The Gouvernement du Québec’s O.C. 1448-2025 amends the Regulation respecting voluntary retirement savings plans under the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plans Act. The regulation expands and clarifies the administrative, reporting, and operational requirements for voluntary retirement savings plans, particularly concerning variable payment life pension funds. It provides detailed rules for plan administrators regarding the filing of documents and information with Retraite Québec, the content of plan texts, and the effective dates of plans and amendments. Administrators are required to establish investment policies, including those for variable payment life pension funds, and must comply with prescribed rules for the investment of plan assets, the management of fees, and the communication of benefits to members and beneficiaries. The regulation also sets conditions for transferring amounts between locked-in and non-locked-in accounts, the timing and method of benefit payments, and the valuation and redetermination of variable payment life pensions.

Under the amended regulation, plan texts must include detailed information for each variable payment life pension fund, including the rights and obligations of beneficiaries and administrators, eligibility criteria for pension payments, reference rates, available pension options, periodic increase rates, death benefits, payment frequency, adjustment methods, and the calculation of fees. Where a plan includes multiple funds, administrators must describe how fees and mortality experiences are shared. The regulation also prescribes the number of estimated statements of a variable payment life pension that can be produced free of charge. All provisions concerning variable payment life pension funds must be clearly grouped within the plan text for ease of reference.

The amendments introduce a structured fee schedule, requiring administrators to remit fees to Retraite Québec for plan registration, annual statements, and wind-up reports, with amounts indexed annually according to the average weekly salaries and wages in Canada. Additional fees are applied for late submissions or failure to pay, and special fees apply for pension adjustment reports or communications concerning untraceable persons. These provisions aim to ensure adequate funding for the administration and oversight of voluntary retirement savings plans while promoting transparency and accountability.

The regulation defines the roles of actuaries in evaluating funds and adjusting pension amounts, including the use of actuarial assumptions related to mortality, the timing of valuations, and the preparation of pension adjustment reports. These reports must provide comprehensive information on investment returns, pension adjustments, assets, liabilities, and mortality experience, and must be submitted to Retraite Québec within specified timelines. Adjustments to pension amounts must reflect fund returns, mortality experience, and changes in actuarial assumptions, with clear rules on the timing of adjustments and the commencement of payments.

Quebec (1448/2025) December 23, 2025
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