As announced in the 2012 provincial budget, the Ontario government has recently released draft regulations and an outline of the proposed contents of regulations to implement different pension reform changes.
The government has released a draft regulation to implement immediate vesting and the "retired member" provisions. The draft regulation also (among other things) clarifies surplus payment rules, increases the threshold for small pension payouts, reflects changes to the federal tax rules regarding individual pension plans and introduces certain house-cleaning amendments (such as clarification changes to the provisions regarding the crediting of interest). The draft regulation can be found here.
The government has also released "proposed contents" for regulations to implement the extension of grow-in benefits to persons who cease to be active plan members on involuntary termination of employment. The proposed contents focus on clarifying the circumstances that will trigger the application of the extended grow-in rule. Contract employees, employees employed for a definite term or a specific project and construction employees are proposed to be excluded from the rule. In addition, the proposed contents include formalities required to be complied with by the administrators of jointly sponsored pension plans and multi-employer pension plans in order to opt out of the grow-in rule and to rescind the opt-out. The required formalities emphasize the importance of disclosure to members, trade unions and pension advisory committees. The actual language for the regulations remains to be seen. The proposed contents can be found here.
Comments on the draft regulation and the proposed contents are invited to be submitted to the Ontario Ministry of Finance by June 1, 2012. July 1, 2012 still appears to be the proposed effective date for the regulations.
About BLGThe content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.