Statements of benefits for plan members and beneficiaries
Prescribed time limit
Within 90 days of receiving the written notice of termination from the employer (or the decision of Retraite Québec), the plan administrator must:
- have the termination report prepared
- send the termination report to the employer (and the union, if any)
- send statements of benefits to members and beneficiaries
- publish a notice in a daily newspaper
Upon the expiry of the 90-day time period, the administrator must send the termination report to Retraite Québec (with any corrections).
Date on which statements of benefits are sent
The date on which statements of benefits are sent must respect the deadline granted to members and beneficiaries to present their observations in writing and to indicate their choice of payment method.
- Members and beneficiaries have until the day before the end of the 90-day deadline (after the administrator receives the written notice of termination or Retraite Québec's decision) to present their observations and indicate their choice of payment method.
- The time limit granted must be a minimum of 10 days.
A helpful example...
- The 90-day deadline for sending the termination report to Retraite Québec expires on 30 June.
- Members and beneficiaries have until 29 June to indicate which transfer options they have chosen and present their observations.
- Statements of benefits must be sent on 19 June at the latest.
Contents of the statement of benefits
The plan administrator must send statements of benefits (comparable to statements of cessation of membership) to all plan members and beneficiaries affected by the plan's termination.
Statements of benefits must be accompanied by:
Among other things, statements must include:
- plan members or beneficiaries' benefits
- the terms of payment of benefits, including:
- the transfer options (locked-in retirement accounts [LIRAs], life income funds [LIFs], other pension plans, etc.)
- the deadline for members to make their choices
the information to provide to the plan administrator (for example, using the forms for that purpose from the Canada Revenue Agency).
The information must be provided not only for the payment of benefits to members and beneficiaries, but also for their possible eventual share of surplus assets.
- information about the plan's general financial situation
the information that members and beneficiaries can consult, free of charge, the termination report and the data used to calculate their benefits
The consultation takes place at the plan administrator's office or the employer's establishment, whichever is closer to the member or beneficiary's home.
- the deadline for members and beneficiaries to present their observations in writing and request adjustments to their benefits if they find mistakes or omissions in their statements of benefits.
Untraceable persons? Contact Retraite Québec
If the plan administrator is unable to locate a member or beneficiary to send a statement of benefits (for example: documents sent have been returned, the person has moved leaving no forwarding address, etc.), the administrator must file a request with Retraite Québec to find untraceable persons.
Please note that when Retraite Québec locates a member or beneficiary, it invites the person in question to contact the plan administrator.
Legal references