditions that the Court considers appropriate.
AR 35/2000 s66;245/2003
Surplus and excess
assets
67(1) The
conditions prescribed for the purposes of section 83(1)(b) of the Act are as
set out in subsections (2) to (7).
(2) The administrator must provide a
written notice containing information acceptable to the Superintendent to the
members and former members of the plan and to a trade union that is a certified
bargaining agent, within the meaning of the Labour Relations Code, in
relation to an employer any of whose employees are members of the plan,
(a) where
the plan provides for the payment or transfer, at least 30 days before
submitting a request to the Superintendent for a notice of consent referred to
in section 83(1)(c) of the Act, and
(b) where
the employer wishes to establish a claim referred to in section 83(1)(a) of the
Act, at least 90 days, but not more than 180 days, before submitting that
request.
(2.1) Where and when the administrator is
required to provide a notice under subsection (2) in the circumstances
described in subsection (2)(b), the administrator shall also provide the notice
to the persons to whom subsection (9) applies.
(3) Forthwith after the result of any
attempt to obtain the consent to a proposal required by section 83(2) of the
Act becomes known, the administrator must inform the persons referred to in
subsection (2) of that result by the same method of communication as was used
in attempting to obtain that consent.
(4) The administrator must file a copy
of the notice to be provided under subsection (2) at least 30 days before the
date by which subsection (2) requires it to be provided, and must file a
statement that the notice has been provided under subsection (2) forthwith
after its provision.
(5) If the plan is not being wound up,
the administrator must ensure that the payment or transfer of excess assets
does not result in the plan’s failing to meet the solvency tests or that,
(a) if
the plan consists solely of defined contribution provisions, the remaining
excess assets after the payment or transfer amount to less than one fiscal
year’s employer contributions or such other amount as the Superintendent
considers appropriate, or
(b) if
the plan contains defined benefit provisions, the remaining excess assets after
the payment or transfer amount to less than the greater of
(i) employer contributions relating to the normal actuarial costs for
2 fiscal years, and
(ii) 125% of the plan’s liabilities determined on a plan termination
basis less the plan’s going concern liabilities,
as stated in the most
recent actuarial valuation report or cost certificate filed, or such other
amount as the Superintendent considers appropriate.
(6) The administrator must provide any
information or documents that the Superintendent requires to enable the issuing
a notice of consent under section 83(1)(c) of the Act.
(7) The notice to be provided under
subsection (2) may, without limiting any other effective mode of service, be
sent by ordinary mail to the last address known to the administrator of a
member or former member.
(8) The Superintendent may attach
conditions and limitations to a consent referred to in section 83(1)(c) of the
Act.
(9) The
classes of other persons prescribed for the purposes of section 83(2)(b) of the
Act are, to the extent that they remain entitled to any benefit under the plan,
pension partners of deceased members and former members and non‑member‑pension
partners.
AR 35/2000 s67;109/2003;245/2003;197/2006
Prescribed
legislation
67.1 For the purposes of section 85.3 of the
Act,
(a) the
provisions of this Regulation prescribed are sections 39(23)(b) and 40(26)(b),
section 46.1(18) as it incorporates section 40(26)(b), sections 41.1 and 68(6),
Schedule 1.1 and other provisions of this Regulation relating to the 50%
unlocking option, and
(b) the
legislation prescribed is
(i) the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Act,
(ii) the Income and Employment Supports Act,
(iii) the Student Financial Assistance Act,
(iv) the Seniors Benefit Act, and
(v) any other Alberta statute whereby persons are entitled to amounts
of money based on means testing,
and,
where applicable, the regulations under those Acts.
AR 197/2006 s57
Exemptions
68(1) The
following pension plans are exempt from the application of the Act and this
Regulation:
(a) the
Members of the Legislative Assembly (Registered) Pension Plan;
(b) the
Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers (Registered) and (Unregistered)
Pension Plans;
(c) a
plan that is supplemental to a plan referred to in clause (a) or (b) or any
successor to such a plan;
(d) a
supplemental pension plan under which the employer is, will be or, in the case
of a terminated plan, was required to make contributions on behalf of the
members if the benefits provided or the contributions payable under that
supplemental plan consist entirely of benefits or contributions, as the case
may be, in excess of the maximum benefit or contribution limit imposed by the
tax Act on the plan to which it is supplemental.
(2), (3) Repealed AR 197/2006 s58.
(4) Benefits insured under a contract
issued under the Government Annuities Act (Canada) are exempt from the
application of the Act and this Regulation.
(5) The
pension plans specified in Schedule 0.2 are exempt from the provisions referred
to in that Schedule to the extent or on the conditions, where applicable,
specified in that Schedule.
(6) A
vehicle within the meaning of section 1(d) of Schedule 1.1 is exempt from
section 35 of the Act and other locking‑in provisions of the legislation
to the extent set out in Schedule 1.1 and other provisions of this Regulation
that directly or indirectly reference that Schedule, and the alternative
provisions set out in that Schedule apply in respect of those exemptions and
this subsection and that Schedule override any other provisions of the
legislation to the contrary.
(7) Where a plan gives a member the
right to elect to purchase an annuity described in section 38(2)(c)(i) of the
Act that is a deferred annuity with the commuted value of his accrued benefit
under a defined contribution provision prior to his termination of membership,
death, pension commencement or the termination of the plan, the commuted value
of that deferred annuity is exempt from sections 38 and 39(6), and the locking‑in
requirement of section 30(5), of the Act, unless the plan provides otherwise.
(8) Repealed
AR 197/2006 s58.
AR 35/2000
s68;245/2003;306/2003;197/2006
69 Repealed AR 35/2000 s73(2).
70 Repealed AR 35/2001 s73(3).
71 Repealed AR 35/2000 s73(4).
72 (This section amends
section 1; the amendment has been incorporated into this Regulation.)
72.1 Repealed AR 88/2006 s2.
73 Repealed AR 197/2006 s59.
Transitional ‑ financial
statements
73.1 Pension plans that, before the
commencement of this section, were not required to file annual financial
statements are not require to file annual financial statements with respect to
fiscal years ending before the commencement of this section.
AR 197/2006 s59
Transitional ‑ LIRAs
and LIFs
73.2(1) This
section applies notwithstanding anything in section 36 of the Employment
Pension Plans (General, 2006) Amendment Regulation, and a financial
institution that was on the Superintendent’s list under the repealed section 38
for a LIRA or a LIF immediately before the commencement of this section (in
this section referred to as a “transitional status institution”) is deemed to
be acknowledged for that vehicle until the sooner of
(a) the
end of 2007 or such later time as the Superintendent allows it under subsection
(2), and
(b) the
financial institution’s becoming actually acknowledged under the new section
38,
(the period between
the commencement of this section and that sooner time being in this section
referred to as the “transition period”).
(2) The
Superintendent, on an application made in writing by a specific transitional
status institution before December 16, 2007, may in writing extend the end of
2007 deadline referred to in subsection (1)(a) for that institution until a
date not later than the end of June 2008.
(3) Until
the end of the transition period but subject to sections 35 and 36 of the Interpretation
Act, the legislation applicable to the LIRA or LIF, as the case may be, in
force immediately before the commencement of this section continues to apply
with respect to the transitional status institution, that vehicle and the
owner.
(4) Notwithstanding
subsection (3),
(a) sections
39(18)(b) and (25) and 40(21)(b) and (24), and
(b) section
41(7), so far as applicable and as it applies to an LRIF,
apply in respect of a
transitional status institution and its LIRAs and LIFs during the transition
period.
(5) Once
a transitional status institution has become acknowledged under section 38, it
shall, within the next 90 days,
(a) replace
each addendum forming part of the vehicle under the legislation in force before
the commencement of this section with the addendum required by section 39 or
40, as the case may be, and
(b) provide
the owner with a new copy of the whole LIRA or LIF (including its addendum),
and, from the end of
the transition period, the owner and the transitional status institution are
deemed to have entered into the agreements comprising that addendum, whether
they signed an agreement to that effect or not.
(6) A
transitional status institution that does not wish to continue to administer
LIFs or LIRAs after the end of the transition period shall, as soon as
practicable and in any case before December 16, 2007, transfer all its LIFs or
LIRAs or both, as the case may be, to another financial institution that does,
and such a transferring financial institution continues to have all the
obligations and liabilities under the LIFs or LIRAs or both that it had
previously until it duly effects such a transfer and they are assumed by the
transferee financial institution.
(7) Where
a transitional status institution fails to receive acknowledgement under
section 38 in respect of its LIFs or LIRAs or both or to transfer them under
subsection (6) before the end of the transition period,
(a) it
nevertheless continues to have all the liabilities under them until the
Superintendent notifies it in writing that those liabilities have been
extinguished, and
(b) the
Superintendent may take whatever steps are considered necessary and appropriate
to protect the interests of the owners, and for that purpose may direct that
transitional status institution to take any action that he or she considers
necessary.
(8) If
a transitional status institution becomes acknowledged under section 38 in
relation to a LIF after the income payments for a year have already been
formally elected, those elected income payments are to apply for the balance of
that year.
(9) Subject
to subsection (1), the list established under the repealed section 38 is
closed.
(10) Section
1(10)(b) is to be treated as including a reference to this section.
