New Legal Developments (Atlantic Canada)

  • August 14, 2014

Newfoundland and Labrador

Extension of Solvency Exemptions

In December 2013, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador filed three amendments to the Pension Benefits Act Regulations that extend solvency exemptions for multi-employer pension plans, and the pension plans for the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and the City of St. John’s. All three exemptions are effective for valuation reports covering periods up to December 31, 2015.

New Brunswick

Conversions to “Shared Risk Plans”

  1. Members of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly were transitioned into a “Shared Risk Pension Plan”. Amendments to the Members’ Pension Act and Members Superannuation Act affecting the transition, which also increase the retirement age, came into force on July 1, 2014 – though they will only impact on members’ service after September 22, 2014, the provincial election date. Bill 51, which contains the amendments, can be viewed online.
  2. New Brunswick Teachers were also converted to a version of a shared risk plan effective July 1, 2014. Newly introduced legislation will effectively eliminate special payments by the provincial government, which have amounted to $85 million over the past 10 years. The full text of the Teachers’ Pension Plan Act can be viewed online.
  3. On July 29, 2014, the New Brunswick legislature passed amendments to the Pension Benefits Act to convert the pension plans of Twin Rivers Papers Co. employees to a shared risk plan. The changes will have the effect of increasing the pension amounts of Fraser Papers retirees, and Twin Rivers has agreed to make payments of $12.5 million and $52.9 million into the plan over the next four to 15 years. The amendments appear on the Government of New Brunswick website.

Nova Scotia

(a) New Pension Benefits Act Passed & Regulations Introduced

On November 15, 2011, the Nova Scotia Government introduced Bill No. 96, a new Pension Benefits Act following recent law reform initiatives in 2009 and 2010. The new Bill received Royal Assent on December 15, 2011 and is yet to be proclaimed. The new Act as passed is available online.

Draft funding regulations to the new Pension Benefits Act were posted on December 7, 2011, and can be viewed online.

General draft Pension Benefits Regulations were posted on December 7, 2012, and are available for review online.

Comments were requested for submission by January 7, 2013.

(b) Solvency Relief Provisions Enacted

On February 12, 2013, amendments to the Pension Benefits Regulations were filed, which provide further solvency funding relief for private defined benefit pension plans.

The amendments can be found on the Government of NS website.

Prince Edward Island

For the third time, the PEI Government introduced the Pension Benefits Act on November 21, 2012, as Bill 12. It is substantially the same as Bill 41, which was introduced on May 17, 2012.

Bill 12, as passed on first reading, is available online.