Ontario Pension Plan Members Will Soon Have Significant New Rights

Ontario is on the verge of implementing new rights for members of registered pension plans. Members will have the right to form committees that will have broad rights to review information about all aspects of plan administration including investments. Employers who sponsor or administer a registered pension plan should familiarize themselves with these new Ontario legal requirements. They are not yet law, but likely will be in a matter of months.

Last week the Ontario government released revised draft regulations about these new legal requirements, seeking comments by September 12^th, 2016. The new requirements have been kicking around in draft for the past six years and will replace current Ontario legislation regarding member advisory committees. Most employers probably haven't heard of the current requirements regarding such committees, because the current rules have no teeth. The new ones will. You can find the new requirements here.