Terra L. Klinck

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Terra has over 25 years of experience advising both provincially and federally regulated employers and plan administrators, primarily in the private sector, on all legal issues relating to defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension plans, including: governance, fiduciary responsibilities, plan administration and regulatory compliance, funding requirements, pension fund investment and surplus utilization.

Terra has a wealth of experience advising private sector employers restructure their legacy DB pension arrangements, including de-risking initiatives (e.g., buy-in and buy-out annuity purchases), plan mergers and plan wind-ups.

Terra also has extensive experience advising on pension and benefit matters in corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, insolvencies and restructurings.

Representative Work

• Advises a large professional association in conjunction with its development and implementation of a retirement program for its 40,000 members, which includes a novel annuity purchase feature.
• Acts as counsel to a large Canadian financial institution in respect of its Canadian pension and savings plans, including governance, compliance and regulatory matters, plan consolidations and mergers and acquisitions related activities.
• Advises an employer on the conversion of its single employer plan into a sector jointly sponsored pension plan, including the transfer of legacy defined benefit liabilities.

Awards & Accolades

• Chambers Canada (2021-2025)
  Band 3: Pensions & Benefits – Nationwide – Canada
• The Best Lawyers in Canada™ (2020-2025)
  Employee Benefits Law
• The Legal 500 Canada (2024-2025)
  Leading Partner: Pensions
• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2015-2018, 2020-2024)
  Consistently Recommended: Pensions & Employee Benefits
• Lexology Index: Labour, Employment & Benefits (2024)
  Recommended: Pensions & Benefits
• Lexology Index: Canada (2019-2023)
  Recommended: Labour, Employment & Benefits
• Lexpert Zenith Award (2018)

Associations & Memberships

• Canadian Bar Association | Pension and Benefits Law Section | Chair, Executive Committee (current)
• Osgoode Professional Development | Pension Law Certificate Program | Instructor (2018-2023)
• Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario | Standing Technical Advisory Committee for Defined Contribution Pension Plans | Member (2020-2023)

Education

• University of Western Ontario, LL.B.
• McGill University, B. Comm. (with Distinction)
• Yale University – Exchange Student