ACPM calls on Alberta to update pension legislation, warning province risks falling behind peers
July 17, 2025
The Association of Canadian Pension Management (“ACPM”) has urged Alberta’s provincial government to follow the lead of other provinces by modernizing its pension rules regarding funding and administration.
While other Canadian jurisdictions have updated their pension legislation in recent years, the ACPM said in an open letter to Alberta’s Minister of Finance that the province had fallen behind, leaving it “somewhat of an outlier and at a disadvantage.”
The submission goes on to suggest several legislative changes supported by plan sponsors and administrators that ACPM says will benefit the province’s ~580 registered pension plans, which hold more than $150 billion in assets for the benefit of almost one million participants, including:
- Replacing full solvency funding requirements with a reduced solvency target.
- Requiring funding on an enhanced going-concern basis with required provisions for adverse deviation, shorter amortization periods and plan-specific risk adjustments.
- Broadening the scope of Alberta’s existing solvency reserve account provisions.
- Codifying a discharge of liability on annuity purchases.
- Legislating express permission for defined contribution plans to use automatic features such as auto-enrolment and auto-escalation, as well as an expansion of decumulation options.
Click on ‘More Information’ below to review the submission:
