Pensions in Alberta - Overview
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There are several types of pensions for people in the province of Alberta. Most pension plans fall into one of four categories:
- Private sector employment pensions - pension plans established by private sector employers (or groups
of employers or unions) for their employees;
- Public sector employment pensions - pension plans for employees working in the public sector, (provincial and municipal public service, health and education);
Are you a member of one of the public sector pension plans?
See more information, or visit the Alberta Pensions Services Corporation (APS) website.
Are you a member of the Teachers' Pension Plan or Private School Teachers' Plan?
See more information, or visit the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund Board (ARTF) website.
- Retirement income programs administered by the federal government
for Canadians - these include the Canada
Pension Plan (CPP), Old
Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed
Income Supplement (GIS). The provinces are joint stewards
of the Canada Pension Plan along with the federal government and
help establish policy for the Canada Pension Plan; and
- Alberta Seniors Benefit Program – provides support in addition to the federal benefits received under Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Federal Allowance and the GST credit. It is based on income and provides monthly benefits to eligible seniors.
For more information on benefits and programs for seniors, see:
Quick Facts - Programs and Services for Seniors (pdf) - from the Alberta Seniors website.
Note that pension plans established by companies in federally regulated industries such as banks, airlines, and telecommunications companies are governed by the federal pension standards legislation, the Pension Benefits Standards Act, (1985) (Canada). The federal government's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is the primary regulator and supervisor of federally regulated private sector pension plans. The federal government also manages the pension plans for federal public service employees.
For general information on pensions, click here for the “Time to Start a Pension” guide.
For information on accessing pension funds, click here for the “Accessing Pension Funds guide.
Pensions News and E-Update Service
E-Update Service
May 8, 2013 - Pooled Registered Pension Plans:
The Government of Alberta has given third reading to new legislation that allows Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs) to be available in Alberta.
- Redford government to make new pension options available to Albertans (news release, April 19, 2013)
- Bill 18: Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act
- Frequently asked questions about PRPPs
May 1, 2013 - Website Update:
February 15, 2013 – Website Updates:
- As requested by our stakeholders, a fillable MS Word version of Form 7 – Schedule of Expected Contributions is now available for use by pension plans submitting this form to their fund holders.
- The Superintendent of Pensions is also pleased to present the 2010-11 Annual Pension Statistics Report and the 2011-12 Annual Pension Statistics Report.
December 17, 2012 - Website Updates:
The Employment Pensions website has been updated in all relevant areas to reflect changes for 2013. This includes changes to the CANSIM Series V122487 interest rate (used to determine withdrawals from LIFs and DC RIAs) and Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings. Documents updated to reflect 2013 figures include:
Policy Bulletins:
- #11 - Life Income Fund
- #24 - Maximum Commutable Amounts
- #30 - Defined Contribution Retirement Income Accounts (DC RIAs)
Other Documents/Tables:
- Accessing Pension Funds
- Table 1B: Employment Pension Plans Act & Regulation – Prescribed Amounts (on or after March 1, 2000)
- Table 4: Interest Rate for the Life Income Fund (LIF) Term Certain Factors
- Maximum LIF withdrawal factors for 2013 using an 85 Factor
- Financial Hardship Unlocking Application Form 51
Please note the Table of Withdrawals from LIFs and DC RIAs remain unchanged for 2013 as the CANSIM Series V122487 remained below 6.00% for November 2012.
November 27, 2012 – Bill 10 passes with Third Reading
On November 20, 2012, Bill 10: Employment Pension Plans Act passed Third Reading in the legislature. Although the new Act has passed, it will not come into force until proclamation of the legislation, which will follow the drafting, approval and release of a new Employment Pension Plans Regulation (the new Regulation) which is presently under development.
We have prepared EPPA Update 12-02: Key Differences – Employment Pension Plans Act Pension Plans Act, 2012, which is designed to provide stakeholders with a summary of key differences that exist between the new Act, and the previous Employment Pension Plans Act (Chapter E-8, RSA 2000). In addition to new provisions and policy changes, which are detailed in this Update, many sections of the legislation have been rewritten to make the new Act more readable and to clarify legislative requirements.
October 25, 2012 - Bill 10 improves pension legislation for private sector:
- news release
- Bill 10 (pdf)
September 24, 2012 (Updated October 26, 2012)
EPPA Update 12-01: Defined Benefit Funding Relief Provisions - 2012
The Employment Pension Plans Regulation has been amended to provide temporary funding relief to certain defined benefit plans, in response to declining and historically low solvency discount rates. EPPA Update 12-01 has been developed to assist plan sponsors and service providers in understanding the requirements of the Superintendent’s office to obtain funding relief. This document was clarified on October 26, 2012 by deleting the last part of the final sentence in the paragraph at the top of page 3 and by adding a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
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