(NOTE: Section
66(4) of AR 197/2006 provides as follows:
(4) Subject to the continuing liabilities of the financial institution
imposed, and the continuing rights of the Superintendent given, by sections 41
and 73.2, those sections are repealed at the end of the last transition period,
within the meaning of section 41(4) and 73.2(2) respectively, applicable to the
financial institution.)
AR 197/2006 s59
74 Repealed AR 197/2006 s59.
Schedule 0.1
(Section 2.1)
Exemptions and Other Provisions for
Universities Academic Pension Plan
Interpretation
1(1) In this Schedule, “Plan” means the new Universities Academic
Pension Plan referred to in section 2.1 of this Regulation.
(2) A reference in this Schedule to a
numbered section of this Regulation is a reference to the section of this
Regulation preceding the Schedules that bears that number, except where the
reference is to this Schedule itself.
(3) References in this Schedule to
section 48(3), except where reference is made to section 48(3) of the Act, are
to be taken to be references to section 48(3) as contained in section 10(1) of
this Schedule.
(4) With respect to the Plan, the words
in section 2(1)(w) of this Regulation “or (c)” are to be treated as not
existing.
(5) To any extent that any provision of
the legislation, as it applies with respect to the Plan, is inconsistent with a
provision of an Order in Council made under section 14(8)(b) of Schedule 3 to
the Public Sector Pension Plans Act, the latter provision prevails over
the former.
Application
2 This Schedule applies, and
applies only, to the Plan.
Participation
agreement
3(1) Section 11(2) of the Act does not apply with respect to the
Plan.
(2) To participate in the Plan,
employers and, to the extent that employers have academic staff associations,
those associations must be signatories either to
(a) the
relevant trust deed or agreement or similar document referred to in section
11(1) of the Act, where that instrument meets the conditions set out in section
5(2)(a) to (c) of this Regulation, or
(b) one
or more participation agreements referred to in section 11(2) of the Act.
Actuarial valuation
reports and cost certificates - s14(3)(b), Act and s10(3)(d), Regulation
3.1(1) The Plan is exempt from section 14(3)(b)(i)(C) of the Act.
(2) Section 14(3)(b)(ii) of the Act is
to be treated as reading:
(ii) cost
certificates signed by a person referred to in subclause (i)(B) and in the form
required by the Superintendent, containing the prescribed information and
information necessary for the Superintendent to be able to determine the Plan’s
solvency deficiency, if any, and solvency ratio.
(3) Section 10(3)(d)(ii) of this
Regulation is to be treated as reading:
(ii) the
date of establishment and the amount of any solvency deficiency, the value of
the assets and liabilities used to determine that solvency deficiency, together
with the assumptions and valuation methods used to calculate those liabilities;
Annual statement -
s14(1)(i)(iii), Regulation
3.2 Section 14(1)(i)(iii) of this
Regulation is to be treated as reading:
(iii) confirmation
that the employer has agreed to pay any solvency deficiency in respect of its
employees or former employees in the event of the termination of the Plan;
Statement on
termination of membership - s15(1)(i), Regulation
3.3 The Plan is exempt from
section 15(1)(i) of this Regulation.
Benefits and
entitlements on Plan termination
4 The Plan is exempt from
section 28(1)(d)(iv) of the Act provided that the Plan provides in effect that
on the withdrawal of all or any of the employers from the Plan those employers
are to establish a successor pension plan or plans that will take over all the
assets and liabilities of the Plan that relate to those employers, with accrued
benefits and other rights being fully protected.
Entitlement of
employees to join Plan
5 The Plan is exempt from
section 29(1) and (2) of the Act and section 30(1) and (so far as it relates to
section 29(1) of the Act) section 30(2) of this Regulation in respect of any
employee who is employed under a term contract of employment entered into
before January 1, 2001, and the exemption expires on the expiry of that contract.
Vesting
6 With respect to the Plan,
(a) in
section 31(1) and (2) of the Act, “1987” is to be treated as reading “1994”,
and
(b) in
section 31(2) and (3) of the Act, “2000” is to be treated as reading “2001”.
Locking in
7 With respect to the Plan, in
section 35(1)(a) and (b)(i) of the Act, “the initial qualification date” is to
be treated as reading “January 1, 1994”.
Funding - s48(2), Act
and s48, Regulation
7.1(1) Subject to section 48(24) of this Regulation, the Plan is
exempt from section 48(2) of the Act, to the extent that that subsection
requires a pension plan to provide for funding in accordance with the
prescribed tests for the solvency of pension plans, unless
(a) the
Plan is terminated, or
(b) an
employer withdraws from the Plan in the circumstances described in section
73(3) of the Act.
(2) The reference in section 48(3) of
the Act to section 14(3)(b) of the Act is to be treated as a reference to
section 14(3)(b) as treated as altered by section 3.1(1) and (2) of this
Schedule.
(3) The Plan is exempt from section
48(7), (8), (9) and (16) of this Regulation.
(4) In section 48(4) and (5) of this
Regulation, references to section 48(3)(c) of this Regulation are to be treated
as not existing.
(5) In section 48(6), (13), (14) and
(20) of this Regulation, references to “solvency deficiency” are to be treated
as not existing.
(6) Section 48(15) of this Regulation is
to be treated as reading:
(15) Notwithstanding
subsection (3), where the Plan is reviewed or the latest review revised pursuant
to section 9(7), the 15‑year period referred to in subsection (3)(b)(ii)
of this section shall be treated as commencing to run from the date when the
change is made.
(7) The following is to be treated as
added after section 48(23):
(24) The
Plan’s administrator shall ensure that the Plan’s actuary performs the solvency
tests required under section 48(2) of the Act and reports the results of those
tests in actuarial valuation reports and cost certificates required to be filed
pursuant to section 14 of the Act.
(25) The
Plan’s administrator shall notify the Superintendent if a benefit change
adversely affects the solvency of the Plan, and have the Plan reviewed or the
latest review revised as required by section 9(7) of this Regulation.
Fund holders
8 With respect to the Plan,
section 49(1) of the Act is to be regarded as having the following clause added
to it after clause (c):
(c.1) the
Investment Management Division of Alberta’s Treasury Department,
Manner and extent of
transfers
9 The Plan is exempt from
section 82(3) of the Act and section 35 of this Regulation.
Solvency tests and
funding of the Plan
10(1) The Plan is exempt from section 48(3), (4) and (5) of this
Regulation and the following subsections apply instead:
(3) Subject to subsection (4) and section
49(2) of this Regulation,
(a) an employer shall pay into the Plan, in respect of current
employment, an amount of employer contributions on a monthly basis equal to the
normal actuarial cost allocated to the employer, as stated in the most recent
actuarial valuation report and cost certificate filed (taken together) or in
either, and
(b) an employer and its employees shall pay into the Plan, in
accordance with the terms of the Plan,
(i) subject to subsection (3.1), with respect to
the Plan’s unfunded liability in respect of employment that was recognized as
pensionable, and the benefits that were in place, as at December 31, 1991,
monthly payments, expressed as a percentage of payroll, which, together with
payments made by the Crown in right of Alberta under its liability as to
partial funding of that unfunded liability, as imposed by Schedule 3 to the Public
Sector Pension Plans (Legislative Provisions) Regulation (AR 365/93),
are sufficient to amortize that unfunded liability on or before December 31,
2043, and
(ii) if the Plan has any other unfunded
liability, payments consisting of equal monthly payments that are sufficient to
amortize that unfunded liability over a period not exceeding 15 years from the
review date relating to the establishment of that unfunded liability.
(iii) repealed AR 245/2003 s64.
(3.1) Once an actuarial valuation report
prepared pursuant to a review referred to in section 9(3)(c) of this Regulation
shows that no unfunded liability referred to in subsection (3)(b)(i) exists,
the exemption from section 48(3) of this Regulation that is given by subsection
(3)(b)(i) ceases to apply and the loss of that exemption remains permanent,
regardless of anything that happens afterwards.
(3.2), (3.3) Repealed
AR 245/2003 s64.
(4) Special payments referred to in
subsection (3)(b)(ii) may instead be made by way of monthly payments expressed
in such a manner that
(a) each payment is a constant percentage of the future payroll of
the members projected as of the date of the original establishment of the
unfunded liability, and
(b) the actuarial present value of all the payments over the period
selected, not exceeding the maximum period referred to in subsection (3)(b)(ii)
is equal to that liability.
(2) Repealed AR 245/2003 s64.
(3) Section 48(10)(b)(iii) of this
Regulation is to be regarded as reading as follows:
(iii) until
the exemption referred to in subsection (3.1) expires and to the extent that
the excess assets arose in respect of employment after 1991, applied to reduce
employer or employee contributions or both and, once that exemption has
expired, applied to reduce employer or employee contributions or both, or
(4) Section 48 of this Regulation is to
be regarded as having the following subsection added after subsection (10):
(10.1) Notwithstanding subsection
(10)(a), with respect to the Plan, excess assets arising from post‑1991
employment need not be used to amortize or reduce an unfunded liability
referred to in subsection (3)(b)(i), but this subsection ceases to apply with
permanent effect as soon as the exemption referred to in subsection (3.1)
expires.
