Jennifer Agnew

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Jennifer advises public and private sector employers and plan administrators on all matters related to pension and benefit plans including administration, governance, plan design, investment and compliance with minimum standards legislation and regulatory policy. She also has a depth of experience with issues relating to the purchase and sale of a business and other corporate restructuring. She is also experienced in advising plan administrators on the valuation and division of pension benefits upon spousal breakdown and benefit entitlements upon the death of a plan member. Jennifer has worked with all types of pension plans in both the federal and provincial jurisdictions, including multi-employer and jointly sponsored pension plans.

Jennifer has experience representing employers in pension and benefits-related advocacy, including collective agreement negotiations and proceedings before the Ontario Financial Services Tribunal. She also speaks regularly at pension and benefits conferences and at internal retirement committee meetings.

Prior to joining BMKP Law, Jennifer practiced in the pension and benefit groups at two large Canadian law firms. She also worked in-house as a policy and legal advisor to one of Canada’s largest public sector pension plans.

Representative Work

• Advises a number of large multinational and domestic employers, across numerous sectors, on a myriad of ongoing Canadian pension issues, including governance, investment matters, decumulation, compliance, plan consolidations and mergers and acquisitions.
• Represented multiple employers in the negotiation and implementation of surplus sharing agreements following full and partial wind-ups of the employer’s defined benefit pension plan, including assistance with the regulatory approval process.
• Acted as counsel to an employer at the Ontario Financial Services Tribunal regarding entitlement to surplus following a prior partial wind-up of the employer’s defined benefit pension plan. 
• Advised numerous employers in the negotiation of buy-out and buy-in annuity policies for the employer’s defined benefit pension plan. 
• Assisted multiple employers in the private and not-for-profit sectors join an Ontario jointly sponsored pension plan as a participating employer, including the negotiation of the employer’s participation and asset transfer agreements.

Associations & Memberships

• Canadian Bar Association | Member, Pension and Benefits Law Section
• Ontario Bar Association | Member, Pension and Benefits Law Section
• Technical Advisory Committee for Missing Members in the Pension Sector | Member
• Steering Committee for Northwind’s 19^th Annual Pension Fund Invitational Forum (2022) | Member

Education

• J.D., University of Western Ontario
• B.A., University of Toronto (with High Distinction)