If I declare personal bankruptcy, can my pension be seized by my creditors?
No. A pension benefit cannot be seized as long as it remains in a pension plan or in a locked-in vehicle such as a locked-in RRSP. Once you begin receiving a regular pension benefit payment (pension), creditors may have access to that income.
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Can a creditor force me to use my federal locked-in RRSP to pay off my debts?
No. However, if you choose to convert your funds to a Life-Income Fund (LIF), or to purchase an immediate life annuity, the monthly or annual payments could be seized by a creditor.
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Can a pension plan file an actuarial report with an effective date other than at the plan's year-end?
The effective date of actuarial reports should be at the plan's year-end, unless OSFI has approved an alternate date. Please refer to PBSA Update No. 18, article number 5. OSFI will accept an actuarial report prepared at an alternate date if the report is filed as a result of an amendment that changes the plan's liabilities or contribution requirements. OSFI will also accept an actuarial report, with an effective date earlier than the required plan year-end, when the report is filed for the purpose of increasing the current contributions to the plan. Under these circumstances, the regular year-end actuarial report must also be filed at the required date.
This policy is in line with OSFI's mandate of protecting the rights and interests of plan members and beneficiaries.
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What is OSFI’s objective in regulating pension plans?
The primary purpose of a pension plan and its fund is to provide regular income in retirement to the employees of an employer. It is a long-term commitment by the plan sponsor to fund and to pay the promised benefits. OSFI administers the PBSA and one of its objectives is regulating compliance with the funding standards of the PBSA.
The objectives of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in supervising federal private pension plans and the factors that affect the pursuit of those objects can be found in subsections 4(2.1), (3) and (5) of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act. While the regulation and supervision of pension plans by the Office and the Superintendent can reduce the risk that pension plans will fail to pay the expected benefits, regulation and supervision must be carried out having regard to the fact that administrators of pension plans are responsible for the management of the pension plans and that pension plans can experience financial and funding difficulties that can result in the reduction of those benefits.
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What does a "closed plan" mean?
A "closed plan" is not the same as a terminated plan. In general, a closed plan means that the plan sponsor has amended the plan so that no new members can join. Often, the existing members continue to accrue benefits and retirees continue to receive their pensions from a closed plan. The PBSA does not prohibit the closing or subsequent reopening of a plan.
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