Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans

On October 21, 2008, CAPSA released a proposed Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans (the proposed Agreement) for public consultation. The proposed Agreement, which would replace the existing Memorandum of Reciprocal Agreement originally signed in 1968, is an important initiative for plan sponsors, administrators, members, advisors, labour groups and regulators. It provides a clear framework for the administration and regulation of pension plans that have members in more than one jurisdiction.

The consultation period for the proposed Agreement ended on January 30, 2009. During the consultation period, CAPSA received a number of written submissions from interested stakeholders. In addition, in-person consultation sessions were held across Canada to provide an overview of the proposed Agreement, answer questions and receive feedback from interested parties. After considering the feedback received, CAPSA made a number of revisions to the consultation draft and released the revised version of the proposed Agreement on June 30, 2009

The Commentary Guide for the proposed Agreement (Commentary Guide) was released on November 30, 2009. It contains the text of each provision in the proposed Agreement, followed by explanatory notes for each respective provision, as well as examples where necessary. The purpose of the Commentary Guide is to aid in the understanding and application of the proposed Agreement.

The governments of Ontario and Quebec have signed the Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans (the Agreement). The Agreement will come into effect for these jurisdictions on July 1, 2011.