Determining jurisdiction of membership

Determining jurisdiction of membership

The Pension Benefits Act, 1992 (the PBA) applies to all employer-sponsored pension plan members in Saskatchewan, no matter where the plan is registered. However, the PBA does not cover certain plans, some of which include:

• employees’ profit sharing plans, deferred profit sharing plans, retiring allowances or ordinary (not locked-in) registered retirement savings plans;
• federally-regulated pension plans (those for airlines, railways, grain handlers, radio broadcasting stations, and banks, for example);
• pension plans for federal government employees, including the RCMP and armed forces;
• pooled registered pension plans; and
• certain pension plans that the Government of Saskatchewan has created for its own employees.

The federal government and all provinces, except Prince Edward Island, have pension benefits legislation. To simplify the administration of pension plans, the jurisdictions with pension legislation have agreed to allow pension plans to be registered in the jurisdiction where most members are employed. Only about 550 of the almost 1,400 plans in Canada, with plan members working in Saskatchewan, are registered in Saskatchewan.

The law of the jurisdiction of employment determine benefit entitlements, such as vesting and survivor benefits, and the regulator of the jurisdiction of registration enforces other provinces’ laws. If a person works in Saskatchewan, but his or her plan is registered elsewhere, Saskatchewan law will apply to that person's benefit entitlements. The laws of the jurisdiction of registration apply to plan matters, such as funding requirements and filing of reports.

For more information about jurisdiction of membership read the jurisdiction bulletin.