R-17 - Act respecting supplemental pension plans

Updated to 1 April 1999

This document has official status.

chapter R-17

Act respecting supplemental pension plans

Chapter R-17 is replaced by the Supplemental Pension Plans Act (chapter R-15.1), except for the first paragraph of section 9.1, the first and last paragraphs of section 43.1 and section 43.2, and except to the extent that it continues to apply to a plan by virtue of section 286 or 316 of chapter R-15.1.

In addition, the prohibition enacted by the first and last paragraphs of the said section 43.1 ceases to apply to any surplus assets of a plan which is totally terminated

(1) from 1 January 1993, where that surplus has been the subject of judicial proceedings, of apportionment or of an order or decree referred to in section 311.1 of chapter R-15.1, or of a judgment that acquires the authority of a final judgment (res judicata) before that date;

(2) from the date on which a statement was sent or the agreement was made, where the surplus has been the subject of an agreement or statement mentioned in paragraph 1 or 2 of section 230.1 of chapter R-15.1;

(3) from the date on which the award becomes executory, where the surplus has been the subject of an arbitration award referred to in paragraph 3 of section 230.1 or in section 311.3 of chapter R-15.1.

(1989, c. 38, s. 283; 1992, c. 60, s. 45).

DIVISION I DEFINITIONS AND APPLICATION

1. In this act, the following expressions mean:

(a)  “office” : the position of an individual entitling him to remuneration, including the position of director of a corporation and that of a full-time agent;

(b)  “employee” : an individual who, for a continuous period of not less than six months, does work under a contract of lease and hire of personal services or holds an office in a place where the supplemental plan to which he contributes is subject to this act or to similar legislation;

(c)  “continuous period” : the period of time during which an employee is bound by a contract of lease and hire of services or holds an office, without regard to periods of temporary suspension of employment with or without remuneration;

(d)  “employer” : a person who pays an employee a remuneration for his services;

(e)  “supplemental plan” or “plan” : provisions established for the payment of retirement pensions to employees, including a deferred profit sharing pension plan;

(f)  “registered plan” : a supplemental plan certified to be in conformity with the standards of this act or of similar legislation;

(g)  “insured plan” : a supplemental plan the pensions and other benefits of which are fully insured or guaranteed either by the government of Canada or that of any province, or by an insurance company or association registered in Québec;

(h)  “contribution” : a sum of money paid by an employer or employee under a supplemental plan;

(i)  “voluntary additional contribution” : an additional and optional contribution by an employee which, under the terms of the plan, does not impose upon the employer an obligation to make a concurrent additional contribution;

(j)  “pension” : the aggregate of the periodic amounts to which an employee will become entitled upon retirement or to which any other person is entitled by virtue of his death after retirement under a supplemental plan;

(k)  “pension credit” : the value at a particular time of any pension, benefit or reimbursement provided for under a supplemental plan, to which a person has become entitled;

(l)  “deferred annuity” : a life annuity the payment of which commences at normal retirement age under a supplemental plan, whether or not it is continued after death to some other person;

(m)  “qualification date” : as regards employment in Québec, 1 January 1966, and, as regards employment elsewhere, the date upon which a supplemental plan becomes subject to similar legislation;

(n)  “standards” : the standards determined by this act and the regulations;

(o)  “prescribed” : prescribed by regulation;

(p)  “Board” : the Régie des rentes du Québec;

(q)  “other province” : any Canadian Province or territory other than Québec;

(r)  “similar legislation” : an act establishing standards declared to be similar by the Government.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 1; 1969, c. 50, s. 1; 1975, c. 19, s. 9; 1975, c. 18, s. 1; 1977, c. 5, s. 14.

2. This act shall not apply to any supplemental plan under which the employees’ employer is not required to make contributions.

Nevertheless, a supplemental plan under which an employer is not required to make contributions shall be deemed to be part of any other plan under which the employer is required to make contributions when membership in such other plan is a condition precedent to membership in the first plan.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 2.

3. The provisions respecting a supplemental plan contained in a collective labour agreement shall constitute a contract having an existence separate from that of the collective labour agreement and shall remain in force notwithstanding its expiry or cancellation.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 3.

4. A person shall be deemed to be employed in Québec when the establishment of his employer to which he reports for work is situated therein, and, where the employee is not required to report for work at any establishment of his employer, when the establishment of his employer from which his remuneration is paid is situated in Québec.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 4.

5. A declaration of the Government that an act establishes similar legislation is not invalidated by the amendment or replacement of such act.

Nevertheless, the Government may, at any time, declare that such an act is no longer similar legislation.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 5; 1975, c. 18, s. 2.

