On January 20, 2015, the Ministry of Finance released draft pensions regulations governing the conversion of existing single employer pension plans (SEPPs) into Jointly Sponsored Pension Plans (JSPP). This release is important, as the regulations will have implications for OCUFA’s work on pension solutions in the university sector.
OCUFA and the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) are currently engaged in a collaborative project with interested stakeholders to develop a framework for a multi-employer JSPP for interested employees and employers is the university sector. The new regulations will set the rules for how existing pension plans could consensually enter any new JSPP. OCUFA staff are analyzing the proposed regulations, and will be responding to the Ministry’s discussion paper on the subject.
Elsewhere on the pension file, the joint OCUFA/COU pension project held its second plenary meeting for interested stakeholders – including university administrators, faculty associations, and staff unions – on January 13, 2015. It was an active and engaged discussion, with participants providing feedback on actuarial and legal documents prepared by the consultants supporting the project. The next plenary session will be held on February 23, 2015.