Ontario universities are being offered more time to pay down their pension solvency deficits, provided they take steps to make their pension plans more financially sustainable.

The government will introduce amendments to the regulation under the Pension Benefits Act to create a two-stage pension solvency relief plan for eligible universities. 

To access the first stage, which is three-year solvency relief, universities must submit a plan to the Ministry of Finance outlining how they will make their pension plans more sustainable. This three-year period will give universities time to work with pension plan members and their representatives to develop a plan that ensures long term pension sustainability. Following this timeframe, universities that have demonstrated an improved and sustainable plan would then be eligible for stage two pension solvency relief, allowing them to amortize their solvency deficits over a period of up to 10 years.

Ontario will not provide additional funding to cover university pension deficits. This pension solvency relief will help protect front-line public services in the university sector, which is vital to supporting quality education for Ontario’s students.  It will minimize the need for significant solvency deficit payments in the short term and place pension plans on a more sustainable track for the long term.