On February 29, 2024, the BC Financial Services Authority ("BCFSA") released Advisory 24-003. The Advisory informs administrators of defined contribution (money purchase) plans registered in British Columbia of BCFSA's intent to ask for certain information about those pension plans directly from fundholders. Recall that every pension plan in British Columbia must have a fundholder that meets the statutory requirements, with insurance companies often acting as fundholders for defined contribution pension plans.
This request for data from fundholders is the first step in BCFSA's development of a more structured risk-based supervisory approach for defined contribution pension plans. The data being sought will likely relate to asset information and may include requests for the following information:
- fund options;
- aggregate balances;
- fees; and
- rates of returns.
To address concerns you may have about these requests, the Advisory helpfully advises that:
- personal membership information will not be collected, and
- any data collected as part of the data request will remain strictly confidential and will not be shared outside of BCFSA.
If you are the administrator of a defined contribution pension plan, your fundholder may advise you of such a request from BCFSA. Any response to such a request should confirm that it is being provided for the sole purpose of complying with the request and on the understanding that it will not be disclosed beyond BCFSA to help preserve its confidentiality.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.