BILL 15
An Act Respecting Pension Benefits
His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:
Pension Benefits Act
1( 1) Paragraph 9(1)e) of the French version of the Pension Benefits Act, chapter P-5.1 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1987, is amended by striking out “convention fiduciaire” and substituting “convention de fiducie”.
1( 2) Section 12 of the Act is amended by adding after subsection (3) the following:
12( 4) Subsection (1) does not apply to
(a) a multi-employer pension plan established under a collective agreement or a trust agreement, or
(b) a pension plan that contains a defined benefit provision if the obligation of the employer to contribute to the pension fund is limited to a fixed amount established in accordance with a collective agreement.
1( 3) Section 34 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:
Payment of commuted value of a benefit
34( 1) In this section, “registered retirement savings arrangement” means a registered retirement savings plan established in accordance with the Income Tax Act (Canada) or a registered retirement income fund established in accordance with that Act.
34( 2) A pension plan may provide for payment to a former member of the commuted value of a benefit
(a) if the annual benefit payable at the normal retirement date is not more than 4% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings for the calendar year in which the former member’s employment or membership in the pension plan, as the case may be, terminated, or
(b) if the commuted value of the benefit is less than 20% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings for the calendar year in which the former member’s employment or membership in the pension plan, as the case may be, terminated.
34( 3) A pension plan may provide for payment, on the death of a former member, of the commuted value of a joint and survivor pension to a person who is entitled to the joint and survivor pension if, at the date of death,
(a) the annual benefit payable is not more than 4% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings, or
(b) the commuted value of the benefit is less than 20% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings.
34( 4) A person entitled to a payment referred to in subsection (2) or (3) may, by delivering a direction to the administrator within 90 days after receipt of the written statement referred to in subsection 26(1), require the administrator to transfer the commuted value into a registered retirement savings arrangement.
34( 5) For the purposes of subsection (4), if the amount to be transferred into the registered retirement savings arrangement is greater than the amount permitted under the Income Tax Act (Canada) for such a transfer, the administrator shall pay the portion that exceeds the permitted amount as a lump sum to the person who delivered the direction to the administrator.
1( 4) The Act is amended by adding after section 34 the following:
Delivery under the Unclaimed Property Act
34.1( 1) The following definitions apply in this section:
“Director” means Director as defined in the Unclaimed Property Act. (directeur)
“unclaimed property” means unclaimed property as defined in the Unclaimed Property Act. (bien non réclamé)
34.1( 2) An administrator who holds unclaimed property that is a commuted value referred to in subsection 34(2) or (3) is required to deliver it to the Director in accordance with the Unclaimed Property Act.
1( 5) Section 36 of the Act is amended
(a) in subsection (4) by striking out “notice of the rights” and substituting “the written statement referred to in subsection 26(1)”;
(b) by repealing subsection (8).
1( 6) Subsection 56.1(1) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:
56.1( 1) On termination of employment, a member of a pension plan who is entitled to a deferred pension under section 35 may withdraw the commuted value of the deferred pension from the pension fund if
(a) the member is not resident in Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada), and
(b) the member delivers to the administrator on a form provided by the Superintendent a declaration of non-residence in Canada.
1( 7) Subsection 65(1.2) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:
65( 1.2) Subsection (1.1) does not apply to a pension plan referred to in subsection 12(4).
1( 8) Section 100 of the Act is amended
(a) by repealing paragraph (1)(k.01) and substituting the following:
(k.01) respecting the withdrawal, in whole or in part, of the balance of a retirement savings arrangement, including providing for the circumstances in which such withdrawals may be made and prescribing the amounts of such withdrawals and the terms and conditions to which such withdrawals may be subject;
(b) by adding after subsection (1) the following:
100( 1.01) A regulation made under subsection (1) may delegate a matter to or confer discretion on the Superintendent, an administrator or a financial institution.
Regulation under the Pension Benefits Act
2 Subsection 19(10) of New Brunswick Regulation 91-195 under the Pension Benefits Act is amended by striking out “or who has required a member to request a transfer under subsection 36(8) of the Act”.
The Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act
3 Section 35 of The Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, chapter 56 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2017, is amended
(a) by repealing paragraph (1)(gg) and substituting the following:
(gg) respecting the withdrawal, in whole or in part, of the value of accumulated contributions of a retirement savings arrangement, including providing for the circumstances in which such withdrawals may be made and prescribing the amounts of such withdrawals and the terms and conditions to which such withdrawals may be subject;
(b) by repealing paragraph (3)(d) and substituting the following:
(d) delegate a matter to or confer discretion on the Superintendent, an administrator or a financial institution.
Teachers’ Pension Plan Act
4 Paragraph 3(2)(e) of the Teachers’ Pension Plan Act, chapter 61 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2014, is repealed.
Commencement
5 This Act or any provision of it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.