A report from the Chicago Police Department Pension Board Accountability Group is accusing the management of the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago of providing little transparency to plan members and mismanaging funds. The pension board accountability group hired forensic auditor Christopher Tobe to conduct an audit. The report accuses the defined benefit plan’s board […]
The Canadian Federation of Pensioners is calling for amendments to federal insolvency laws to protect members of defined benefit pensions if the employer is insolvent. The federation, which represents 23 retiree groups with a total of about 300,000 members, renewed its call for legislative changes after the federal budget failed to mention the issue on […]
The federal government is consulting on potential solvency funding relief options for 2021 and measures to further strengthen the framework for federally regulated pension plans. About seven per cent of private pension plans in Canada are federally regulated, such as those in industries like banking, telecommunications and inter-provincial transportation, noted a press release from the […]
The union representing 400 Dominion Diamond Mines employees is attempting to guarantee that the company honours its multi-million dollar pension shortfall as it goes through a court-ordered creditor protection process. If the shortfall isn’t prioritized, the Union of Northern Workers said it’s concerned that active members and pensioners would all face reduced pensions. “How much […]
Quebec’s closed the door on the idea of forming a pension benefits guarantee fund to protect members in retirement plans sponsored by employers that have declared bankruptcy. Finance Minister Éric Girard said Tuesday that no such measure would be included in the provincial budget set to be released March 10, reported Radio-Canada. In explanation, Girard […]
Pensions have been imperilled by corporate insolvency before, but three new amendments to federal laws may create stronger protections for employees and retirees. Changes to the Canada Business Corporations Act went into immediate effect after receiving royal assent in June, and amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act take effect today. Further […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management has mixed feelings about the federal government’s proposed methods for enhancing retirement security in the wake of the high-profile Sears Canada Inc. bankruptcy last year. During an ACPM webinar last week, Todd Saulnier, the chair of ACPM’s national policy committee and a principal at Mercer, said some of the federal government’s options […]
A group of Sears Canada Inc. pensioners will ask the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Thursday to appoint a litigation trustee to review certain actions leading up to the company’s restructuring proceedings in 2017. According to a notice of motion filed on Feb. 9, 2018, former Ontario Superior Court justice Frank Newbould, the group’s proposed trustee, would review, among other […]
One of the more significant changes contained in the reform of Ontario’s pension system is the elimination, effective July 1, 2012, of partial windups. This is good news for employers, who will no longer need to worry that a business reorganization or downsizing could trigger a partial plan windup —along with all of its associated […]
Quebec’s Superior Court has stated that Ontario’s recent Indalex ruling does not apply in Quebec. The Re Indalex Limited case found that, in some cases, pension funding obligations can rank ahead of debtor-in-possession (DIP) security and security on working capital assets of the employer. Quebec’s decision in Re White Birch Paper Holding Co. rests primarily […]