(5) The reference in section 48(15) of
this Regulation to section 48(3)(b) and (c) is to be treated as a reference to
section 48(3)(b)(ii) and (iii) instead.
Remitting of
contributions and Crown unfunded liability payments
11 The Plan is exempt from
section 49(2) of this Regulation and the following subsection applies instead:
(2) Notwithstanding sections 48(3) and
49(1)(d) of this Regulation, employer contributions referred to in section
49(1)(d), and contributions payable by the Crown under Schedule 3 to the Public
Sector Pension Plans (Legislative Provisions) Regulation (AR 365/93),
that are payable in respect of the first quarter after a review date may be made
together with those employer and Crown contributions respectively to be paid in
respect of the 2nd quarter after it, but they must include interest from the
date when they would have been paid under that section 49(1)(d), or that Order,
respectively, to the date of payment, at the same interest rate as was used in
determining the respective employer contributions referred to in section
49(1)(d) or those Crown contributions, respectively.
Transfers - s82(3),
Act and s35, Regulation
12 The Plan is exempt from
section 82(3) of the Act and section 35 of this Regulation.
AR 218/2000
s5;245/2003;197/2006
Schedule
0.2
(Section 68(5))
Partial Exemptions
Publicly funded plans
1(1) The Superintendent may exempt a publicly funded plan, on any
conditions that the Superintendent consider appropriate, from the requirements
of section 48(3)(c) of this Regulation if the administrator makes a written
application to the Superintendent that includes
(a) an
undertaking to file at least triennial solvency valuations with the
Superintendent,
(b) an
acknowledgement that the Superintendent may refuse any amendment to the plan
that affects solvency if the plan has a solvency deficiency or its solvency
ratio is less than one, and
(c) agreement
from the contributing employers to pay any deficiency should the plan be
terminated.
(2) The
Superintendent may, on application in writing, exempt a publicly funded plan
that is a supplemental pension plan from the requirement to use the definition
in section 1(1)(ff.1) of the Act so long as it uses instead, for the purposes
of the plan, the corresponding definition in the plan to which it is
supplemental.
(3) Notwithstanding
anything else in the legislation, a supplemental plan referred to in subsection
(2) may contain provisions deeming any member of it who has made an election or
decision relating to portability or non‑portability under and in relation
to the plan to which it is supplemental to have made the same election or other
decision under and in relation to the supplemental plan.
(4) Notwithstanding
anything in the legislation, where the whole of a supplemental plan referred to
in subsection (2) terminates and the plan to which it is supplemental does not,
the supplemental plan is not required to wind up.
Plans for connected individuals
2(1) Without limiting any specific exemptions in the legislation,
plans for connected individuals are exempt from the following provisions of the
Act and of this Regulation respectively:
(a) Act
Provisions:
section 12.1;
section 14(1), (2) and (3);
section 19;
section 20(1) and (3);
section 21;
section 23(2);
section 50(3);
section 72;
section 76(3) and (4);
section 77;
section 82(1)(b) and (c), (2) and (3);
section 83(1)(b) and (c);
section 84;
(b) Provisions
of this Regulation:
section 6(1) and (2);
section 8(1);
section 10(2);
section 67(2), (2.1), (4), (6), (7) and (8).
(2) With
respect to plans for connected individuals, the reference in section 9(3)(c) of
this Regulation to “3 years” is to be treated as reading “4 years”.
SMEPPs and section
48(3)(c)
3(1) The administrator of a specified multi‑employer plan
may apply to the Superintendent in the form and manner required by the
Superintendent for, and the Superintendent may in writing, consent to the
plan’s suspending payments that an employer is or was required by section
48(3)(c) of this Regulation to pay into the plan after 2005 for the period, not
exceeding 3 years from the date before 2009 that is specified in the consent,
on condition that,
(a) as
soon as the suspension period ends, the administrator will have an actuarial
valuation report prepared that will identify the solvency deficiency, if any,
at that time, show the funded and solvency status of the plan and otherwise
meet the requirements of the Superintendent, and
(b) if
such a solvency deficiency exists, it will be amortized within 5 years from the
end of that period.
(2) An administrator may make only one
application in total under subsection (1).
(3) The administrator must submit, along
with the application under subsection (1),
(a) an
actuarial valuation report as at the review date, not being before December 31,
2005, to which the application relates, and
(b) any
other documents required by the Superintendent.
(4) The administrator shall, within 270
days after the end of the suspension period, file the actuarial valuation
report prepared under subsection (1).
(5) An administrator who wishes to have
the suspension under subsection (1) cancelled may do so within the suspension
period by notifying the Superintendent in writing of that intention and by
filing an actuarial valuation report referred to in subsection (1)(a).
(6) The Superintendent’s consent under
subsection (1) applies or continues to apply only if
(a) section
48, including the testing required by section 48(2), of the Act and, subject to
subsection (7), section 48 of this Regulation and the other provisions of this
section continue to be complied with,
(b) the
results of that testing are reported in each actuarial valuation report,
(c) no
benefits are improved while the suspension continues,
(d) a
schedule is adopted to amortize each unfunded liability established on or after
the review date to which the application relates over a period not exceeding 10
years from its establishment and to amortize each unfunded liability that was
established previously over the lesser of 10 years from the review date to
which the application relates and the remainder of the 15‑year
amortization period under which it was initially established, and
(e) any
other relevant conditions imposed by the Superintendent under section 4.1 of
the Regulation are complied with.
(7) This
section applies notwithstanding anything in section 48 of this Regulation.
Plans established
before 1987
4 A pension plan established
before January 1, 1987 is exempt from the requirements of section 28(1)(g) or
55(2) of the Act, or both, if the Superintendent considers that the provisions
of the plan relating to the allocation and distribution of its surplus or
excess assets during the continuation of the plan or on winding‑up, or
both, as the case may be, are unclear, and notifies the administrator in
writing that the plan need not be amended in order that the plan may comply
with section 27 of the Act in relation to that provision or those provisions.
Benefits, etc., in
excess of maximum tax limits
5 Where
(a) a
pension plan provides a benefit or allocates surplus or excess assets in
respect of a person entitled to a benefit and the benefit or surplus or excess
asset allocation is in excess of the maximum benefit or contribution limit
applicable to the plan under the tax Act, or
(b) the
commuted value of a benefit is in excess of the maximum limit that can be
transferred to another plan or to an RRSP under the tax Act,
then the amount of
that benefit, surplus or excess asset allocation or commuted value that is in
excess of that maximum limit is exempt from section 35(1) and (2) of the Act
and the locking‑in requirement of section 30(5) of the Act.
SMEPPs and transfer
agreements with other jurisdictions
6 Where
(a) the
administrator of a specified multi‑employer plan (in this section called
the “Alberta plan”) that has not received the approval of the Superintendent
under section 31(4) of the Act has entered into a transfer agreement referred
to in section 23(1) of the Act with the administrator of a pension plan of a
jurisdiction other than Alberta that would be eligible for designation as a
specified multi‑employer plan if it fell under the Act (in this section
called the “non‑Alberta plan”), and
(b) the
transfer agreement provides for the transfer of contributions between the plans
for an employee who temporarily leaves employment covered by the non‑Alberta
plan and enters employment covered by the Alberta plan,
contributions that are
subject to transfer under the transfer agreement are exempt from section 35(1)
and (2) of the Act and the employee is not to be treated as a member of the
Alberta plan, notwithstanding section 1(1)(y) of the Act.
Retroactive reduction
of SMEPP benefits
7 Where the option chosen under
section 48(18) of this Regulation has been implemented and the amount of
contributions remains insufficient to cover the cost of benefits, the specified
multi‑employer plan is exempted from the application of section 81(1) of
the Act if, on application to the Superintendent, the Superintendent considers
that it would create an undue burden on the plan to apply that provision and
approves that exemption.
Refusal of
registration under tax Act
8 Where a pension plan that has
secured registration is ultimately refused registration under the tax Act, that
plan is exempt from all locking‑in provisions of the legislation.
Income and asset
testing - 50% unlocking option
9 The discretionary entitlement
of a person to withdraw money from a pension plan under section 68(6) and
Schedule 1.1 is not to be considered when determining, for the purposes of the
legislation specified in section 67.1(b), income or assets available to the
person.
AR 197/2006 s61
Schedule
1
Form 1
(Section 39)
Employment Pension Plans Act
and Regulation (Alberta)
Locked‑in Retirement Account
(Alberta LIRA) Addendum
IMPORTANT NOTES: This addendum forms an integral part of
the LIRA to which it is attached. The
provisions of this addendum prevail over other provisions of the LIRA in the
event of any conflict or inconsistency.
The LIRA (including this addendum) is also subject to section 39 of the
Regulation and all other provisions of the Act and the Regulation (excluding this addendum) that apply to LIRAs and in the event of any conflict or inconsistency,
that other legislation prevails. This
addendum is only a general and abbreviated description of the legal rights and
obligations relating to the LIRA vehicle and as such may not necessarily
reflect fully or accurately the rights and obligations in the legislation. It should be noted that there are
transitional arrangements in place covering mainly the period between August
2006 and the end of 2007, that are not necessarily reflected in this addendum,
and that may also affect relationships with LRIFs.
