Reforms to be introduced today will further strengthen Ontarians’ pensions, addressing concerns of workers, retirees, and employers. 

The Securing Pension Benefits Now and for the Future Act, 2010 builds on the first phase of reforms that passed unanimously last Spring. Extensive consultations with partners and the public led to these reforms, which would:

• Strengthen Ontario’s pension funding rules by requiring more sustainable funding of promised benefits and stronger funding standards for benefit improvements;
• Provide a framework to permit more flexible funding rules for certain multi-employer pension plans and jointly sponsored pension plans;
• Clarify pension surplus rules and provide a dispute resolution process to allow members, retirees and sponsors to reach agreements on how surplus should be allocated on wind up;
• Provide a more sustainable Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund by implementing a strategy to build reserves, increase revenues, limit current exposure and reduce risk to taxpayers in the future; and
• Further strengthen regulatory oversight and improve plan administration.

Ontario continues to call for a modest and gradual expansion of the Canada Pension Plan and is advocating for pension innovation. It would harness Canada’s world-leading private sector expertise to provide more efficient, lower-cost retirement options for Ontario families.