Quebec Pension Plan enhancement approved and consultations announced in federal budget

An in-depth look at these and other subjects are covered in the current issue of the Morneau Shepell News & Views

TORONTO,

• Adoption of Quebec Pension Plan enhancement – On February 22, 2018, the Quebec National Assembly approved Bill 149, an Act to enhance the Quebec Pension Plan and amend various retirement-related provisions. The Act creates the additional component to the Quebec Pension Plan and also modifies certain rules applicable to employer pension plans, including easing administrative rules, counting amounts paid by the employer in the banker's clause and clarifying the rules regarding surplus.
• Announcement of 2018 federal budget – The 2018 federal budget was tabled in late February, which included mention of upcoming consultations on retirement security and unclaimed pension balances. The budget also introduced an additional five weeks of the Employment Insurance Parental Sharing Benefit and pay equity legislation for federally regulated sectors.
• Updates to healthcare funding in British Columbia – The B.C. government announced through its provincial budget that it will eliminate the Medical Services Plan premiums, implement a new employer health payroll tax and reduce the deductible for prescription drug coverage for lower-income earners.
• Elimination of sales tax on insurance premiums in Saskatchewan – Effective February 26, 2018, and retroactively to August 1, 2017, the province of Saskatchewan announced that provincial sales tax (PST) no longer applies to insurance premiums. After consulting with the insurance industry, the provincial government will provide information about PST refunds in April 2018.
• Tracking the funded status of pension plans as at February 28, 2018 – Morneau Shepell shared the changes in the financial position of a typical defined benefit plan with an average duration since December 31, 2017. The graph in the newsletter shows the impact of three typical portfolios on plan assets and the effect of interest rate changes on solvency liabilities of medium duration.
• Impact on pension expense under international accounting as at February 28, 2018 – Morneau Shepell showed the expense impact for a typical pension plan that starts the year at an arbitrary value of 100 (expense index). Since the beginning of the year, the pension expense has decreased by five per cent (for a contributory plan) due to the increase in the discount rates.

About Morneau Shepell|Morneau Shepell is the only human resources consulting and technology company that takes an integrated approach to employee assistance, health, benefits and retirement needs. The Company is the leading provider of employee and family assistance programs, the largest administrator of retirement and benefits plans and the largest provider of integrated absence management solutions in Canada. As a leader in strategic HR consulting and innovative pension design, the Company helps clients solve complex workforce problems and provides integrated productivity, health and retirement solutions.  Established in 1966, Morneau Shepell serves approximately 20,000 clients, ranging from small businesses to some of the largest corporations and associations.  With more than 4,000 employees in offices across North America, Morneau Shepell provides services to organizations across Canada, in the United States and around the globe. Morneau Shepell is a publicly-traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com.

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