I, (insert
name of LIRA owner) , (in
this addendum referred to as “the owner”) certify that I am
□ the original owner
□ a surviving
pension partner owner
□ a non‑member‑pension partner owner
as defined in paragraph 1 of this addendum.
[Please tick the box that applies to you.]
With
respect to Alberta locked‑in money to which the LIRA of which this addendum
forms part applies, I, the owner, and we (insert name
of acknowledged financial institution underwriter or depositary of the
LIRA) (in this addendum referred to as “the LIRA issuer”),
having signed the LIRA agreement to which this addendum is attached, agree that
the provisions set out in this addendum constitute fundamental terms of the
contract between us and agree to comply with those provisions, subject to the
above‑mentioned legislation.
Part
1
General Provisions
Interpretation
1(1) The following terms,
used in this addendum, have the meanings respectively given them as indicated
below, except where the context otherwise requires:
(a) “the Act” means the Employment Pension
Plans Act of Alberta, “the Regulation” means the Employment Pension
Plans Regulation (Alberta Regulation 35/2000) under that Act, and “EPPA/R”
means either or both, as applicable, all as amended to the time as of which the
legislation is being interpreted;
(b) “acknowledged”
means, in relation to a financial institution, currently acknowledged under
section 38 of the Regulation in relation to LIRAs or LIFs, as applicable;
(c) “Alberta
locked‑in money” means money in a pension plan, LIRA or LIF
(i) that
(A) originally belonged to a member who
terminated membership in Alberta,
(B) belongs to a surviving pension partner of
(I) a member who died while employed in Alberta,
(II) a former member who terminated membership
while employed in Alberta, or
(III) the original owner of a LIRA,
or
(C) belongs to a non‑member‑pension
partner owner owing to the application of Parts 4 of the legislation and
originally belonged to a member who was employed in Alberta at the end of the
period of joint accrual referred to in section 57(a) of the Regulation,
and
(ii) with respect to which the locking‑in requirements of the
legislation are still required to be met;
(d) “annuity”
means a non‑commutable life annuity contract issued or to be issued by an
insurance business licensed to do business in Canada that meets the conditions in
paragraph 60(l) of the federal Income Tax Act and will not commence
before the annuitant reaches 50;
(e) “DC RIA”
(an acronym for defined contribution retirement income account) means an
account created under defined contribution provisions of a pension plan that
provides the benefits referred to in section 46(8) of the Act under section
46.1 of the Regulation;
(f) “DC RIA
benefits” means the benefits referred to in clause (e);
(g) “financial
institution” means the issuer of a LIRA (including this one) or a LIF, as the
case may be and, where the context relates to an annuity, includes an insurance
business referred to in clause (d);
(h) “Form”,
followed by a number, means the form in Schedule 1 to the Regulation
corresponding to that number;
(i) “non‑member‑pension
partner owner” means a pension partner who owns this LIRA as a result of the
application of the marriage breakdown/matrimonial property order/agreement
rules in EPPA/R;
(j) “Option”,
(i) followed by the numeral “1”, means the option in Part 1 of Form 6
agreeing to the unlocking of up to 50% of commuted value or the value of the
vehicle account in question,
(ii) followed by the numeral “2”, means the option in Part 1 of Form 6
giving up the right to receive the minimum 60% survivor payments, and
(iii) followed by the numeral “3”, means the option in Part 2 of Form 6
giving up all rights as automatic designated beneficiary;
(k) “original
owner” means the individual who was the member or former member of a pension
plan and who made a transfer under section 30(5) or 38 of the Act or section
39, 40, 41 or 46.1 of the Regulation at any time, the assets deriving from
which transfer are now held in this LIRA;
(l) “owner”
means the original owner, a surviving pension partner owner or a non‑member‑pension
partner owner;
(m) “paragraph”
and “Part” mean a paragraph and a Part, respectively, of this addendum;
(n) “pension
partner” means, in relation to an original owner,
(i) a person who, at the relevant time, was married to that original
owner and had not been living separate and apart from that original owner for 3
or more consecutive years, or
(ii) if there is no such married person, a person, if there is any,
who, immediately preceding that time, had lived with that original owner 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,
but does not
include any person who is not recognized as
a spouse or common‑law partner for the purposes of any provision of the
federal income tax legislation respecting RRSPs;
(o) “retirement income commencement” means the time when the former member or
original owner initially transfers or transferred the money from a pension plan
or a LIRA to a LIF, a DC RIA or an LRIF (before its abolition);
(p) “surviving
pension partner owner” means an individual who made a transfer of money under
section 39(6) of the Act or section 39(27) of the Regulation;
(2) Terms
used in this addendum and not defined in subparagraph (1) but defined generally
in EPPA/R have the meanings assigned to them in EPPA/R.
(3) Reference
in this addendum to the execution of a waiver also requires the provision of it
to the applicable pension plan administrator or financial institution for it to
be effective.
Voluntary disposition
2 In general, the owner may not
assign or otherwise voluntarily dispose of this LIRA or any rights or
obligations under it to another person, but this is subject to the exceptions
dealt with later.
Involuntary access
3(1) In general, the money in this LIRA may not be seized,
attached or otherwise taken by another person, except that the money is subject
to the provisions of the Maintenance Enforcement Act and the marriage
breakdown rules.
(2) The
exceptions referred to in subparagraph (1) will or may continue to apply if the
money is transferred from this LIRA to another financial vehicle.
General rule on early
withdrawal, etc.
4 No early voluntary withdrawal, commutation or surrender of money in this
LIRA will be permitted except in accordance with Part 4 or the transitional
(temporary) maximum 50% unlocking option in Schedule 1.1 to the Regulation.
Locking in
5 Money that is not Alberta locked‑in money will not be transferred
to or continue to be held in this LIRA.
Investment
6 The money in this LIRA will be invested in a manner that complies with
the rules for the investment of RRSP money contained in the federal income tax legislation.
Retirement income
7(1) All the money in this
LIRA, including investment earnings, is to be used ultimately to obtain an
annuity or retirement income that is
required or permitted by EPPA/R.
(2) The annuity or retirement
income ultimately to be obtained for an
original owner with a pension partner at the time payment of that income
commences is to be at least on a 60% joint life basis that satisfies section 40
of the Act, unless that pension partner executes Option 2 of the Form 6 waiver.
Splitting
of contract
8 This LIRA, if not eligible for
the payment allowed by paragraph 21, may not be split so as to change it into 2
or more LIRAs, LIFs, DC RIAs or annuities or any combination of them that
would make any of them so eligible.
Pension partner
waiver
9 A pension partner may be
entitled to money from this LIRA on the death of the original owner but, while
the original owner is still alive, the pension partner may waive entitlement to
that money by executing Form 3.
Disclosure statements
10(1) The LIRA issuer will provide to the owner, at least
annually, a statement showing
(a) the
LIRA account balance at the beginning and the end of the period covered by the
statement, and
(b) the
investment gains and losses earned in, the amounts transferred into, the
payments made out of, and the fees charged against, the account in that period.
(2) Where
money is paid out from this LIRA, the LIRA issuer will provide to the owner a
statement showing
(a) the
LIRA account balance at the beginning of the period covered by the statement
and at the date of the payment out, and
(b) the
matters specified in subparagraph (1)(b).
Part 2
Transfers In and Transfers and
Payments Out of LIRA
Transfer‑in
requirements
11(1) The LIRA issuer
(a) warrants
to the owner that it is, and will make every endeavour while this contract
exists to remain, on the Superintendent’s list of acknowledged financial
institutions for LIRAs, and
(b) will
ensure that only Alberta locked‑in money is transferred to this LIRA.
(2) A
transfer to this LIRA may be made only from
(a) the
non‑DC RIA portion of a plan or another LIRA, or
(b) an
old locked‑in RRSP under an agreement under the predecessor legislation
of 1966.
Transfers to other
vehicles
12 A transfer of money from this LIRA is permitted to be made only to
(a) the
non‑DC RIA portion of a plan on
a locked‑in basis,
(b) a DC RIA,
(c) another LIRA,
(d) a
LIF, or
(e) an
annuity.
Transfer‑out
requirements
13(1) The LIRA issuer will not transfer money from this LIRA
unless, to the extent applicable, it
(a) has
ascertained that the transferee financial institution, if issuing a LIRA or
LIF, is on the appropriate Superintendent’s acknowledgement list,
(b) has
ascertained that the transferee pension plan will treat the money as Alberta
locked‑in money,
(c) has
advised the transferee financial institution or pension plan administrator that
the money being transferred is Alberta locked‑in money,
(d) provides
that transferee with a certified copy,
(i) if the transfer is being made to another LIRA or the non‑DC RIA
portion of a pension plan by an original owner who has a pension partner at the
time of the transfer who has previously executed a Form 3 waiver, of that
waiver, or
(ii) if the transfer is being made to a LIF, a DC RIA or an
annuity other than a minimum 60% joint life annuity by an original owner with a
pension partner at the time of the transfer, of an executed Option 2 of the
Form 6 waiver,
(e) has
provided the owner with a statement under paragraph 10(2), and
(f) if
the transfer is to a LIF, DC RIA or annuity, has offered the owner the
maximum 50% unlocking option provided for in Schedule 1.1 to the Regulation
subject, if the owner is an original owner with a pension partner at the time
of the transfer, to the pension partner’s having previously exercised Option 1
of the Form 6 waiver,
and the LIRA issuer
will otherwise ensure that the EPPA/R rules on transfers out are obeyed.
