ACPM welcomes Federal Endorsement of Target Benefit Plan proposal

An additional retirement income option that supports innovative new plan options to encourage increased workplace pension coverage

TORONTO, April 28, 2014 /CNW/ - The Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) would like to congratulate the federal government on their recent announcement of their intent to make target benefit plans available to federally regulated organizations. Drawing directly from an ACPM Target Benefit Plan paper released in 2012, the Hon. Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State (Finance), announced this national initiative, in conjunction with a sixty day public consultation period, at a Toronto luncheon last week.

ACPM strongly supports this development and believes that target benefit plans are part of a Canadian retirement income solution but emphasizes that additional action is needed to improve the coverage and adequacy of the Canadian retirement income system.

ACPM's Five Point Plan* outlines the steps to providing universal access to retirement income coverage in Canada. It is a comprehensive plan which requires all five points to be implemented concurrently to ensure every Canadian, including the self-employed, has the saving options that work best for them and their families. ACPM encourages Canadian governments to work cooperatively to bring about these necessary changes.

In addition to the Five-Point Plan, ACPM continues to provide specific guidance in respect to other retirement options including Defined Benefit plans and PRPPs. In addition to the ACPM Target Benefit Plan paper**, ACPM also has several other papers in development that address specific retirement income challenges including "Defined Benefit Pension Plan Funding", "ACPM Principles for Mandatory Public Pension Plans" and an ACPM Target Benefit Plan supplementary paper that covers issues related to conversion to a target benefit plan scenario. All of these papers are planned for release in the near future.

"We support the leadership of the federal government in moving forward with the target benefit plan initiative and appreciate their acknowledgement of ACPM's contribution as the leading representative for the retirement income industry", noted Andrew Harrison, Chair of the ACPM Board of Directors.

The Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) is a national, non-profit organization and the voice of plan sponsors, administrators and their service providers. Our membership represents over 400 companies and retirement income plans that cover more than 3 million plan members, with assets under management in excess of $330 billion.

(*)(**)  Available at the ACPM website - www.acpm-acarr.com

SOURCE: Association of Canadian Pension Management

Ric Marrero, Director of Marketing, Communications and Membership, [email protected]; 416-964-1260x223