New Requirements Will Facilitate Pension Plan Advisory Committees: What You Need To Know

Many plan administrators will soon have to meet a number of new requirements aimed at facilitating the formation and operation of pension plan advisory committees.

Background

The Ontario Pension Benefits Act (PBA) has for some time provided for the formation of advisory committees by pension plan members.  Members and retired members can, by majority vote, establish an advisory committee.  The PBA provides that the purposes of such a committee are to monitor the administration of the plan, make recommendations to the administrator regarding the plan administration, and to promote "awareness and understanding" of the plan among the membership.

Such committees have rarely been established, however, perhaps due to the fact that the members are not entitled to any assistance from the administrator in organizing the vote, nor are they entitled to any reimbursement from the pension fund or from the administrator for any costs incurred in operating the committee.  This