DIVISION II BOARD

6. The Board shall have the following functions and powers in addition to those assigned to it by the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan:

(a)  to promote the establishment and improvement of supplemental plans throughout Québec;

(b)  to register supplemental plans which comply with the standards;

(c)  to approve amendments to registered plans;

(d)  to cancel the registration of supplemental plans which no longer comply with the standards;

(e)  with the approval of the Government, to designate or establish an agency for the purposes of receiving, holding and disbursing pension credits;

(f)  to put a supplemental plan under trusteeship when, after investigation, the Board is of opinion that the beneficiaries’ interests are jeopardized, and to appoint a curator;

(g)  to release a supplemental plan from trusteeship when, after investigation, it is established that the plan again complies with the standards and that the beneficiaries’ interests are safeguarded;

(h)  to conduct surveys and research programmes respecting supplemental plans;

(i)  to perform such other functions as are assigned to it by the Government or as are delegated to it under similar legislation.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 6.

DIVISION III REGISTRATION OF PLANS

7. No supplemental plan shall come into force in Québec unless it is first registered by the Board and certified to be in compliance with the standards.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 8.

8. The plans existing on 15 July 1965 shall comply with the standards from the 1st of January 1966.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 9.

9. No amendment shall be made to a registered plan without the approval of the Board.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 10.

9.1. From 15 November 1988, no amendment with respect to the employer’s or the members’ entitlement to any part of the assets of the retirement fund which exceeds the pension credits of the members may be made to a registered plan; the prohibition shall not have the effect of preventing a plan amendment to allocate the balance of assets remaining in the retirement fund to the payment of contributions.

The Board’s approval of a plan amendment whereby the assets of the retirement fund are distributed among several plans may be subject to such conditions as the Board may consider fair for the membership as a whole, if a previous amendment to the plan approved by the Board after 15 November 1988, resulted, through an increase in pension credits, in favouring certain members.

The Board shall refuse to approve any amendment to any plan if it is of the opinion that the amendment would cause the assets of the retirement fund to be distributed otherwise than pro rata to the pension credits of the members, among several plans to which the same employer is or will be contributing.

The prohibition provided for in the first paragraph shall entail the nullity of any amendment made prior to 15 November 1988 and which has not, as of that date, been approved by the Board.

1988, c. 79, s. 1; 1989, c. 38, s. 283.

10. Upon application made in prescribed manner, the Board shall register a supplemental plan which complies with the standards and shall issue a certificate accordingly.

The certificate shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the person who has made the application.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 14; 1975, c. 83, s. 84.

11. The Board shall keep a register of registered plans.

The registration of a plan may be proved by means of a certificate of the secretary of the Board attesting that fact.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 15; 1975, c. 18, s. 5.

12. A supplemental plan submitted for registration shall, in prescribed cases, be accompanied by an actuary’s certificate.

The same shall apply to amendments.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 17.

13. If a plan does not comply with the standards, the Board shall refuse the registration thereof by a decision stating the reasons therefor and sent by registered or certified mail to the person who has made the application.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 18; 1975, c. 83, s. 84.

14. (Repealed).

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 19; 1997, c. 43, s. 665.

15. (Repealed).

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 20; 1997, c. 43, s. 665.

16. The registration of an existing plan shall preclude any recourse based on non-compliance with the Companies’ Employees Pension Act (Revised Statutes of Québec, 1964, chapter 277).

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 21.

17. The administrator of a registered plan shall furnish the Board with the prescribed information at the prescribed times and in the prescribed manner.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 22; 1975, c. 18, s. 6.

18. The employer who contributes to a supplemental plan or the professional syndicate which establishes a supplemental plan for its members shall, within thirty days of a request to that effect from the Board, furnish it with the names and addresses of the administrators of the plan and those of the members of the retirement committee, if any.

A declaration made under this section is proof prima facie of its contents.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 23; 1975, c. 18, s. 6.

19. Every request from the Board contemplated in sections 17 and 18 that is sent by registered or certified mail shall be deemed made on the day the request is mailed.

1975, c. 18, s. 6; 1975, c. 83, s. 84.

20. It is incumbent on the employer, the professional syndicate or the administrator contemplated in sections 17 and 18 to furnish the evidence that the obligations proceeding from such sections have been discharged.

1975, c. 18, s. 6.

21. In the case of an insured plan to which an employer contributes or which has been established by a professional syndicate for its members, the employer or the professional syndicate shall comply with section 17.

1975, c. 18, s. 6.

22. A supplemental plan shall be subject to inspection by the Board whenever it is deemed necessary for the carrying out of this act.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 24.

