Pension Alert Ontario Pension Reform Update - Are You Ready For The Changes?

This Alert is relevant to you if you maintain a pension plan for employees located in Ontario.

In the recent Ontario budget, the Ontario government made the following announcements:

• The government intends to proclaim the following legislative provisions into force, effective July 1, 2012:
• • elimination of partial plan wind-ups;
  • immediate vesting of pension benefits;
  • extension of grow-in benefits to all eligible employees whose employment is terminated by the employer on or after July 1, 2012, other than for cause; and
  • the ability of multi-employer pension plans and jointly-sponsored pension plans to elect not to provide grow-in benefits.
• Draft regulations on various pension reform legislative changes introduced in 2010 will be posted for public comment this spring and later in the year. For example, the draft regulations would: