Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada
Federal
Feds and some provinces reach PRPP agreement
The federal government and four provinces have entered into a multi-lateral agreement for licensing and setting up pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) and voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs).
The agreement among the governments of Canada, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan will simplify the licensing and registration process, says Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General Gordon Wyant.
He added that the agreement will “pave the way for employers to set up a pooled registered pension plan for their employees.”
The federal government and a number of provinces, including British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, have passed legislation to allow for PRPPs in recent years. The retirement savings plans are not mandatory; it is up to each employer to decide whether to sign up for one.
Employers are not required to contribute to PRPPs, but can do so if they so choose.
VRSPs, which operate in Quebec, are similar to PRPPs. Unlike PRPPs in other provinces, though, the Quebec government is requiring employers to offer VRSPs to employees. The requirement applies to employers who have at least five employees with a minimum of one year of uninterrupted service and who do not already offer payroll deductions for a registered retirement savings plan or tax-free savings account or registered pension plan.
Employers that had 20 or more eligible employees as of June 30 have to sign up for a plan by Dec. 31. Employers with 10 to 19 eligible employees as of June 30, 2017, have until Dec. 31, 2017, to offer a VRSP to employees.
The government has not yet set a date for when employers with five to nine employees must comply, although it has said it would not be before Jan. 1, 2018.