DIVISION III.1 REVIEW AND PROCEEDING BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL OF QUÉBEC

1997, c. 43, s. 666.

22.1. The Board may, on the application of any interested person, review any decision it has rendered.

An application must be made in writing, within 60 days of notification of the contested decision, and must state briefly the grounds on which it is based.

The Board may extend the 60-day time limit or relieve a person of the consequences of failing to comply with it if it is shown that the application for review cannot or could not, for a valid reason, be made within the prescribed time.

The application for review suspends execution of the contested decision, unless the Board orders provisional execution where so justified by circumstances.

1997, c. 43, s. 666.

22.2. The Board shall dispose of the application for review without delay and after giving all interested persons an opportunity to present observations.

The decision of the Board must state the grounds on which it is based and be notified in writing to the interested persons.

1997, c. 43, s. 666.

22.3. A review decision rendered by the Board may, within 30 days of notification of the decision, be contested before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec.

1997, c. 43, s. 666.

DIVISION IV MANDATORY AND GENERAL PROVISIONS

23. Normal retirement age shall be determined in the plan. Such age shall not exceed 70 years.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 25.

24. The administrator of a supplemental plan must provide every member of that plan with a written explanation of the pertinent provisions of the plan and of any amendments to it, together with an explanation of the member’s rights and duties.

Such documents must be furnished to every member within 90 days of the last of the following dates:

(a)  the date of the beginning of his membership in the plan;

(b)  the date on which the certificate of registration of the plan is issued by the Board.

In the case of an amendment to a plan, such documents must be furnished to every member within 90 days of the approval of the amendment by the Board.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 26; 1975, c. 18, s. 8; 1978, c. 69, s. 1.

25. Every member of a plan or his mandatary may, upon prescribed conditions, take cognizance of the provisions of such plan at the office of the Board or obtain a copy of them from it.

Where the member of a plan or his mandatary applies to the employer to take cognizance of any prescribed documents, the employer must, within thirty days following receipt of such application, allow the member or his mandatary to do so, during normal business hours, at the employer’s main office situated in Québec, unless the employer provides the member or his mandatary with a copy of those documents.

The application contemplated in the second paragraph must be made in writing. It must indicate those prescribed documents of which the member or his mandatary wishes to take cognizance. No such application may be made more than once in any period of twelve consecutive months.

No employer may, under this section, require a fee from the member or his mandatary.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 27; 1975, c. 18, s. 8; 1978, c. 69, s. 2.

25.1. The administrator of a supplemental plan must, in the prescribed manner, at the prescribed times and within the prescribed periods, furnish a statement containing the prescribed information to every member of that plan and every beneficiary under it, or to the mandatary or assign of such person.

1978, c. 69, s. 3.

25.2. In the case of an insured plan to which an employer contributes or which has been established by a professional syndicate for its members, the employer or the professional syndicate is deemed to be the administrator of the plan for the purposes of sections 24 and 25.1.

In the case of a plan established by a professional syndicate for its members, the syndicate is deemed to be the employer for the purposes of section 25.

1978, c. 69, s. 3.

26. A supplemental plan shall continue to comply with the standards as long as it remains in force.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 28.

27. The designation of a beneficiary of a pension or other benefit may, notwithstanding acceptance, be revoked either by a writing sent to the administrator of the plan, or by will.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 30.

28. No pension benefit, other benefit or right of refund under a plan shall be capable of assignment or alienation, including those constituted by additional voluntary contributions.

The pension benefits provided under a plan in respect of service after the qualification date are not, on or after the retirement of an employee, payable in any other form during the lifetime of the employee.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 31.

29. No amendment of a supplemental plan consequent upon the coming into force of the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan (chapter R-9) shall reduce the pension credits of any member in respect of remuneration and service or membership in the plan prior to 1 January 1966, except with the consent of two-thirds of the members of the plan.

The Board shall ensure compliance with this section.

Any person who believes that an amendment infringes this section may, within six months of the amendment, file a complaint with the Board to instigate an inquiry.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 32; 1997, c. 43, s. 667.

30. The amount of a pension in payment on 9 December 1975 or the payment of which begins after such date shall not be reduced subsequently in respect of any change in the benefits paid under a prescribed public pension plan.

The same rule applies in respect of the amount of any other benefit in payment under a supplemental plan on 22 December 1978, or the payment of which begins after that date.

1975, c. 18, s. 9; 1978, c. 69, s. 4.

