290.1. Unless otherwise stipulated, section 60.1 does not apply to the pension benefit to which a member or beneficiary is entitled in respect of service credited under the plan for a period of employment prior to 1 January 2001.
A pension plan is exempted from the application of section 60.1 if, as of 16 March 2000, the plan contains a provision that is in force, was registered with the Régie before that date and provides that the deferred pension is adjusted before retirement according to a formula different from the formula provided in the second paragraph of section 60.1, provided the formula is approved by the Régie on the application of the pension committee.
The pension committee must submit the application to the Régie not later than 31 December 2000. However, in the case of a pension plan applicable to employees governed by a collective agreement, an arbitration award in lieu thereof or an order or decree rendering a collective agreement compulsory in force on 1 January 2001, the application must be submitted not later than the day immediately preceding the date of expiry of the collective agreement or arbitration award or the date of expiry, extension or renewal of the order or decree.
If such a formula is amended after being approved by the Régie, the amended formula may be approved by the Régie provided the related application is submitted to the Régie before the effective date of the amendment. If approval is granted, the plan is exempted from the application of section 60.1 in respect of the formula.
The Régie cannot approve an adjustment formula unless it is of the opinion that the value of the pension referred to in the second paragraph of section 60.1 determined according to that formula for the period referred to in that paragraph will be generally equivalent to the value that would be determined pursuant to that paragraph. The Régie may use any assumption, method, rule, scenario or factor it sees fit in order to assess such equivalence.