(2) Unless
a pension partner referred to in subparagraph (1)(d)(ii) executes Option 2 of
the Form 6 waiver, that pension partner is the designated beneficiary for any
death benefit.
(3) Where
an Option 1 of the Form 6 waiver was executed, the LIRA issuer will keep a
certified copy of it.
Potential
consequences of breach
14 If the LIRA issuer disobeys
any of the requirements in paragraph 13(1), it may have to fund the recipient
vehicle (again if need be) to ensure that those entitled to the benefits of the
recipient vehicle receive them in the form and manner required by EPPA/R.
General liability on
payment out
15 If money is paid out to an
individual person contrary to EPPA/R, the LIRA issuer will ensure the provision
of appropriate income to the owner, in accordance with EPPA/R, as if that
legislation has not been breached.
Prohibition against
double indemnity
16 Where the owner, as a result
of EPPA/R, obtains, in effect, a double payment or a payment as well as a
continuing interest in the LIRA, the owner may be liable to repay amounts to
which EPPA/R did not entitle him/her.
Federal tax
legislation requirements
17 Without mention of other
provisions of the federal tax legislation to which a transfer is or may be
subject, any transfer made under paragraph 13(1) is subject to paragraph
146.3(2)(e.1) or (e.2) of the federal Income Tax Act.
Remittance of
securities
18 Where this LIRA holds identifiable and transferable investment
securities, the transfers out referred to in this Part may, unless otherwise
stipulated, at the option of the LIRA issuer and with the consent of the owner,
be effected by the remittance of any such securities.
Part 3
Death of Owner
Disposition of balance
on death
19(1) Within 60 days after the
delivery to the LIRA issuer of the documents required by it following the death
of the original owner with a surviving pension partner who has not executed the
Form 3 waiver, the LIRA balance will be transferred, subject to paragraph 13,
on that surviving pension partner’s behalf to
(a) a LIRA,
(b) a LIF,
(c) an annuity that is not a minimum 60% joint
life annuity, or
(d) a pension plan on a locked‑in basis,
as
that surviving pension partner chooses.
(2) Within 60 days after the
delivery to the LIRA issuer of the documents required by it following the death
of the owner other than an owner referred to in subparagraph (1), the LIRA
balance will be paid to the original owner’s designated beneficiary or, if
there is no valid designation of beneficiary, to the original owner’s estate as
a cash lump sum.
Part 4
Withdrawal, Commutation and Surrender
YMPE based lump sum
payment
21 The LIRA issuer will on application make a lump sum payment of the whole
LIRA balance,
(a) at any time if the LIRA balance does not exceed
20% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) under the Canada Pension
Plan for the year in which the application is made, or
(b) if the owner is at least 65 and the value of the
LIRA does not exceed 40% of the YMPE for the year in which the application is
made.
Non‑residency
for tax purposes
22 The LIRA issuer will make a lump sum payment of the entire LIRA balance
if the owner applies to it with written evidence that the Canada Revenue Agency
has confirmed that the owner is a non‑resident for the purposes of the
federal tax legislation and, where that owner is an original owner who has a
pension partner at the time when the application is made, if such a pension
partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
Life
threatening condition
23 The LIRA issuer will on application make a lump sum payment to the owner
of the entire LIRA balance or an equivalent series of payments if a physician
certifies that the owner has a terminal illness or that due to a disability the
owner’s life is likely to be considerably shortened, but the LIRA issuer may
make the payment or payments, in the case of an original owner who has a
pension partner at the time when the application for payment is made, only if
such a pension partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
Financial
hardship
24 The LIRA issuer will make a lump sum payment or a series of payments, on
application to the LIRA issuer by the owner, if the owner has previously
applied to the Superintendent for a release of all or part of the money due to
financial hardship and the Superintendent has given written consent to that
application.
Part
X.1 of federal tax legislation
25 The owner may withdraw from
this LIRA such amount of money as is required to be paid to the owner to reduce
the amount of tax otherwise payable under Part X.1 of the federal Income Tax
Act.
Form 2
(Section 40)
Employment Pension Plans Act
and Regulation (Alberta)
Life Income Fund (Alberta LIF) Addendum
IMPORTANT NOTES: This addendum forms an integral part of
the LIF to which it is attached. The
provisions of this addendum prevail over other provisions of the LIF in the
event of any conflict or inconsistency.
The LIF (including this addendum) is also subject to section 40 of the
Regulation and all other provisions of the Act and the Regulation (excluding this
addendum) that apply to LIFs and in the event of any conflict or inconsistency,
that other legislation prevails. This
addendum is only a general and abbreviated description of the legal rights and
obligations relating to the LIF vehicle and as such may not necessarily reflect
fully or accurately the rights and obligations in the legislation. It should be noted that there are
transitional arrangements in place covering mainly the period between August
2006 and the end of 2007, that are not necessarily reflected in this addendum,
and that also affect relationships with LRIFs.
I, (insert
name of LIF owner) , (in
this addendum referred to as “the owner”) certify that I am
□ the original owner*
□ a surviving
pension partner owner
□ a non‑member‑pension partner owner
as defined in paragraph 1 of this addendum.
[Please tick the box that applies to you.]
With
respect to Alberta locked‑in money to which the LIF of which this addendum
forms part applies, I, the owner, and we (insert name of acknowledged financial institution
underwriter or depositary of the LIF) (in this addendum
referred to as “the LIF issuer”), having signed the LIF agreement to which this
addendum is attached, agree that the provisions set out in this addendum
constitute fundamental terms of the contract between us and agree to comply
with those provisions, subject to the above‑mentioned legislation.
*As
the original owner (if applicable) I have identified in that agreement any
pension partner, as defined in paragraph (1)(1)(n) below, that I have at the
time when this LIF is issued.
Part 1
General Provisions
Interpretation and
requisites for LIF
1(1) The following terms, used in this
addendum, have the meanings respectively given them as indicated below, except
where the context otherwise requires:
(a) “the Act” means the Employment Pension
Plans Act of Alberta, “the Regulation” means the Employment Pension
Plans Regulation (Alberta Regulation 35/2000) under that Act, and “EPPA/R”
means either or both, as applicable, all as amended to the time as of which the
legislation is being interpreted;
(b) “acknowledged”
means, in relation to a financial institution, currently acknowledged under
section 38 of the Regulation in relation to LIFs or LIRAs, as applicable;
(c) “Alberta
locked‑in money” means money in a pension plan, LIRA or LIF
(i) that
(A) originally belonged to a member who
terminated membership in Alberta,
(B) belongs to a surviving pension partner of
(I) a member who died while employed in Alberta,
(II) a former member who terminated membership
while employed in Alberta, or
(III) the original owner of a LIRA,
or
(C) belongs to a non‑member‑pension
partner owing to the application of Parts 4 of the legislation and originally
belonged to a member who was employed in Alberta at the end of the period of
joint accrual referred to in section 57(a),
and
(ii) with respect to which the locking‑in requirements of the
legislation are still required to be met;
(d) “annuity”
means a non‑commutable life annuity contract issued or to be issued by an
insurance business licensed to do business in Canada that meets the conditions
in paragraph 60(l) of the federal Income Tax Act and will not commence
before the annuitant reaches 50;
(e) “DC RIA”
(an acronym for defined contribution retirement income account) means an
account created under defined contribution provisions of a pension plan that
covers the benefits referred to in section 46(8) of the Act and that exists to
provide retirement income under section 46.1 of the Regulation;
(f) “DC RIA
benefits” means the benefits referred to in clause (e);
(g) “financial
institution” means the issuer of a LIF (including this one) or a LIRA, as the
case may be and, where the context relates to an annuity, includes an insurance
business referred to in clause (d);
(h) “Form”,
followed by a number, means the form in Schedule 1 to the Regulation
corresponding to that number;
(i) “non‑member‑pension
partner owner” means a pension partner who owns this LIF as a result of the
application of the marriage breakdown/matrimonial property order/agreement
rules in EPPA/R;
(j) “Option”,
(i) followed by the numeral “1”, means the option in Part 1 of Form 6
agreeing to the unlocking of up to 50% of commuted value or the value of the
vehicle account in question,
(ii) followed by the numeral “2”, means the option in Part 1 of Form 6
giving up the right to receive the minimum 60% survivor payments, and
(iii) followed by the numeral “3”, means the option in Part 2 of Form 6
giving up all rights as automatic designated beneficiary;
(k) “original
owner” means the individual who was the member or former member of a pension
plan and who made a transfer under section 30(5) or 38 of the Act or section
39, 40, 41 or 46.1 of the Regulation at any time, the assets deriving from
which transfer are now held in this LIF;
(l) “owner”
means the original owner, a surviving pension partner owner or a non‑member‑pension
partner owner;
(m) “paragraph”
and “Part” mean a paragraph and a Part, respectively, of this addendum;
(n) “pension
partner” means, in relation to an original owner,
(i) a person who, at retirement income commencement, was married to
that original owner and had not been living separate and apart from that
original owner for 3 or more consecutive years, or
(ii) if there is no such married person, a person, if there is any,
who, immediately preceding that time, had lived with that original owner in a
conjugal relationship
(A) for a continuous period of at least 3 years,
or
(B) of some permanence, if there was a child of
the relationship by birth or adoption,
but does not include any person who is not recognized as a spouse or
common‑law partner for the purposes of any provision of the federal
income tax legislation respecting RRIFs;
(o) “retirement income commencement” means the time when the former member or
original owner initially transferred the money from a pension plan or a LIRA to
a LIF, a DC RIA or an LRIF (before its abolition);
(p) “surviving
pension partner owner” means
(i) an individual who made a transfer of the money under section
39(6) of the Act, or
(ii) a surviving pension partner of the original owner.
