Late last week, the Ontario government released another round of draft regulations. This time the focus is on disclosure of plan related documents to plan members, former members, retired members, and their spouses, as well as other specified persons. They include amendments with respect to the following:

  • plan records to be made available on request by the plan administrator for inspection;
  • plan records which can be provided by the plan administrator via mail or electronically and the fees which may be charged; 
  • plan records which may be inspected at the offices of the Superintendent or provided by the Superintendent via mail or electronically upon the payment of a fee; and 
  • a requirement that the administrator of a defined benefit plan file an investment information summary.

These new regulations update the list of documents specified persons can require be provided, to include the actuarial information summary and the investment information summary. Otherwise much of the information to be provided is the same as it was before. Also, while there is currently no legislative or regulatory requirement to file an investment information summary, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has been requiring administrators of defined benefit pension plans to file such a summary (see Form 8) for some time. This regulation will provide the authority backstopping this requirement.

Perhaps most curious is that while FSCO charges plan members 50 cents per page for copies of documents made at its offices, the government has determined that plan administrators may only charge 25 cents per page for paper copies of plan documents.

Similar to the other draft regulations posted late last month (see our April 30, 2012 post) comments on the regulations are due by June 1, 2012.

Tony Devir practises exclusively in the pension and employee benefits law area where he provides advice to the sponsor employers of, and administrators of, private sector plans.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.