As part of the ongoing administration of pension plans registered in Ontario, there are five scheduled filings required by the Pension Benefits Act (PBA).
Filed with the Superintendent:
- Financial Statements (FS) accompanied by a Form 8 - Investment Information Summary (IIS)
- Actuarial Reports (AR) accompanied by an Actuarial Information Summary (AIS)
Filed with the Ministry of Finance,
who processes them on behalf of the Superintendent:
- Annual Information Return (AIR)
- Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund Assessment Certificate (PBGF)
Filed with the Fund Trustee:
- Form 7 - Summary of Contributions/Revised Summary of Contributions
When Filings are Due
| Defined Benefit Pension Plans | Defined Contribution Pension Plans | |
| AIR* | Required annually, 9 months after the plan year end | Required annually, 6 months after the plan year end |
| PBGF* | Required annually, 9 months after the plan year end (See Note 1) | n/a |
| FS and IIS | Required annually, 6 months after the plan year end (See Notes 2 and 3) | Required annually, 6 months after the plan year end (See Notes 2 and 3) |
| AR and AIS | Required at least every 3 years, within 9 months of the valuation date (See Notes 4 and 5) |
n/a |
| Form 7 | Required annually, within 60 days of the beginning of each fiscal year, and within 60 days of a contribution change (See Note 6) | Required annually, within 60 days of the beginning of each fiscal year, and within 60 days of a contribution change (See Note 6) |
*NOTE: These forms are provided annually by FSCO to the plan administrator. If the AIR and PBGF forms are not received, are lost or misplaced, you may request duplicates from FSCO by email or by calling (416) 226-7776. Submission of photocopies or altered forms is not acceptable. Submission of photocopies or altered forms is not acceptable.
(Note 1) Some plans are exempt from the requirement to file PBGF assessment certificates. These include designated plans, multi-employer pension plans, and plans specified under section 47(1) of Regulation 909 made under the PBA.
(Note 2) Pension plans with assets of $3,000,000 or more must also file an auditor’s report respecting the Financial Statements.
(Note 3) A Form 8 (Investment Information Summary) must be filed with the Financial Statements in respect of plans that provide a defined benefit. It is not required where a plan provides only a defined contribution benefit.
(Note 4) Under certain circumstances, annual actuarial reports are required.
(Note 5) The Actuarial Information Summary must be filed with actuarial reports.
(Note 6) For the first fiscal year of a plan, Form 7 is required within 90 days after the plan is established.
Fees/Assessments
Annual Information Return (AIR)
For plans with fiscal years ending prior to April 1, 2007, the AIR fee structure is $6.15 per active member and $4.25 per former member or other beneficiary, minimum $250 and maximum $75,000. There are late filing fees equal to 10% of the filing fee for returns received after the prescribed due date. In addition, interest is charged on any late payment from the day following the due date to the date payment is actually received. Interest rates are adjusted on a quarterly basis. The amount of the fee is calculated on the AIR form.
For plans with fiscal years ending on or after April 1, 2007, an AIR form must still be filed within exisiting filing deadlines - see specimen form (PDF). However, AIR filing fees are no longer required for these plans. A Pension Assessment notice will be sent annually to all pension plan administrators, starting in February 2008, informing them of the amount of assessment to be paid. The assessment must be paid within 30 days of the date of the assessment.
Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund Assessment Certificate (PBGF)
The PBGF assessment is a levy of $1 per Ontario beneficiary plus a percentage of a plan's unfunded liabilities, if any, related to Ontario members. Failure to pay the assessment within the prescribed time will result in an additional assessment of 20% of the assessment. Interest will be charged on both the assessment and the additional assessment until the date when payment is received. The amount of the PBGF assessment is calculated on the PBGF form - see page 3 of the specimen form (PDF).
Financial Statements, Actuarial Reports and Form 7
There are no filings fees associated with these filings.
Financial Services Commission of Ontario