Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 5

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act, 2015

S.o. 2015, chapter 5

Historical version for the period June 9, 2016 to December 7, 2016.

Note: This Act is repealed on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. (See: 2016, c. 17, s. 94)

Last amendment: 2016, c. 17, s. 97.

Preamble

Canada and Ontario have a strong foundation of retirement benefit programs, namely the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System. However, as outlined in Ontario’s 2014 Budget, several studies have shown that a significant portion of today’s workers are not saving enough to maintain their standard of living when they retire. The reasons for this are varied: workplace pension coverage is low; individuals are not taking sufficient advantage of voluntary savings tools; and people are living longer than ever before.

After a lifetime of hard work, Ontarians deserve to feel financially secure in their retirement. Strengthening the retirement income system is not only important to Ontario families, it is critical to the future prosperity of the province.

The Government of Ontario is taking a leadership role in addressing this pressing issue by proposing the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, a new mandatory provincial pension plan that would enable Ontario workers to build a more secure retirement future. It would be the first of its kind in Canada and would build on key features of the Canada Pension Plan.

The Government of Ontario is committed to ensuring that the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan is administered by an entity with a strong governance structure and investment strategy to ensure that the Plan is efficiently managed, accountable, transparent and fair.

The Government of Ontario is moving forward with the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan as a priority and is committed to establishing the Plan by January 1, 2017. The Government intends to begin the process of fulfilling its commitment and set the stage for further consultations with the people of Ontario to ensure the Plan meets the needs of today’s workforce.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Obligation to establish Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

1. (1) The Government of Ontario shall, no later than January 1, 2017 and in accordance with the parameters set out in this Act, establish the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

Requirement to introduce legislation

(2) The Minister of Finance or another Member of the Executive Council shall introduce legislation that,

(a) provides for the operation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan;

(b) provides for the administration and investment management of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan through the administrative entity described in section 2; and

(c) provides for the requirements of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, including the basic requirements set out in the Schedule.

Cost-benefit analysis

(3) The Minister of Finance shall prepare a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and shall table the report in the Legislative Assembly before December 31, 2015.

Obligation to create administrative entity

2. (1) An administrative entity shall be established for the purpose of administering the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

Duties of the administrative entity

(2) The duties of the administrative entity shall include the following:

1. Enrolment: The administrative entity shall enrol eligible employees and eligible employers.

2. Collection of contributions: The administrative entity shall collect from eligible employers the contributions on behalf of the eligible employers and the eligible employees.

3. Investing contributions: The administrative entity shall be responsible for investing the collected contributions for the benefit of the members and other beneficiaries of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

4. Holding contributions: The administrative entity shall hold the contributions...