Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (S.C. 2012, c. 16)
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Assented to 2012-06-28
Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act
S.C. 2012, c. 16
Assented to 2012-06-28
An Act relating to pooled registered pension plans and making related amendments to other Acts
SUMMARY
This enactment provides a legal framework for the establishment and administration of pooled registered pension plans that will be accessible to employees and self-employed persons and that will pool the funds in members’ accounts to achieve lower costs in relation to investment management and plan administration.
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Marginal note:Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act.
INTERPRETATION
Marginal note:Definitions
2. (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.
“administrator”
« administrateur »
“administrator” means the holder of a licence issued under section 11 or an entity designated by the Superintendent under subsection 21(1).
“common-law partner”
« conjoint de fait »
“common-law partner”, in relation to an individual, means a person who is cohabiting with the individual in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year.
“common-law partnership”
« union de fait »
“common-law partnership” means the relationship between two persons who are common-law partners of each other.
“designated province”
« province désignée »
“designated province” means a province designated in the regulations.
“electronic document”
« document électronique »
“electronic document” means any form of representation of information or of concepts fixed in any medium by electronic, optical or other similar means that can be read or perceived by a person or by any means.
“employee”
« salarié »
“employee” means an individual who holds a position that entitles that individual to a fixed or ascertainable stipend or remuneration and includes an individual who holds the position of an officer or director of a corporation or other organization or of an agent or mandatary acting for a principal or mandator.
“employer”
« employeur »
“employer”, in relation to an employee, means the person or organization that employs the employee and includes their assigns or successors.
“employment”
« emploi »
“employment” means the performance by an employee of work for an employer under an express or implied contract of service or apprenticeship, and includes the tenure of an office.
“included employment”
« emploi visé »
“included employment” means employment — other than employment by Her Majesty in right of Canada or any employment that is excluded by the regulations — on or in connection with the operation of any work, undertaking or business that is within the legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada.
“member”
« participant »
“member” means a person who holds an account with a pooled registered pension plan.
“Minister”
« ministre »
“Minister” means the Minister of Finance.
“multilateral agreement”
« accord multilatéral »
“multilateral agreement” means an agreement entered into under subsection 6(1).
“pooled registered pension plan”
« régime de pension agréé collectif »
“pooled registered pension plan” means a plan registered under section 12.
“prescribed”
Version anglaise seulement“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation.
“spouse”
« époux »
“spouse”, in relation to an individual, includes a person who is party to a void marriage or, in Quebec, null marriage with the individual.
“Superintendent”
« surintendant »
“Superintendent” means the Superintendent of Financial Institutions appointed under section 5 of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act.
“survivor”
« survivant »
“survivor”, in relation to a deceased member, means
(a) if there is no person described in paragraph (b), the member’s spouse at the time of the member’s death; or
(b) the common-law partner of the member immediately before the member’s death.
“winding-up”
« liquidation »
“winding-up”, in relation to a pooled registered pension plan, means the distribution of the assets of a plan that has been terminated.
“Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings”
« maximum des gains annuels ouvrant droit à pension »
“Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings” has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Pension Plan.
Marginal note:Meaning of “spouse or common-law partner”
(2) Except in section 53, a reference to a “spouse or common-law partner” in respect of a member means the common-law partner of the member in the case where the member has both a spouse from whom they are separated and a common-law partner with whom they are cohabiting.
PURPOSE OF ACT
Marginal note:Purpose
3. The purpose of this Act is to provide a legal framework for the establishment and administration of a type of pension plan that is accessible to employees and self-employed persons and that pools the funds in members’ accounts to achieve lower costs in relation to investment management and plan administration.
APPLICATION
Marginal note:Application of Act
4. This Act does not apply in respect of a member of a pooled registered pension plan who
(a) is not employed in included employment, other than a member who is a self-employed person in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut; or
(b) is employed in included employment but whose employer does not participate in the plan, other than a member who is employed in included employment in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
AGREEMENTS
Marginal note:Bilateral agreement
5. The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into a bilateral agreement with a designated province to
(a) authorize the prescribed supervisory authority of that province to exercise any of the Superintendent’s powers under this Act; and
(b) authorize the Superintendent to exercise any powers of that prescribed supervisory authority.
Marginal note:Multilateral agreement
6. (1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an agreement with two or more designated provinces respecting any matter relating to pooled registered pension plans that are subject to the legislation of at least one designated province that is a party to the agreement.
Marginal note:Content of agreement
(2) The multilateral agreement may, among other things,
(a) limit the application of the legislation of a designated province that is a party to the agreement to a pooled registered pension plan and adapt that legislation to that plan;
(b) limit the application of this Act to a pooled registered pension plan and adapt the Act to that plan;
(c) exempt a pooled registered pension plan from the application of this Act or the legislation of a designated province that is a party to the agreement;
(d) provide for the administration and enforcement of this Act and the legislation of a designated province that is a party to the agreement;
(e) authorize a prescribed supervisory authority of a designated province that is a party to the agreement or the association referred to in section 9 to exercise any of the Superintendent’s powers under this Act;
(f) authorize the Superintendent to exercise any powers of a prescribed supervisory authority of a designated province that is a party to the agreement or the association referred to in section 9;
(g) establish requirements — in addition to any other requirements under this Act and the legislation of a designated province that is a party to the agreement — with respect to a pooled registered pension plan, an administrator or an employer; and
(h) confer powers on the Superintendent.
Marginal note:Tabling in Parliament
(3) The Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament every multilateral agreement.
Marginal note:Publication — Canada Gazette
(4) The Minister must cause to be published in the Canada Gazette
(a) every multilateral agreement and a notice of the date on which the agreement comes into effect with respect to pooled registered pension plans;
(b) every amendment to a multilateral agreement and a notice of the date on which the amendment comes into effect with respect to pooled registered pension plans; and
(c) a notice of the effective date of the Government of Canada’s withdrawal from the multilateral agreement or of the effective date of termination of that agreement, whichever comes first.
Marginal note:Publication — other
(5) In addition to the publishing requirements under subsection (4), the Minister must ensure that every multilateral agreement and every amendment to it is accessible to the public on the Internet or by any other means that the Minister considers appropriate.
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