Your Pension Rights
July 25th, 2010In this day and age, many members of Registered Pension Plans (RPPs) are worrying about the financial stability of their plans and also frequently confused about the jargon which surrounds them. However, most of us do not know where to turn to get our questions answered.
For those individuals who belong to RPPs registered in Ontario, a useful starting place is the web site of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), which is located at www.fsco.gov.on.ca. FSCO is an Ontario Government agency which is responsible for, among other things, the administration and enforcement of the Ontario Pension Benefits Act, the legislation which governs these plans.
The site contains a useful publication called: “Your Pension Rights – A guide for members of Registered Pension Plans in Ontario”. In addition to giving you an overview of the main provisions of the Pension Benefits Act, this publication also has a section entitled “Member Inquiries – know the facts” which gives you examples of legitimate questions that you can ask the plan sponsor (and expect to have answered).
There is also a section called “FSCO’s Pension Plan Information Access” which is available on FSCO’s website and provides the following information about most Ontario-registered pension plans:
- the plan registration number;
- the plan name;
- the corporate name and address of the plan sponsor, plan administrator and pension fund custodian;
- the effective date, fiscal year end, plan type, benefit type and total active membership of the plan;
- the FSCO staff member assigned to the plan; and
- information about selected transactions and filings
Finally, there is a full glossary of pension terms which will help you understand just what is meant by vesting, locking-in or a commuted value.
You can even discover what it is that an actuary does!
Patrick Longhurst
Tags: government rules, registered pension plans
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