Supplemental Pension Plans Law
February 15th 2010
SUMMARY OF THE LAWS OF QUEBEC CONCERNING
COMPLEMENTARY PENSION PLANS
(OUR RPA PENSION PLAN IS SUBJECT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE QUEBEC PENSION BOARD)
LAW 102 (NOVEMBER 29TH., 2000) see:
http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/services/publications/rcr/consultation_financement/Pages/loi_102.aspx
Submission of a bill of law the 16th. March, 2000, the objective of which is to
abolish the annual general assembly and to give to employers the right to
unilaterally modify pension plans to appropriate for themselves any surplus to
the assets.
The adoption of the law gives the right of consent to unions only, and refuses
the right of and to retirees as well as to judicial recourse.
LAW 195 (APRIL 25TH., 2005) see:
http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/www.rrq.gouv.qc/Anglais/publications/rcr/loi_reglement/loi_rcr_code_admin_a.pdf
Allows active participants as well as inactive participants and beneficiaries of
a plan to give their assent to a modification of a plan confirming the right of
the employer to affect the surplus of the assets of a pension plan to the
payment of its contributions.
The law also foresees that a proposed modification cannot receive the assent of
each of these groups except during the annual assembly or during a special
assembly called by the retirement committee.
LAW 30 (DECEMBER 13TH., 2006) see:
http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/programmes/rcr/Pages/regles_financement.aspx
Law to secure complementary pension plans to ensure better management in finance
and administration
• Provision for unfavorable discrepancies in solvability (application
01-01-2010)
This provision will accumulate from actuarial gains. Furthermore, two other
measures will favor its accumulation. As long as the (PED) in solvability will
not be completely constituted, the employer will not be able to not contribute,
and the contributions to balance relative to an actuarial modification will have
to be paid.
(RTA = 110%PED)
• EQUITY PRINCIPLE
When an employer wishes to affect all or a part of the surplus of the assets to
the financing of an improvement, this affectation must be done in a perspective
of equity between active participants and in-active participants and
beneficiaries. These two groups must be consulted by the pension committee.
If 30% or more of the members of a group oppose in writing the assent to the
affectation of a surplus of the assets, such an affectation to the payment of
the cost of the modification will be presumed too not be equitable with regards
to this group. However, despite the opposition from one of the two groups
consulted, or from both groups, the employer may proceed with the modification
and the financing with the surplus from the assets.
A participant or a beneficiary in disaccord with such an affectation may then
sue.
• MEASURES RELATIVE TO ADMINISTRATION
They clarify the role and responsibilities of the members of the members of the
pension committees and other intervening parties.
They require that all the pension committees give themselves rules for
functioning and for their governance.
LAW 68 (June 20th., 2008) see:
http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/services/publications/rcr/lettre_express/Pages/let23-2008.aspx
• Measure to favor communication between retiree associations and retirees.
The retirement committee supplies to the association of retirees the coordinates
of the retirees who have given their consent. Afterwards, periodically, the
coordinates of the persons who have accepted this information be divulged will
be sent by the committee.
LAW 1 (JANUARY 15TH., 2009) see:
http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/programmes/rcr/Pages/regles_financement.aspx
Measures of temporary alleviation for complementary pension plans
• Application December 31st., 2008 of the new norms that the Canadian Institute
of Actuaries must adopt in 2009. The norms should permit reduction of the value
of commitments (passive) of the pension plans of between 3% to 5% on average
• Lengthening amortization of deficits of solvability from 5 years to 10 years
• Smoothing-out the assets of the plan over a period of 5 years, which increases
the asset taken into account at the date of the actuarial evaluation and reduces
the deficit of the plan
• These measures apply only to the years 2009-10-11