30.1. No provision of a supplemental plan may have the effect of preventing the payment of the retirement pension to an employee before he attains the age of 65 years or of reducing the pension owing to the fact that the employee receives the retirement pension payable under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan (chapter R-9) or an equivalent plan or that he qualifies therefor.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if an employee under the age of 65 years applies therefor, his pension may be reduced owing to the fact that he receives the retirement pension payable under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan or an equivalent plan or that he qualifies therefor provided that the reduction does not lessen the value of the pension payable under the supplemental plan.

1985, c. 30, s. 84.

DIVISION V DEFERRED ANNUITIES

31. A registered plan shall contractually provide that a member who, upon termination of his employment or of his membership in the plan, has attained the age of 45 years but has not attained normal retirement age, shall not withdraw the contributions he has made since the qualification date but shall receive a deferred annuity:

(a)  if he has completed a continuous period of ten years in the service of the employer, or

(b)  if he has been a member of the plan for ten years.

Every plan registered before 9 December 1975 is deemed to contain the provision mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 33; 1975, c. 18, s. 10.

32. The amount of the deferred annuity prescribed by section 31 shall be at least equal to the amount of the pension provided at normal retirement age in respect of service as an employee in Québec or in a place where the supplemental plan of which the employee is a member is subject to similar legislation

(a)  under the plan,

(b)  by an amendment made since the qualification date, or

(c)  by a plan established on or after the qualification date.

The pension provided under paragraph a shall be in respect only of employment on or after the qualification date.

The deferred annuity prescribed by section 31 shall be at least equal in value to the pension that would arise from the contributions made by the employee in respect of such deferred annuity and shall comprise the same terms and conditions as those of the retirement pension to which the member would have been entitled had he reached normal retirement age.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 34; 1975, c. 18, s. 10.

33. The deferred annuity mentioned in section 31 shall not be payable in any other form during the lifetime of the member.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 35.

34. Notwithstanding sections 31 to 33, a plan may:

(a)  provide for a deferred annuity at an earlier age than 45 years or upon service or membership in the plan for less than 10 years or for both;

(b)  provide for the cash payment of the commuted value of a pension or deferred annuity if the amount thereof payable to the employee at normal retirement age is less than $25 a month payable during his lifetime;

(c)  allow, upon or after termination of employment or membership in the plan prior to normal retirement age, the payment in partial discharge of the deferred annuity of an amount not exceeding 25% of the commuted value of such annuity.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 36; 1975, c. 18, s. 11.

35. A plan shall contractually provide that upon termination of his employment or upon termination of his membership in the plan, an employee who is not entitled to the deferred pension prescribed in section 31 is at least entitled to either the reimbursement of the aggregate of the contributions, other than voluntary additional contributions, made by him since the qualification date or the deferred annuity arising from such contributions.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 37; 1975, c. 18, s. 12.

36. Upon termination of his employment or of his membership in a plan, every employee is entitled to the value of the voluntary additional contributions he has paid into the fund of the plan.

1975, c. 18, s. 12.

37. Except as provided in section 40, where an employee has terminated his membership in the plan without terminating his employment, the administrator of the plan shall not reimburse contributions made from the qualification date, other than voluntary additional contributions, before the date of termination of employment.

1975, c. 18, s. 12.

38. A plan may allow an employee to elect, before the commencement of payment of the deferred annuity prescribed in section 31, to receive wholly or partly in lieu of such annuity

(a)  a deferred annuity reduced or increased by reason of early or deferred retirement, by provision of payment of benefits after his death or by reason of variations of such provision;

(b)  a payment or series of payments by reason of a mental or physical disability.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 38.

39. A plan may allow an employee to elect, before attaining normal retirement age, to receive an annuity the amount of which is varied by reference to benefits payable under the Old Age Security Act or under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan or a similar plan.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 39.

40. Where an employer ceases to contribute with respect to some or all of the members of a plan, the administrator of the plan shall immediately advise the Board. Should the Board consider the plan terminated in whole or in part, the administrator of the plan shall cause a report to be prepared by a person having the prescribed qualifications on the method to be adopted for the apportionment of the retirement fund, containing all the information prescribed. The administrator shall send such report to the Board.

Such report, if approved by the Board, shall bind the administrator, who must comply therewith and pay the pension credits concerned within the delay determined by the Board. Moreover, the administrator shall not distribute the retirement fund before such approval.

The Board’s approval of the report may be subject to such conditions as the Board may consider fair for the membership as a whole, if an amendment to the plan, approved by the Board after 15 November 1988, resulted, through an increase in pension credits, in favouring certain members.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 40; 1975, c. 18, s. 13; 1988, c. 79, s. 2.

