Following the release of the
D'Amours Report in 2013, which provided recommendations on
how to improve Quebec's retirement income system, the
Quebec government was widely expected to reform the funding
of Quebec registered private-sector pension plans.
After nearly two years of consultation with various stakeholders
(and a change in government), the Quebec government introduced Bill 57 in the National Assembly (An Act
to amend the Supplemental Pension Plans Act mainly with respect to
the funding of defined benefit pension plans), which includes
the following amendments to the SPPA:
Solvency Funding: The most significant
change in Bill 57 is the proposed elimination of the requirement to
fund a plan on a solvency basis. The solvency of a plan would,
however, still have to be determined and used for certain purposes
(e.g., limits on the use of surplus while the plan is ongoing and
on transfers of commuted values out of the plan).
