Preface

• Author: Ari N. Kaplan
• Profession: Partner, Koskie Minsky LLP. Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario
• Pages: 29-32

xxix

PR EFACE

The purpose of this bo ok is to assist re aders in understand ing the basic

concepts of the law and regulation of registered pension plans ar ising

from employme nt in Can ada. The ex press ion arising from employme nt

means that the pen sion plans are those ba sed on the “private” em-

ployment relationship, that is, plan s sponsored by employers or trade

unions, that are registere d both with the Can ada Revenue Agency for

tax purpos es, and with a prov incial or the federal pension regulator

for pension standards pur poses. These include pension plans covering

employees in both the private sector and the broader public sector, in

all three levels of government.

A differentiation must be made between “reg istered” pension plans

and other retirement vehicles. Registered pension plans do not include

government-sponsored universal retirement programs such as Canada

Pension Plan (and its Quebec counterpart, t he Quebec Pension Plan),

the federal Old Age Security program (including the Guaranteed In-

come Supplement and Spouse’s Allowance), or the various provincial

assistance schemes for low-income persons. Pension plans must also

be distinguishe d from other employ ment-based retirement arrange-

ments such as group registered retirement savings plans and deferred

prof‌i t sharing plans. Nor do pension plan s include individual sav ings

accounts (such as a personal RRSP). These forms of retirement vehi-

cles, while comprising a sig nif‌i cant element of the Canadian retirement

landscape, f all outside the scope of this book.

The book is intended to be read by both lawyers and non-lawyers,

and it should be of particular use to professionals who are i nvolved

with pension plan stakeholders. Although I have attempted to paint a

somewhat comprehen sive canvas, the book never theless should serve

as a starting — not termin al — point for legal research on the topics