(2) Terms
used in this addendum and not defined in subparagraph (1) but defined generally
in EPPA/R have the meanings assigned to them in EPPA/R.
(3) Reference
in this addendum to the execution of a waiver also requires the provision of it
to the applicable pension plan administrator or financial institution for it to
be effective.
(4) This
addendum has no effect as a part of a RRIF or a LIF unless and until
(a) the
owner is at least 50,
(b) this
addendum is attached to the RRIF,
(c) the
issuer has made reasonable efforts to ascertain whether or not the original
owner has a pension partner at the time the LIF would be established and, if
so, his or her identity,
(d) if
there is such a pension partner, that institution has received an executed
Option 2 of the Form 6 waiver, and
(e) that
waiver has been attached to the RRIF,
and the waiver
referred to in clause (e) becomes part of the LIF on its being attached to the
RRIF.
(5) The
fiscal year of this LIF is the calendar year.
Voluntary disposition
2 In general, the owner may not
assign or otherwise voluntarily dispose of this LIF or any rights or
obligations under it to another person, but this is subject to the exceptions
dealt with later.
Involuntary access
3(1) The money in this LIF may not be seized, attached or
otherwise taken by another person, except that the money is subject to the
provisions of the Maintenance Enforcement Act and the marriage breakdown
rules.
(2) The
exceptions referred to in subparagraph (1) will or may continue to apply if the
money is transferred from this LIF to another financial vehicle.
General rule on early
withdrawal, etc.
4 No early voluntary withdrawal, commutation or surrender of money in this
LIF will be permitted except in accordance with Part 5 or the transitional
(temporary) maximum 50% unlocking option in Schedule 1.1 to the Regulation.
Locking in
5 Money that is not Alberta locked‑in money will not be transferred
to or continue to be held in this LIF.
Investment
6 The money in this LIF will be invested in a manner that complies with the
rules for the investment of RRIF money contained in the federal income tax legislation.
Minimum retirement
income provision
7 All the money in this LIF, including investment earnings, is to be used
to provide or obtain retirement income or an annuity that is required or permitted by EPPA/R.
Splitting
of contract
8 This LIF, if not eligible for
the payment allowed by paragraph 27, may not be split so as to change it into 2
or more LIFs, DC RIAs or annuities or any combination of them that would
make any of them so eligible.
Disclosure statements
9 The LIF issuer will provide to the owner or, in the case of a deceased
original owner, the designated beneficiary or estate, as the case may be,
(a) within 30 days after the beginning of each year,
information on
(i) the amounts transferred into,
the interest, gains and losses earned by, the payments made out of, and the
fees charged against, this LIF during the previous year,
(ii) the LIF account balance at the end of the previous year,
(iii) the minimum amount that must
be paid out of this LIF to the owner during the current year, and
(iv) the maximum amount that may
be paid out during the current year, being the greatest of the amounts
calculated in accordance with paragraph 20(1)(a), (b) and (c),
(b) if
the owner makes a transfer specified in
paragraph 11, a reconciliation of the LIF balance at the date of the transfer
with the balance at the end of the immediately previous year, showing the
amounts transferred into, the interest, gains and losses earned by, the
payments made out of, and the fees charged against, this LIF in the intervening
period, and
(c) where
the owner receives a payment under Part 5 of this addendum, a reconciliation of
the LIF balance at the date of payment with
the balance at the end of the immediately previous year, showing the amounts
transferred into, the interest, gains and losses earned by, the payments made
out of, and the fees charged against, this LIF during the intervening period.
Part 2
Transfers In and Transfers and Payments Out
Transfer‑in
requirements
10(1) The LIF issuer
(a) warrants
to the owner that it is, and will make every endeavour while this contract
exists to remain, on the Superintendent’s list of acknowledged financial
institutions for LIFs, and
(b) will
ensure that only Alberta locked‑in money is transferred to this LIF.
(2) A
transfer to this LIF may be made only from a pension plan, another LIF, a LIRA
or an LRIF.
Transfers to other
vehicles
11 A transfer of money from this
LIF is permitted, but only permitted,
(a) to
another LIF,
(b) to
a DC RIA, or
(c) to an insurance business to purchase an annuity
that, in the case of an original owner who had a pension partner at retirement
income commencement, designates that pension partner as the beneficiary of any
death benefit provided by the annuity unless the original owner has provided to
the LIF issuer an executed Option 3 of the Form 6 waiver.
Transfer‑out
requirements
12(1) The LIF issuer will not transfer money from this LIF unless,
to the extent applicable, it
(a) has
ascertained that the transferee financial institution, if issuing a LIF, is on
the Superintendent’s acknowledgement list for LIFs,
(b) has
ascertained that the transferee pension plan containing the DC RIA is
registered under EPPA/R,
(c) has
advised the transferee financial institution or pension plan administrator that
the money being transferred is Alberta locked‑in money,
(d) if
the owner is an original owner who had a pension partner at retirement income
commencement, provides the receiving financial institution or administrator
with an executed Option 2 and, if applicable, Option 3 of the Form 6 waiver,
(e) if
the transfer is to another LIF or to a DC RIA, provides that transferee
with
(i) a copy of the information provided to the owner under paragraph
9(b), and
(ii) a copy of the decision made by the owner respecting the amount to
be withdrawn during the current year.
(f) if the transfer is to an insurance business
to purchase an annuity,
(i) has ensured that the vehicle is an annuity,
and
(ii) if the owner is an original owner, provides
to the insurance business a certified copy of an executed the Option 2 and, if
applicable, the Option 3 of the Form 6 waiver,
and the LIF issuer
will otherwise ensure that the EPPA/R rules on transfers out are obeyed.
Potential
consequences of breach
13 If the LIF issuer disobeys any
of the requirements in paragraph 12, it may have to fund the recipient vehicle
(again if need be) to ensure that those entitled to the benefits of the
recipient vehicle receive them in the form and manner required by EPPA/R.
General liability on
payment out
14 If money is paid out to an
individual person contrary to EPPA/R, the LIF issuer will ensure the provision
of appropriate income to the owner, in accordance with EPPA/R, as if that
legislation has not been breached.
Prohibition against
double indemnity
15 Where the owner, as a result
of EPPA/R, obtains, in effect, a double payment or a payment as well as a
continuing interest in the LIF, the owner may be liable to repay amounts to
which EPPA/R did not entitle him/her.
Federal
tax legislation requirements
16 Without mention of other
provisions of the federal tax legislation to which a transfer is or may be
subject, any transfer made under paragraph 12 is subject to paragraph
146.3(2)(e.1) or (e.2) of the federal Income Tax Act.
Remittance
of securities
17 Where this LIF holds identifiable and transferable investment securities,
the transfers out referred to in this Part may, unless otherwise stipulated, at
the option of the LIF issuer and with the consent of the owner, be effected by
the remittance of any such securities.
Part 3
Payment Calculations
Commencement of income
payment
18 The owner will be paid an income that will commence not later than the
last day of the year following the year in which the LIF was established.
Establishment and
alteration of income pay‑out
19(1) Within 60 days after
receipt of the information described in paragraph 9(a), the owner will
establish and notify the LIF issuer in writing of the amount of income to be
paid during the current year, except that if this LIF guarantees the rate of
return of this LIF over a period that is greater than one year, then the owner
may establish and notify, at the beginning of that period, the amount of income
to be paid during any one or more of the years that end not later than the
expiration of that period.
(2) The owner may, at any
time during a year, change the amount of income to be paid provided that the
amount will always result, by the end of the year, in a payment or payments
that are at least equal to the minimum amount required by the federal tax
legislation and that do not exceed the maximum amount calculated in accordance
with paragraph 20(1).
Maximum
income pay‑out
20(1) Subject to subparagraph (2), the amount of income to be paid
out during a year is not to exceed
the greatest of
(a) M, with that symbol being calculated in
accordance with the following formula:
M = C/F
where
C is the balance of the money in this LIF on the first day of the year,
and
F is the value on January 1 of
the year in which the calculation is made of a guaranteed amount of which the
annual payment is $1 payable at the beginning of each year between that date and December 31 of the year
during which the owner reaches the age of 85 years and calculated by
using
(i) an interest rate of not more than 6% per
year, or
(ii) for the first 15 years after the date of the
valuation, an interest rate exceeding 6% per year if that rate does not exceed
the interest rate obtained on long‑term bonds issued by the Government of
Canada for the month of November preceding the year of the valuation, as
compiled by Statistics Canada and published in the Bank of Canada Review as
CANSIM Series B‑14013, and using an interest rate not exceeding 6% in
subsequent years,
(b) the minimum amount required to be withdrawn
in accordance with the federal tax legislation, and
(c) investment gains earned in the immediately
previous year.
