Federal government consulting on temporary solvency funding relief

An in-depth look at this and other subjects are covered in the current issue of the Morneau Shepell News & Views

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morneau Shepell released the December 2020 issue of its monthly newsletter, News & Views, in which the company looks at the following topics:

• Federal government consulting on solvency funding relief and other measures – The Department of Finance has released a consultation paper on proposed measures for federally regulated pension plans. The paper proposes a number of changes, including temporary solvency funding relief, new governance requirements, the introduction of solvency reserve accounts, and deemed consent to electronic communications.
• Court clarifies valuation of federal pensions for marital breakdowns – A decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal provides some guidance as to how federally regulated pensions may be valued in marital breakdown settlements in Ontario. In addition to offering its ruling, the court made some general observations on the proper method for valuing non-Ontario pensions under Ontario family law. The court advises that parties may refer the issue to the courts if they cannot agree on a valuation method, and Ontario rules on pension division should be followed unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.
• Tracking the funded status of pension plans as at November 30, 2020 – Morneau Shepell describes the funded status of pension plans since December 31, 2019 based on three typical investment portfolios. A graph shows the changes in the financial position of a typical defined benefit plan since the end of 2019. A table shows the impact of past returns on plan assets and the effect of interest rate changes on solvency liabilities of a medium duration pension plan.
• The impact of pension expense under international accounting as at November 30, 2020 – Morneau Shepell has shown the evolution of the pension expense for a typical defined benefit pension plan. Since the beginning of the year, the pension expense has increased by nine per cent (for a contributory plan) mainly due to the decrease in the discount rates.

About Morneau Shepell
Morneau Shepell is a leading provider of technology-enabled HR services that deliver an integrated approach to employee wellbeing through our cloud-based platform. Our focus is providing world-class solutions to our clients to support the mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing of their people. By improving lives, we improve business. Our approach spans services in employee and family assistance, health and wellness, recognition, pension and benefits administration, retirement consulting, actuarial and investment services. Morneau Shepell employs approximately 6,000 employees who work with some 24,000 client organizations that use our services in 162 countries. Morneau Shepell is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com.

ID-CORP, ID-RS