Good news! As of February 11, 2022, pension fund audits are no longer required for Defined Contribution Pension Plans in Ontario. You can find the official regulatory change here.
We note that this applies somewhat retroactively, so for example a DC pension plan with a December 31, 2021 year-end that would have filed their audit by June 30, 2022, falls under these new rules and doesn’t need to get an audit done. DC plans will simply need to file a copy of the unaudited pension fund financial statements going forward.
Note that FSRA can still order an audit be performed in exceptional circumstances – presumably if they’ve lost faith in the pension plan administrator/custodian/recordkeeper – so everyone still needs to be doing a good job even if not audited!
Also, Statements of Investment Policies and Procedures (SIPPs) are no longer required for member-directed DC pension plans in Ontario.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Jason.
Jason Vary, FCIA, FSA
President