41. All pension credits relating to pensions or parts of pensions mentioned in each of the following subparagraphs shall be paid first:

(a)  the deferred annuity prescribed in sections 31 to 33 with respect to every former employee and every present employee as if he had terminated his employment on the day the plan terminated;

(b)  that part of the pensions in payment and of the retirement pensions of employees having opted for deferred retirement arising from the contributions, other than voluntary additional contributions, made with respect to such pensions from the qualification date;

(c)  the pension with respect to any former or present employee, other than an employee contemplated in subparagraphs a and b, arising from his contributions, other than voluntary additional contributions, made from the qualification date;

(d)  that part of any pension arising from voluntary additional contributions.

If the pension credits contemplated in subparagraphs a to d cannot be paid in whole, each employee or beneficiary contemplated therein shall be entitled to a proportionate share of his pension credit.

1975, c. 18, s. 13.

42. Notwithstanding sections 31 to 33 and the provisions of the plan, every pension credit having caused an initial unfunded liability not fully funded on the date of termination shall, for the purpose of determining pension credits for the apportionment of the fund, be reduced under the circumstances and in the manner prescribed.

1975, c. 18, s. 13.

43. Upon the total termination of a plan, the balance of assets remaining in the retirement fund shall be determined after the full payment of all the pension credits has been made. Subject to section 43.1, the balance may be paid, wholly or in part, from 15 November 1988, only to the members affected by such termination, and apportioned among them only pro rata to their pension credits, except in the following cases:

(1)  where the plan provides that the balance of assets shall first be used to increase the members’ benefits up to the ceiling fixed under the Taxation Act (chapter I-3), the apportionment may be made pro rata to the members’ pension credits up to the aforementioned ceiling only. Moreover, in no case may any part which, by reason of such ceiling, cannot be paid to a member accrue to the other members;

(2)  where the employer and the members have agreed in writing to apportion among themselves, among the members only or among the members and former members, the whole or part of the balance of assets otherwise than pro rata to the pension credits, the apportionment among the said members may be made according to the agreement if

(a)  the Board considers that the apportionment is fair for all the said members, and that the members affected by the termination have been properly informed of the agreement;

(b)  less than 30 % of the members affected by the termination notified the Board in writing of their objection to the agreement within sixty days of the date on which they were informed of the agreement;

(3)  where a report under section 40 was approved by the Board prior to 15 November 1988, the apportionment among the members of the whole or part of the balance of assets may be effected according to the report.

For the purposes of this section, the pension credit of every employee under employment at the time of the termination shall be increased, if necessary, to make it equal to the value on termination date of the pension payable at normal retirement age under the plan, having regard to his period of service as defined in the plan.

1975, c. 18, s. 13; 1988, c. 79, s. 3.

43.1. From 15 November 1988, no part of the assets of the retirement fund of the plan may be paid to the employer. Such prohibition shall not prevent the allocation of the whole or part of the balance of assets remaining in the retirement fund, determined on the date of an actuarial valuation of the plan, to the payment of the employer’s contributions; however, in any event where the Act would increase the members’ pension credits, any employer whose contributions would have been thus paid shall be required to pay into the retirement fund such amounts as are necessary to finance the increase, up to the amount of contributions paid.

Notwithstanding the prohibition provided for in the first paragraph, the Government may, on the conditions it fixes, authorize the payment of the whole or part of the balance of assets remaining in the retirement fund, determined on the date of the total termination of the plan, to the employer who is entitled to it, if it is of the opinion that, without the investment of that amount in his enterprise, the survival of the enterprise would be endangered and the employments of the members would be threatened. In addition, the payment may be authorized only if the employer undertakes, in any event where the Act would increase the members’ pension credits, to return to the retirement fund the amounts thus paid and which will be necessary for the full payment of such pension credits. The sums the payment of which has been authorized by the Government pursuant to this paragraph shall be transmitted to the trustee designated by the Government to hold, manage and make payments out of such sums in accordance with the prescriptions of the authorization order.

The prohibition provided for in the first paragraph applies also in respect of the part of the assets of the retirement fund to which the employer is entitled under the terms of a plan terminated prior to 15 November 1988 and which, as of that date, has not been paid to him; it applies also to proceedings that are pending on 15 November 1988.

1988, c. 79, s. 4.

43.2. Without prejudice to any other recourse, any interested person may contest any act performed by the administrator or employer in contravention of the provisions of section 43.1 or of an order issued under such section if such act was performed with intent to defraud the trust patrimony constituted by the retirement fund of the plan; any act performed in contravention of those provisions is deemed to be performed with intent to defraud, until proof to the contrary.

The administrator, or any person mandated by him or to whom he delegates all or part of his functions, shall be accountable for any amount paid in contravention of section 43 or 43.1, or an order issued pursuant to section 43.1. Where the administrator or the recipient of the mandate or delegation is a legal person, the members of the board of directors of that legal person who have consented to the illegal payment shall be jointly and severally accountable for such amounts.

