Bill 54 explained in plain English
Retirement Savings Plans for Employees and Self-Employed Persons Act, 2010
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill requires employers with 20 or more employees in Ontario to provide retirement savings plans and introduces a new type of multi-employer pension plan.
This bill, titled the Retirement Savings Plans for Employees and Self-Employed Persons Act, 2010, proposes new rules for retirement savings plans in Ontario. For employers with 20 or more employees, it will be mandatory to offer a retirement savings plan. These plans can be registered retirement savings plans, pension plans, or a new type of plan called a "defined contribution multi-employer pension plan." Employees will automatically become members of these plans upon hiring but can opt out in writing, unless the plan is subject to the Pension Benefits Act and opting out would violate it. The bill also introduces amendments to the Pension Benefits Act to allow for the creation and administration of "defined contribution multi-employer pension plans" by insurers or specific financial institutions. These new plans can be joined by employers, sole proprietorships, and partnerships, and their employees. Employer contributions to these plans may be locked in if required by the Income Tax Act (Canada).
- Requires employers in Ontario with 20 or more employees to provide a retirement savings plan for their employees.
- Specifies that these retirement savings plans can be group registered retirement savings plans, pension plans, or a new type of plan called a "defined contribution multi-employer pension plan."
- States that employees automatically become members of these plans upon hiring but have the option to terminate their membership in writing, unless prohibited by the Pension Benefits Act.
- Introduces amendments to the Pension Benefits Act to define and permit the establishment and administration of "defined contribution multi-employer pension plans" by licensed insurers or prescribed financial institutions.
- Allows employers, sole proprietorships, and partnerships to register as participating employers in these new defined contribution multi-employer pension plans.
- Makes membership in these new plans available to employees of participating employers, as well as proprietors of sole proprietorships and partners in partnerships.
- Notes that employer contributions to these new plans may be locked in if the Income Tax Act (Canada) so provides.
- Employers in Ontario with 20 or more employees.
- Employees of these employers.
- Insurers licensed under the Insurance Act.
- Prescribed types of financial institutions.
- Sole proprietorships and partnerships.
- Proprietors of sole proprietorships.
- Partners in partnerships.
- Members of retirement savings plans.
- Employers with 20 or more employees have an obligation to provide a retirement savings plan.
- Employees automatically become members of a retirement savings plan upon hiring but have the right to opt out in writing, with exceptions.
- Members of a retirement savings plan have an obligation to contribute according to the plan's terms.
- Insurers or prescribed financial institutions have the role of establishing and administering defined contribution multi-employer pension plans.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (Section 4(1)).
- Section 1 of the Act comes into force six months after the day the Act receives Royal Assent (Section 4(2)).
- Employer contributions to retirement savings plans are mandatory if required by the plan's terms.
- Employee contributions are mandatory according to the plan's terms.
- Employer contributions to defined contribution multi-employer pension plans may be locked in as per the Income Tax Act (Canada).
- The bill text does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes a "prescribed type of financial institution" for establishing defined contribution multi-employer pension plans.
- The bill does not detail the specific enforcement mechanisms or penalties for employers who fail to provide a retirement savings plan.
- The exact definition and characteristics of "defined contribution benefits" are not detailed within this bill text.
Adds a new section (44.1) that requires employers with 20 or more employees in Ontario to provide a retirement savings plan for their employees.
Source: Part XIII (Benefit Plans)
Introduces a new definition for "defined contribution multi-employer pension plan" and amends the definition of "multi-employer pension plan" to exclude the new type. It also adds subsections detailing the characteristics of a defined contribution multi-employer pension plan and clarifies its status as a pension plan.
Source: Section 1
Adds a clause specifying that if a pension plan is a "defined contribution multi-employer pension plan," the insurer or financial institution that established it can be listed as a contact.
Source: Subsection 8 (1)
Provides the licensing framework for insurers who may establish and administer defined contribution multi-employer pension plans.
Source: Section 2 (3) Paragraph 1
Governs the conditions under which employer contributions to a defined contribution multi-employer pension plan may be locked in.
Source: Section 2 (3) Paragraph 7
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced