OSFI Releases Negotiated Contribution Plan Guide

Published November 25, 2024

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published a Guide on the Administration of Negotiated Contribution Plans. A negotiated contribution plan (NCP) is a multiemployer, defined benefit pension plan with employer contributions that are limited to amounts determined in accordance with an agreement, statute, or regulation and that do not vary as a function of the applicable minimum funding requirements.

The Guide replaces the 2016 Guidance Note on the topic and reflects recent amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Act (PBSA), 1985, and the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations (PBSR), 1985.

The purpose of the Guide is to:

Set out OSFI’s expectations for managing the funding limitations of NCPs,
Highlight differences in requirements with respect to funding and determination of pension benefit credits for NCPs as compared to other defined benefit pension plans, and
Describe the enhanced disclosure that administrators of NCPs must provide to members and former members and their spouses or common-law partners and to survivors entitled to benefits under the plan.

If there is a discrepancy between the Guide and the PBSA or PBSR, the legislation prevails.