1988, c. 79, s. 4.

43.3. (Repealed).

1988, c. 79, s. 4; 1989, c. 38, s. 283.

44. Sections 31 to 33 shall not apply to pension credits arising from voluntary additional contributions.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 41.

DIVISION V.1 DELAYED RETIREMENT

1982, c. 12, s. 8.

44.1. Subject to section 44.2, payment of the pension to the employee is delayed when, after normal retirement age, he continues to work for the employer for whom he was working at that age.

Delay of payment of the pension may take place as long as a supplemental plan is able to comply with this division while remaining a registered pension plan within the meaning of section 1 of the Taxation Act (chapter I-3).

However, such delay ends upon the employee’s ceasing all work for his employer.

1982, c. 12, s. 8; 1991, c. 25, s. 182.

44.2. During the delay, an employee may require the payment of his pension, in whole or in part, but only to the extent necessary to compensate a reduction of salary or wages incurred during that period.

In no case may an employee apply under this section more than once within a twelve-month period except by agreement with the administrator of the supplemental plan.

However, after an agreement with his employer, and if the supplemental plan provides therefor, an employee may receive the whole or a part of the pension irrespective of the restriction provided in the first paragraph.

1982, c. 12, s. 8.

44.3. In the case of a delayed payment of a pension in whole or in part, any amount of the pension that is not paid during the delay must be revalorized when every delay has terminated.

Every supplemental plan must provide how the revalorization is to be effected.

1982, c. 12, s. 8.

44.4. The revalorization contemplated in section 44.3 must provide that the amount of the pension becoming payable at the end of the delay be the amount of a pension actuarially equivalent to

(a)  the pension that would have begun to be paid at normal retirement age had its payment not been delayed; or,

(b)  in the case of a pension whose payment was delayed before the effective date of this section, the pension that would have been payable on that date had its payment begun at that time.

In no case may such revalorization create only surpluses in the fund of the supplemental plan. Nor may it create only deficits therein.

1982, c. 12, s. 8.

44.5. If contributions are made during the delay, the additional pension arising therefrom must be at least equal in value to the pension that would arise at the end of the delay from the contributions made by the employee during the delay.

1982, c. 12, s. 8.

44.6. If an employee whose payment of pension was delayed, in whole or in part, dies during the delay, the payment of the unpaid amount of the pension is deemed to have begun on the day preceding his death.

1982, c. 12, s. 8.

DIVISION VI RETIREMENT FUND AND ADMINISTRATION

45. Every uninsured plan shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a retirement fund.

All contributions of the employer and employees and any earnings or profits derived therefrom shall be paid into such fund.

It shall constitute a patrimony entrusted for administration to an employer, group of employers or retirement committee.

It shall be adequate to provide for the payment of all benefits under the plan, including refunds.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 42.

46. Where moneys have accumulated in a fund to establish a plan but such plan has not been established within a reasonable time, the Board may, if it considers, after investigation, that the rights of the interested persons are in jeopardy, require that such moneys be put in trust with the Board by their holders.

The Board shall then distribute such moneys as it deems fair and equitable.

1975, c. 18, s. 14.

47. Upon the termination of a plan the employer is liable to pay all amounts that would otherwise have been required to be paid until such time to meet the standards of solvency.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 43.

48. Every uninsured plan shall determine the method of appointing and replacing its administrators, and their term of office.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 44.

49. Saving the case of delegation under this act, only an employer, a group of employers or a retirement committee consisting of representatives of employers and employees or representatives of employees may act as administrators of an uninsured plan.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 45; 1975, c. 18, s. 15.

50. Unless otherwise provided in the plan, an administrator may delegate all or part of his duties to a trust company registered in Québec or in another province having similar legislation.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 46; 1978, c. 69, s. 5.

51. Upon his appointment, the administrator shall be seized of the retirement fund as trustee.

He may sue and be sued with respect to the affairs of the plan and a retirement committee acting as administrator may be designated collectively.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 47.

52. The administrator shall manage the retirement fund and invest its assets in accordance with the standards.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 48.

53. The administrator shall act without remuneration unless otherwise provided in the plan.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 49.

54. When there are several administrators, the majority may act unless otherwise provided in the plan.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 50.

55. A member of a retirement committee shall be free of responsibility with respect to any decision if, forthwith or within three days after he takes cognizance thereof, he records his dissent.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 51.

DIVISION VII TRUSTEESHIP

56. Where a supplemental plan is not registered, is not or ceases to be in conformity with the standards, or the administrator thereof fails to furnish the prescribed information, the Board may place the plan under trusteeship and appoint a curator and determine the scale of his remuneration.