(2) For
the initial year of the payment out of income,
(a) the
limit M is prorated in proportion to the number of months in the year in which
this LIF was established divided by 12, with any part of an incomplete month
counting as one month,
(b) the
minimum amount to be paid, as referred to in subparagraph (1)(b), is set at
zero, and
(c) investment gains referred to in
subparagraph (1)(c) are 6% of the fair market value of this LIF prorated, where
applicable, in proportion to the number of months in the year for which this
LIF was established divided by 12, with any part of an incomplete month
counting as one month.
Continuation of
income payments
21 Subject to paragraph 19(2), if
the money in this LIF is transferred to another LIF or to a DC RIA,
payments to the owner will continue in the same manner as the owner selected at
the beginning of the year of the transfer.
Additional transfers
in
22(1) If, in any year, an additional transfer is made to this LIF and
that additional transfer has never been under a LIF or a DC RIA before, an
additional withdrawal is allowed in that year.
(2) The
additional withdrawal will be calculated in accordance with paragraph 20(1) and
prorated in accordance with paragraph 20(2) with respect to the amount that was
transferred in.
Guarantee of rate of
return over longer period
23 Where the exception in
paragraph 19(1) applies, paragraphs 20, 21 and 22 apply with such modification
as the circumstances require to determine, at the date of the beginning of the
first year of the interval, the amount of income to be paid out for each year in
that interval.
Part 4
Death of Owner
Deceased owners
25 Within 60 days after the
delivery to the LIF issuer of the documents required by it following the death
of the owner, the LIF balance will be paid
(a) if
the deceased owner was the original owner with a surviving pension partner who
had not executed the Option 3 of the Form 6 waiver, to that pension partner, or
(b) if
the owner was someone other than that original owner, to the owner’s designated
beneficiary or, if there is no such designated beneficiary, the owner’s estate.
Manner of payment
26 The money will be paid, under
paragraph 25,
(a) as
a cash lump sum, or
(b) subject
to the federal tax legislation, in the case of a surviving pension partner and
if that person so elects, to an RRSP or RRIF.
Part 5
Withdrawal, Commutation and Surrender
YMPE based lump sum
payment
27 The LIF issuer will on application make a lump sum payment of the whole
LIF balance,
(a) at any time if the LIF balance does not exceed
20% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) under the Canada Pension
Plan for the year in which the application is made, or
(b) if the owner is at least 65 and the value of the
LIF does not exceed 40% of the YMPE for the year in which the application is
made.
Non‑residency
for tax purposes
28 The LIF issuer will make a lump sum payment of the entire LIF balance if
the owner applies to it with written evidence that the Canada Revenue Agency
has confirmed that the owner is a non‑resident for the purposes of the
federal tax legislation and, where that owner is an original owner who has a
pension partner at the time when the application is made, if such a pension
partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
Life
threatening condition
29 The LIF issuer will on application make a lump sum payment to the owner
of the entire LIF balance or an equivalent series of payments if a physician
certifies that the owner has a terminal illness or that due to a disability the
owner’s life is likely to be considerably shortened, but the LIF issuer may make
the payment or payments, in the case of an original owner who has a pension
partner at the time when the application for payment is made, only if such a
pension partner has executed a Form 5 waiver.
Financial
hardship
30 The LIF issuer will make a lump sum payment or a series of payments, on
application to the LIF issuer by the owner, if the owner has previously applied
to the Superintendent for a release of all or part of the money due to
financial hardship and the Superintendent has given written consent to that
application.
Part
X.1 of federal tax legislation
31 The owner may withdraw from
this LIF such amount of money as is required to be paid to the owner to reduce
the amount of tax otherwise payable under Part X.1 of the federal Income Tax
Act.
Form
3
(Section 39(5.1) of the Act and
sections 39 and 43(1))
Employment Pension Plans Act and
Regulation
[Note: 1. In
interpreting this waiver form, “pension” is to be taken as including an annuity
or retirement income and “pension commencement” as including the commencement
of the payment of an annuity or retirement income.
2. The Employment Pension Plans
Regulation is Alberta Regulation 35/2000.]
Pension
Partner Waiver of Pre‑Pension
Commencement Death Benefit
under Pension Plan or LIRA
I, (name) ,
am a “pension partner” (as described below) of (insert name of
member/former member/original owner) (in this waiver referred
to as “the original plan member”) who, at the time of my signing this waiver,
is alive and has not commenced to receive a pension. The original plan member earned benefits
under (name of pension plan) , a pension plan
regulated in accordance with the Employment Pension Plans Act and Regulation
(in this waiver referred to as “the legislation”). The money representing those benefits*
□ remains
in that pension plan (pension or retirement income payments not yet having
commenced), or
□ was transferred from that plan and is now in a
LIRA.
[* Please tick the box that applies to you.]
Being the original
plan member’s “pension partner” means that
(a) I
am married to the original plan member and have not been living separate and
apart from him or her for 3 or more consecutive years, or
(b) if
paragraph (a) above does not apply to me and there is no other person to whom
paragraph (a) applies, I have been living with the original plan member in a
conjugal relationship for a continuous period of at least 3 years or, if there
is a child of our relationship by birth or adoption, of some permanence.
I understand that if I
do not execute this waiver and the original plan member dies before any form of
pension is or commences to be paid (which time is in this waiver referred to as
“pension commencement”) and if I am a lawful pension partner of the deceased at
his or her death, I am entitled to receive a pre‑pension commencement
death benefit under the legislation.
That benefit,
(a) if
being paid from a pension plan, is the value of the benefit at death, and
(b) if
being paid from a LIRA, is the value of the LIRA account at death.
I understand that if I
give up my pension partner right to receive any pre‑pension commencement
death benefit by signing this waiver, payment of that benefit will be made
either to
(a) a
beneficiary (excluding myself) designated by the original plan member, or
(b) the
deceased’s estate.
Nevertheless, I give
up my right to receive the pre‑pension commencement death benefit payment
otherwise required by the legislation.
This waiver does not affect any rights that I could have arising as a result of
any breakdown or potential breakdown in the relationship between the original
plan member and myself.
I have chosen to
sign this waiver and in so doing I give up my right to receive any pre‑pension
commencement death benefit payment and to any potential right that I may
otherwise have under any designation of myself as beneficiary signed by the
original plan member.
Certification
I certify that
(a) I
have read this waiver and understand it or the potential results of my signing
it,
(b) I
have read the original plan member’s most recent annual statement or a
statement from the administrator/financial institution showing the balance in
his or her account and know the approximate current value of the benefit I am
giving up as a result of executing this waiver,
(c) I
am signing this waiver of my own free will,
(d) the
original plan member is not present while I am signing this waiver,
(e) I
have obtained independent advice about the implications of signing this waiver,
(f) I
realize that
(i) this waiver only gives a general description of the legal rights
I have under the legislation, and
(ii) if I wish to understand exactly what my legal rights are, I must
read the legislation applicable and, if necessary, consult a professional with
pension expertise,
and
(g) I
understand that I have the right to cancel this waiver at any time before the
original plan member dies or is paid or commences to be paid the benefit.
Dated at (municipality)
in the Province/Territory of
this day of (month) ,
20 (year) .
(signature
of waiving pension partner)
I, (name
of witness) , of (address of
witness) do witness the signature of the pension partner
who signed this waiver before me outside of the presence of the original plan
member.
(signature
of witness to signature of waiving pension partner)
(print full name of witness)
Form 4
(Section 40(4) and (4.2) of the
Act
and 43(2) and (3))
Employment
Pension Plans Act and Regulation
[Note: The Employment Pension Plans Regulation is
Alberta Regulation 35/2000.]
Pension Partner Waiver of Post‑Pension
Commencement Benefits
from a Defined
Benefit Portion of a Pension Plan
Part 1
Waiver of Minimum 60% Joint Life Pension
I, (name) ,
am a “pension partner” (as described below) of (insert name of
member/former member) (in this waiver form referred to as “the
member”) who, at the time of my signing anything in this Form, is alive and is
about to commence to receive a pension.
The member earned benefits under defined benefit provisions of (name
of pension plan) , a pension plan regulated in accordance with
the Employment Pension Plans Act and Regulation (in this Form
referred to as “the legislation”). The
money representing those benefits remains in that pension plan.
Being the member’s “pension
partner” means that
(a) I
am married to the member and have not been living separate and apart from him
or her for 3 or more consecutive years, or
(b) if
paragraph (a) above does not apply to me and there is no other person to whom
paragraph (a) applies, I have been living with member in a conjugal
relationship for a continuous period of at least 3 years or, if there is a
child of our relationship by birth or adoption, of some permanence.
I understand that the
legislation in general requires that the benefits earned under and paid from
the pension plan must be paid as at least a 60% joint life pension. This means that if the member starts to
receive a pension and dies before I do, survivor payments equal to at least 60%
of it will continue to me for my lifetime.
