Response to the Alberta/British Columbia Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards

The Alberta/B.C. Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards was established in the fall of 2007, tasked by the governments of Alberta and British Columbia to undertake a thorough review of pension legislation in each province and provide a series of recommendations regarding pension reform. The report, due in the fall of 2008, is anticipated to initiate the sort of significant pension reform that occurs typically only once in a generation. In response to a discussion paper released by the panel inviting industry stakeholders to identify key areas of concern, Bennett Jones prepared a submission advocating in favour of practical and effective reforms to reduce the asymmetry of risk currently facing sponsors of both defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans and strengthen the private pension system in Western Canada.