Tell It All: Ontario Ruling Calls On Pension Administrators To Communicate Proposed Pension Changes To Plans

Following a recent Ontario Superior Court decision, pension administrators contemplating modifications to their plans may be obligated to inform plan members of such possible changes before they are implemented. In Hembruff v. Ontario Employees Retirement Board, the Court decided that administrators have a duty to inform members of possible changes to plans when such modifications are highly likely or almost certain to be implemented, even if the changes have been neither considered in detail, nor authorized by regulatory authorities.

The Hembruff case arose from the complaints of a group of retired employees of the Toronto Police Services Board, who were former members of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). Having retired in 1998, they found themselves unable to capitalize on benefit enhancements that came into effect on January 1, 1999. The retirees contended that they missed out on substantial increases in benefits owing to the failure of