However, I understand
that if I choose to sign this Part (Part 1) of this Form and it is filed with
the administrator, I give up my rights to the minimum 60% joint life
pension. I further understand that my
signing this Part 1 means that the member may choose a pension form that
(a) gives
me a lower survivor benefit than the 60% joint life pension,
(b) provides
a lump sum death benefit for which I will be the beneficiary unless I also
waive my entitlement to it by executing Part 2 of this Form, or
(c) provides
no death benefit at all.
Nevertheless, I give
up my right to receive the minimum 60% joint life pension otherwise required by
the legislation.
This Part does not affect any rights that I could have arising as a result of
any breakdown or potential breakdown in the relationship between the member and
myself.
I have chosen to
execute Part 1 of this Form and in so doing I give up my right to receive the
60% joint life pension. By executing
this Part 1 of the Form, I do not give up any potential right that I may
otherwise have under any designation of myself as beneficiary signed by the
member.
Certification
as to Part 1
I certify that
(a) I
have read Part 1 of this Form and understand it or the potential results of my
signing it,
(b) I
have read the member’s retirement statement or a statement from the
administrator showing the balance in his or her account and know the
approximate current value of the benefit I am giving up as a result of
executing this Part (Part 1) of this Form,
(c) I
am signing Part 1 of my own free will,
(d) the
member is not present while I am signing this Part,
(e) I
have obtained independent advice about the implications of signing Part 1,
(f) I
realize that
(i) Part 1 only gives a general description of the legal rights I
have under the legislation relating to Part 1, and
(ii) if I wish to understand exactly what my legal rights are, I must
read the legislation applicable and, if necessary, consult a professional with
pension expertise,
and
(g) the
information that I have given in this Part is true, to the best of my
knowledge, at the time when I sign this Part but, if any of that information
changes before the member dies or receives or commences to receive the benefit,
whichever happens first, I undertake that I will immediately notify the
administrator of that change.
Dated at (municipality)
in the Province/Territory of
this day of (month) ,
20 (year) .
(signature
of waiving pension partner)
I, (name
of witness) , of (address of witness)
do witness the signature of the pension partner who signed this Part (Part 1)
of this Form before me outside of the presence of the member.
(signature
of witness to signature of waiving pension partner)
(print full name
of witness)
Part
2
Waiver of Sole Designated Beneficiary Rights
[NOTE: Before
signing this Part, please consider all of the following:
● If
you have signed Part 1 of this Form above, you may, but do not have to, sign
this Part (Part 2).
● You
may not sign Part 2 unless you have signed Part 1.
● You
may not sign Part 2 if the original plan member has selected any joint life
form of pension.
● You
do not have to sign Part 2 at the same time as you sign Part 1, but may do it
at any time before the member dies.
● If
you have previously signed Part 2, you may cancel it at any time before the
member dies.]
I am and was, at the
time of pension commencement a “pension partner”, as defined in Part 1 above,
of the member referred to in Part 1.
The money representing
the residual benefit referred to in the next paragraph remains in the pension
plan referred to in Part 1.
I understand that,
although I have given up my rights to the minimum 60% joint life pension by
signing Part 1 above, the legislation makes me the automatic sole designated
beneficiary of the member, meaning that I would receive any residual benefit
from the plan on the member’s death unless I sign the waiver in this Part (Part
2).
Nevertheless, in
addition to giving up my right to the minimum 60% joint life pension (as I have
done in Part 1), I also give up all my rights as such automatic designated
beneficiary and, as a result, all other benefits or entitlements that I have or
may have under the plan.
This Part does not
affect any rights that I could have arising as a result of any breakdown or
potential breakdown in the relationship between the member and myself.
I have chosen to execute
Part 2 of this Form and in so doing I give up my entitlement to be the sole
designated beneficiary with respect to any death benefit payable from the plan.
Certification
as to Part 2
I certify that
(a) I
have read Part 2 of this Form and understand it or the potential results of my
executing it,
(b) I
have read the member’s retirement statement or a statement from the
administrator showing the balance in his or her account and know the
approximate current value of the benefit I am giving up as a result of
executing this Part (Part 2) of this Form,
(c) I
am signing Part 2 of my own free will,
(d) the
member is not present while I am signing this Part,
(e) I
have obtained independent advice about the implications of signing Part 2,
(f) I
realize that
(i) Part 2 only gives a general description of the legal rights I
have under the legislation relating to Part 2, and
(ii) if I wish to understand exactly what my legal rights are, I must
read the legislation applicable and, if necessary, consult a professional with
pension expertise,
(g) the
information that I have given in this Part is true, to the best of my
knowledge, at the time when I sign this Part but, if any of that information
changes before the member dies or receives or commences to receive the benefit,
whichever happens first, I undertake that I will immediately notify the
administrator of that change, and
(h) I
understand that I have the right to cancel this waiver I have signed in this
Part (Part 2) at any time before the member dies.
Dated at (municipality)
in the Province/Territory of
this day of (month) ,
20 (year) .
(signature
of waiving pension partner)
I, (name
of witness) , of (address of witness)
do witness the signature of the pension partner who signed this Part (Part 2)
of this Form before me outside of the presence of the member.
(signature
of witness to signature of waiving pension partner)
(print full name of witness)
Form 5
(Section 46(5) of the Act and
sections 32(1.1),
39(23), 40(26), 41(6) and 43(4))
Employment
Pension Plans Act and Regulation
[Note: 1. In
interpreting this waiver form, “pension” is to be taken as including an annuity
or retirement income and “pension commencement” as including the commencement
of the payment of an annuity or retirement income.
2. The Employment Pension Plans
Regulation is Alberta Regulation 35/2000.]
Pension Partner Waiver to Permit
Commutation due to Shortened Life or
Taking Non‑residency Status
I, (name) ,
am a “pension partner” (as described below) of (insert name of
member/former member/original owner) (in this waiver referred
to as “the original plan member”) who, at the time of my signing this waiver,
is alive. The original plan member earned benefits under (name of pension
plan) , a pension plan regulated in accordance with the Employment
Pension Plans Act and Regulation (in this waiver referred to as “the
legislation”). The money respecting
those benefits*
□ remains
in that pension plan, or
was transferred from that plan and is now in
□ a LIRA, or
□ a LIF.
[* Please tick the box that applies to you.]
Being the original
plan member’s “pension partner” means that
(a) I
am married to the original plan member and have not been living separate and
apart from him or her for 3 or more consecutive years, or
(b) if
paragraph (a) above does not apply to me and there is no other person to whom
paragraph (a) applies, I have been living with the original plan member in a
conjugal relationship for a continuous period of at least 3 years or, if there
is a child of our relationship by birth or adoption, of some permanence.
I understand that, as
a pension partner of the original plan member, I am
(a) if
the original plan member dies before pension commencement, entitled to receive
the amount then held for his or her benefit in the pension plan or LIRA, as the
case may be, unless I have previously given up that entitlement under the
waiver in Form 3 in the Employment Pension Plans Regulation,
(b) if
the original plan member dies after pension commencement, the beneficiary of a
60% joint life pension unless I have previously given up that entitlement under
the waiver in Part 1 of Form 4 or Option 2 of the Form 6 waiver, as applicable,
in the Employment Pension Plans Regulation, and
(c) even
if I sign the Part 1 of the Form 4 waiver or the Option 2 waiver noted in
paragraph (b) above, entitled to continue to be the beneficiary of any residual
benefit from the pension plan unless I also sign Part 2 of that Form 4 or the
Option 3 of the Form 6 waiver, as applicable.
I further understand
that if I choose to sign this waiver and it is filed with the
administrator/financial institution, I give up all entitlement to any benefit,
as described in the preceding paragraph, from the pension plan, LIRA or LIF, as
the case may be.
Nevertheless, I give
up my right to receive the benefit otherwise required by the legislation.
This waiver does not affect any rights that I could have arising as a result of
any breakdown or potential breakdown in the relationship between the original
plan member and myself.
I have chosen to
sign this waiver and in so doing I give up any and all of my entitlement to any
death benefit payment.
Certification
I certify that
(a) I
have read this waiver and understand it or the potential results of my signing
it,
(b) I
have read the original plan member’s most recent annual statement or a
statement from the administrator/financial institution showing the balance in
his or her account and know the approximate current value of the benefit I am
giving up as a result of signing this waiver,
(c) I
am signing this waiver of my own free will,
(d) the
original plan member is not present while I am signing this waiver,
(e) I
have obtained independent advice about the implications of signing this waiver,
(f) I
realize that
(i) this waiver only gives a general description of the legal rights
I have under the legislation, and
(ii) if I wish to understand exactly what my legal rights are, I must
read the legislation applicable and, if necessary, consult a professional with
pension expertise,
and
(g) the
information that I have given in this waiver is true, to the best of my
knowledge, at the time when I sign this waiver but, if any of that information
changes before the original plan member makes the election to commute his or
her pension or part of it or dies, whichever happens first, I undertake that I
will immediately notify the administrator or financial institution of that
change.
Dated at (municipality)
in the Province/Territory of
this day of (month) ,
20 (year) .
(signature
of waiving pension partner)
I, (name
of witness) , of (address of witness)
do witness the signature of the pension partner who signed this waiver before
me outside of the presence of the original plan member.
(signature
of witness to signatu
