B.C. multi-employer pension plan free to increase retirement age after Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear appeal from members
December 29, 2023
A B.C. multi-employer pension plan is free to increase its retirement age from 62 to 65 after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal from plan members.
After earlier losses at the B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the application for leave at the nation’s top court was the members’ last chance to challenge the amendment to the British Columbia Credit Union Employees’ Pension Plan, which is distinctive among multi-employer pension plans because its benefits and contribution terms are not collectively bargained. Instead, they are set by trustees based on actuarial advice.
The appellants claimed that the trustees breached their fiduciary duties to members when they approved the changes to the retirement age back in 2016, citing funding concerns. However, a chambers judge could find no fault with the trustees’ decision-making, noting they had considered numerous factors, “none of which were irrelevant, improper or irrational.”
On appeal, the unanimous three-judge panel concluded that the chambers judge had outlined the correct legal framework and there was no basis for them to interfere with the earlier ruling.
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