{"id":18763,"date":"2020-06-23T09:30:22","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T13:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benefitscanada.com\/news\/fsra-updates-guidance-for-pension-plans-concerned-about-filing-deadlines-147338"},"modified":"2020-06-23T09:30:22","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T13:30:22","slug":"fsra-updates-guidance-for-pension-plans-concerned-about-filing-deadlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2020\/06\/23\/fsra-updates-guidance-for-pension-plans-concerned-about-filing-deadlines\/","title":{"rendered":"FSRA updates guidance for pension plans concerned about filing deadlines"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Staff<\/span> | June 23, 2020 <\/p>\n

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is updating its guidance for pension plans around filing deadlines and member communications.<\/p>\n

The update reflects the government of Ontario\u2019s regulations amending the Pension Benefits Act. The amendments are effective as of June 18 or some period relative to that date, which may mean the regulation changes won\u2019t provide relief to some administrators if their deadlines are outside the relief period. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the regulations do not provide an extension in the circumstances of a particular plan, administrators should contact their pension officer and describe the circumstances and relief sought,\u201d said the guidance.<\/p>\n

Read: FSRA responds to questions on filing deadlines, pension transactions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As well, as the FSRA announced in March<\/a>, pension plan administrators and their authorized agents are allowed to request a filing extension of up to 60 days. If an extension isn\u2019t available and the administrator has contacted the FSRA explaining the issue of complying with the deadline, \u201cwhere appropriate, FSRA will not levy administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance,\u201d the guidance said. \u201cHowever, the administrator should still consider other possible effects of filing late.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for plans that are having trouble with deadlines around member disclosure information, the amended regulations also provide extensions, requiring that plan administrators notify the FSRA, \u201cin advance of when statements would otherwise have been required that statements issued to plan members, former members or retired members will be delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FSRA also noted it doesn\u2019t have discretionary powers to extend the prescribed timelines as they relate to member disclosures, in most cases, but that it won\u2019t levy monetary penalties if it\u2019s notified of challenges and received a reasonable proposed plan of action. \u201cHowever, in some scenarios, sending a notice to a member by a certain deadline is a pre-condition to receiving FSRA\u2019s consent. A decision by FSRA not to impose a penalty does not result in that application being compliant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: FSRA issues new guidance for pension plans transferring commuted values, purchasing annuities<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Additional extensions under the amended regulations include:<\/p>\n