NB bulletin Vol. 16 N. 9, June 2013Rethinking the role of retirement savings Out of the 21 recommendations issued by the Expert Committee on the Future of the Quebec Retirement System (the “Committee”), chaired by Mr. Alban D’Amours, four are related to retirement savings plans other than defined benefit plans. The goal of these recommendations is to help workers save more for retirement and to make the Quebec retirement system more effective.
Many workers who do not have access to a defined benefit pension plan offered by their employer must rely more on retirement savings plans and their personal savings to ensure their financial security at retirement.
This information bulletin focuses on the recommendations related to retirement savings plans.
NB bulletin Vol. 16 N. 8, June 2013NB Bulletin Vol. 16 N. 7, June 2013Amendments to accounting standards applicable to employee future benefits The Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) recently approved the final standards on employee future benefits that apply to private enterprises (Part II of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Handbook). Section 3461 will be replaced by Section 3462 for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2014.
NB Bulletin Vol. 16 N. 6, May 2013A more flexible legislative framework Of the 21 recommendations issued by the Expert Committee on the Future of the Quebec Retirement System (the “Committee”), chaired by Mr. Alban D’Amours, almost half aim to make the legislative framework applicable to supplemental pension plans more flexible in order to better govern and manage defined benefit pension plans.
NB Bulletin Vol. 16 N. 5, may 2013Voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs): take 2! The new Bill 39, An act respecting voluntary retirement savings plans, confirms the political will to give birth to this new type of plan. Hence, this Bill will force employers with five or more employees to offer a retirement savings plan as of January 1, 2014.
NB Bulletin Vol. 16 N. 4, may 2013The Longevity Pension from Every Angle The Expert Committee on the Future of the Quebec Retirement System, chaired by Alban D’Amours, released its report on April 17, 2013. Among the Committee’s 21 recommendations is an innovative measure that has created quite a buzz, the longevity pension. This bulletin explains this new pension.
NB Bulletin Vol. 16 N. 3, May 2013Return to Financial Reality In its report Innovating for a Sustainable Retirement System released on April 17, 2013, the Expert Committee on the Future of the Québec Retirement System (the “Committee”), chaired by Alban D’Amours, issued 21 recommendations including recommendations concerning new funding rules that would apply to defined benefit pension plans that fall under the supervision of the Régie des rentes du Québec. This information bulletin focuses on these recommendations.
NB Bulletin Vol. 15 N. 7, June 2012Prescription Drug Insurance: RAMQ Position Update The document entitled Info assurance médicaments and published on the website of the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) presents the RAMQ’s positions on various topics related to Quebec’s Act respecting prescription drug insurance (hereinafter called “the Act”) and on the administration of private drug insurance plans. The RAMQ recently updated this document.
NB Bulletin Vol. 15 N. 6, April 2012NB Bulletin Vol. 15 N. 5, February 2012Tax credit for medical expenses Subject to certain eligibility criteria, a tax credit of between 4% and 20% of the incurred expenses can be granted to the taxpayer(1).
NB Bulletin Vol. 15 N. 4, February 2012Proposed amendments to accounting standards applicable to employee future benefits Private enterprises that only recently transitioned to new Canadian accounting standards already need to anticipate the impact of other amendments for employee future benefits that could be introduced in the near future. Private sector not-for-profit organizations are also preparing to adopt the new Canadian standards and must already consider the impact of future amendments to these standards.
NB Bulletin Vol. 15 N. 3, January 2012Infrastructure Bonds: Why Consider Them? Pension funds are now—more than ever—looking for secure, long-term assets that produce a high steady rate of income. For several years now, bonds related to infrastructure projects, particularly those structured as public-private partnerships (PPPs), have become increasingly popular and have taken on a growing position in bond indexes. For some organizations, certain values or ideologies might render these investments inappropriate. However, they have characteristics that meet the needs of many pension funds to manage their mismatch risk and some institutional managers have set up funds dedicated to infrastructure debt.
NB Bulletin Vol. 14 N. 12, December 2011NB bulletins