A terminated plan may also be placed under trusteeship if the standards relating to the apportionment of the fund are not complied with.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 52; 1975, c. 18, s. 16.

57. The Board shall immediately notify the administrator of the plan that the plan has been placed under trusteeship, and indicate at the same time the name and address of the curator.

If the notice is sent by registered or certified mail, it is deemed received by the administrator on the day of mailing.

1975, c. 18, s. 16; 1975, c. 83, s. 84.

58. The Board shall publish a similar notice in a daily newspaper circulating in the local municipal territory where the employer has his principal place of business in Québec and in that where, in the opinion of the Board, the greatest number of the employees contemplated in the plan reside.

1975, c. 18, s. 16; 1996, c. 2, s. 885.

59. The curator shall not be prosecuted personally for acts performed by him in good faith in the performance of his duties.

The curator shall hold office for a specified period, but may be reappointed.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 53; 1975, c. 18, s. 16.

60. From the time a person accepts his appointment as curator, he shall perform the duties imposed on him by law until release is granted, or until he is relieved of office or replaced by the Board.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

61. No error or irregularity in the appointment of the curator shall invalidate any act performed by him in good faith.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

62. The designation of the curator acting as such shall be “curator to the ..............” followed by the name of the plan under trusteeship.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

63. From his designation, in addition to the rights and powers of the administrator of the plan, the curator has the right to propose any amendment to the plan to make it conform to the standards.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 54; 1975, c. 18, s. 16.

64. Upon his appointment, the curator shall immediately give security in cash or by bond of a guarantee company satisfactory to the Board for the due accounting of all property he receives as curator and for the due and faithful performance of his duties; the security shall be deposited with the Board and given in favour of the plan. It may be enforced by any succeeding curator or by the administrator of the plan after termination of the trusteeship. The amount of the security shall be determined by the Board which may increase or reduce it.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

65. The curator shall have access to the documents pertaining to the plan under trusteeship and any person having charge of such documents shall put them at the disposal of the curator at his request.

With the permission of the Board, the curator may take possession of the documents and of all the assets of the plan, including bank and trust accounts and monies deposited at the bank or in trust. In that case, he shall make an inventory.

The curator may, on motion, obtain from a judge of the Superior Court an order enjoining any person who fails to comply with a request made under the preceding paragraphs to give the curator the required access or to deliver to him the documents or assets involved.

Similarly, the curator may, if necessary, obtain an order enjoining that the premises, closets or safes where the above mentioned documents and assets are deposited, be opened by force.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

66. Any amendment proposed by the curator shall be communicated by registered or certified letter, at their last known address, to the administrator or employer and to the members whose names and addresses he has. This letter is deemed to have been received by its addressee on the day of mailing.

Such amendment shall then be submitted for approval to the Board which shall not approve it unless it considers the change to be in the interest of the members.

Any amendment approved under this section shall bind all interested persons including incapable persons and those having only contingent interest.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 55; 1975, c. 18, s. 16; 1975, c. 83, s. 84.

67. The curator may obtain advice from legal advisers, actuaries, accountants or other experts and take such court proceedings as he may consider necessary for the exercise of his office and for the administration of the plan.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

68. All payments made by a curator shall be made by cheque drawn on the account of the plan.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

69. Any person entitled to any rights in a plan may forfeit such rights if they are not entered in the registers and books of the plan unless he makes them known in writing to the curator within 12 months from the publishing of the notice of trusteeship contemplated in section 58.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

70. The expenses of the trusteeship approved by the Board are paid by the plan unless the Board decides to pay them upon recommendation of the curator.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

71. Monies owing to persons whose addresses the curator cannot trace shall be deposited with the public curator.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

72. The trusteeship shall terminate upon release granted by the Board.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 56; 1975, c. 18, s. 16.

73. Subject to the following paragraph, in the case of insured plans, the employer or, if there are more than one employer, each of them is deemed to be the administrator of a plan for the purposes of sections 56 to 72.

In the case of a plan established by a professional syndicate for its members, the syndicate shall be deemed to be the administrator of that plan for the same purposes.

1975, c. 18, s. 16.

DIVISION VIII RECIPROCAL AGREEMENTS

74. The Government may authorize the Board to

(a)  enter into agreements with the authorized representatives of a government administering similar legislation to provide for the reciprocal registration and inspection of supplemental plans and for the establishment of a Canadian association of commissions similar to the Board;

(b)  delegate to a government administering similar legislation, or to one of its agencies, such functions and powers as are conferred upon the Board under this act;

(c)  contribute to the operation of a Canadian association of commissions similar to the Board and to authorize such association to carry out duties on behalf of the Board.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 57; 1975, c. 18, s. 17.

