Ontario universities offered temporary pension solvency relief

The Ontario government announced yesterday it will introduce amendments to the Pensions Benefit Act to create a 2-stage pension solvency relief plan for eligible universities. To access the first stage, universities must submit a plan to the finance ministry outlining how they will make their pension plans more sustainable. After a 3-year period, institutions that have shown an improved and sustainable plan would then be eligible for the second stage, allowing them to amortize their solvency deficits over a period of up to 10 years. The province states it will not provide additional funding to university pension deficits. This pension solvency relief, the government says, will reduce the need for significant solvency deficit payments in the short term, and put pension plans on a more sustainable track for the long term. Ontario News Release