DIVISION IX REGULATIONS

75. The Board may, by regulation, prescribe what may or must be prescribed under this act and determine:

(a)  approved contribution and benefit formulae;

(b)  methods and factors for computing pension credits, pensions, deferred annuities and the commuted value thereof;

(c)  principles respecting the amendment of pensions and deferred annuities for taking account of benefits payable under the Old Age Security Act and under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan or a similar plan;

(d)  classes of investments for retirement fund moneys, qualitative and quantitative standards applicable to each class, valuation methods and other rules pertaining to investments;

(e)  standards of solvency for supplemental plans;

(f)  the conditions under which, upon termination of employment of an employee or upon termination of an employee’s membership in a supplemental plan, pension credits may be held by the administrator, curator, insurer or trustee of the plan or transferred to the administrator, insurer or trustee of another plan or to a registered retirement savings plan or to the agency described in paragraph e of section 6;

(g)  employees or plans, or any class thereof, that the Board may except from the application of this act;

(h)  special conditions for the registration of plans established under special acts or under the Cities and Towns Act or the Education Act as it read on 30 June 1989;

(i)  physical or mental disability for the purposes of paragraph b of section 38;

(j)  terms and conditions for the trusteeship of a plan and the disposition of the assets of a plan after contributions have ceased;

(k)  fees payable for registration, renewal of registration and inspection of plans;

(l)  prescribed forms and those on which information to be furnished to the Board may or must be furnished;

(m)  officers or classes of officers authorized to exercise powers and carry out duties assigned to the Board under this act;

(n)  any measure necessary or useful to the carrying out of this act;

(o)  public pension plans contemplated in section 30;

(p)  the conditions under which supplemental plans can merge or a plan can be divided into several plans;

(q)  the information to be provided to the Board as well as the times and delays to do so;

(r)  for what purposes and under what circumstances, upon a change of employers, the new employer shall be deemed to be the same as the previous employer;

(s)  the meaning of the expression “initial unfunded liability”;

(t)  the persons or classes of persons authorized to make a termination report contemplated in section 40;

(u)  the information or documents which an administrator or an employer must furnish to a member or a beneficiary, or to his mandatary or assign, or of which he must allow such person to take cognizance, as well as the manner, times and periods for so doing;

(v)  what is permitted, mandatory or prohibited in effecting the revalorization contemplated in Division V.1;

(w)  what constitutes salary or wages, how to establish them and the periods for which they are computed, for the purposes of section 44.2.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 58; 1969, c. 50, s. 3; 1975, c. 19, s. 11; 1975, c. 18, s. 18; 1978, c. 69, s. 6; 1982, c. 12, s. 9; 1987, c. 68, s. 108; 1988, c. 84, s. 670.

76. The regulations made by the Board, other than those contemplated in paragraphs l and m of section 75, shall not come into force until approved by the Government and published in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 59.

DIVISION X PENAL PROVISIONS

1992, c. 61, s. 526.

77. Every person who

(a)  contravenes any provision of this Act or of the regulations,

(b)  obstructs an officer, agent or inspector of the Board or a curator appointed by the Board in the performance of his duties,

(c)  makes misrepresentations for registration or renewal thereof or in answering a request for information from the Board, or

(d)  contravenes any provision contained in a supplemental plan according to sections 31 and 35,

is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of not more than $250 for the first offence, $1 150 for the second and $2 300 for any subsequent offence.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 60; 1975, c. 18, s. 19; 1978, c. 69, s. 7; 1986, c. 58, s. 89.

78. Where a corporation is guilty of an offence under this act, an officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted therefor.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 61.

79. (Repealed).

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 62; 1992, c. 61, s. 527.

80. (Repealed).

1965 (1st sess.), c. 25, s. 63; 1992, c. 61, s. 528.

DIVISION XI

This Division ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987.

81. (This section ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes (chapter R-3), chapter 25 of the statutes of 1965 (1st session), in force on 31 December 1977, is repealed, except sections 16 and 65, effective from the coming into force of chapter R-17 of the Revised Statutes.

The Minister of Employment and Solidarity shall be entrusted with the application of this Act. O.C. 1237-81 of 81.05.01, (1981) 113 G.O. II (French), 2155; 1982, c. 53, s. 57; O.C. 1614-89 of 89.10.11, (1982) 121 G.O. 2 (French), 5554; O.C. 101-94 of 94.01.10, (1994) 126 G.O. 2 (French), 899; 1997, c. 63, s. 138.