Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers Registered and Unregistered Pension Plans, Alta. Reg. 196/2001
| Citation: | Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers Registered and Unregistered Pension Plans, Alta. Reg. 196/2001 | |
| Enabling Statutes: | 3 Statutes | |
| URL: | http://www.canlii.org/ab/laws/regu/2001r.196/20080415/whole.html | |
| Version downloaded by CanLII on 2008-04-15 | ||
Warning: This document predates the last update of the collection. It might have been modified or omitted since this last update.
(Consolidated up to
267/2006)
ALBERTA REGULATION 196/2001
Provincial Court Act
Court of Queen’s Bench Act
Interpretation Act
PROVINCIAL JUDGES AND
MASTERS IN CHAMBERS
REGISTERED AND UNREGISTERED PENSION PLANS
Table of Contents
Preamble
General Provisions
1 Division
of Regulation
2 Interpretation
3 Transfer
of assets held under temporary arrangements
4 Prevalence over repealed Regulations
5 Collection
and disclosure of information
Schedule 1
Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers
(Registered) Pension Plan
1 Interpretation
of Schedule 1
2 The
Plan
Part 1
Administration
3 Administration
of the Plan
4 Fiscal
year
5 Report
to the Legislative Assembly
Part 2
Participation
6 The
participants
Part 3
Funding
7 Registered
pension plan fund
8 Actuarial
valuation report
9 Fiduciary
relationship and use of surplus
10 Contributions
and accretion
11 Participant
contributions
12 Government
contributions
Part 4
Pensionable Service
13 Computation
of pensionable service
Part 5
Benefits
14 Interpretation
and application of Subdivisions A
15 Interpretation
and application of Subdivisions B
16 Limitation
of benefits where obtainable under
Subdivisions A and B
17 Vesting
based on all service
Division 1
Retirement Benefits
Subdivision A
For Service Before 1992
18 Limitation
of benefits to meet tax rules
19 Normal
pension based on age and service
20 Pension
partner protection
21 Alternative
forms of pension
22 Disability
pensions
23 Disability
pension adjustments
24 Postponement
of pension
25 Failure
to select pension
Subdivision B
For Service After 1991
26 Tax
rule limitations on benefits
27 Normal
pension based on age and service
28 Pension
partner protection
29 Alternative
forms of pension
30 Pension
on early retirement
31 Disability
pensions
32 Disability
pension adjustments
33 Postponement
of pension
34 Failure
to select pension
Division 2
Death Benefits
35 Application
of Division
Subdivision A
For Service Before 1992
36 Pension
partner’s benefit on death before pension commencement
37 Benefits
to other beneficiaries
Subdivision B
For Service After 1991
38 Pension
partner’s benefit on death before pension commencement
39 Benefits
to other beneficiaries
Division 3
Benefits on Termination
Before Pension Eligibility
Subdivision A
For Service Before 1992
40 Vested
participants under 55
Subdivision B
For Service After 1991
41 Vested
participants under 55
42 Non-vested
participants
Division 4
Miscellaneous Provisions on Benefits
43 Cost-of-living
increases
44 Interest
allowance
45 Pension
commencement
46 Commencement
of guaranteed term of years
47 Suspension
of pension on employment
48 Suspension
of pension on reappointment
49 Beneficiaries
50 Method
of payment of pensions
51 Idem
– conversion following death
52 Continuation
of existing pensions and pension rights
Part 6
Miscellaneous
53 Interest
chargeable
54 Advance
against pension
55 Actuarial
formulas
56 Exercise
of benefit choice
57 Prohibition
against assignment, etc.
58 Matrimonial
property orders
59 Liability
of benefits to legal process
60 Liability
of Government and prohibition against
extra‑legislative benefits or remedies
61 Rights
and obligations under former Regulation
62 Overpayments
and deficiencies
63 Return
of money
64 Retentions
for debt
65 Requirement
of evidence
66 Appeals
67 Termination
of the Plan, and surplus on wind‑up
68 Transitional
– interest rates - 1998
69 Transitional
– actuarial tables
70 Transitional
– pre‑April 1, 1998 service purchases
71.1 Transitional – election for certain judges
71.2 Transitional – interest relief for non‑electing judges
Subschedule
Forms
Schedule 2
Provincial Judges and Masters in
Chambers (Unregistered) Pension Plan
1 Interpretation
of Schedule 2
2 Establishment
of the Plan
Part 1
Administration
3 Administration
of the Plan
4 Fiscal
year
5 Report
to the Legislative Assembly
Part 2
Participation
6 The
participants
Part 3
Funding
7 RCA
fund
8 Actuarial
valuation report
9 Payment
of benefits and costs
10 Contributions
and RCA taxes
11 Participant
contributions
12 Government
contributions
Part 4
Pensionable Service
13 Computation
of pensionable service
Part 5
Benefits
15 Interpretation
and application of Part 5
16 Limitation
of benefits
16.1 Linking
of benefit choices to those made under Registered Plan
17.1 Reduction
for Registered Plan benefits
Division 1
Retirement Benefits
27 Amount
and form of pension
28 Spousal
protection
29 Alternative
forms of pension
31 Disability
pensions
32 Disability
pension adjustments
33 Postponement
of pension
34 Failure
to select pension
Division 2
Death Benefits
35 Application
of Division
36 Pension partner’s benefit for pre-1992 service
37 Benefits to other beneficiaries for pre-1992 service
38 Pension
partner’s benefit on death before pension commencement
39 Benefits
to other beneficiaries
Division 3
Benefits on Termination
Before Pension Eligibility
41 Vested
participants under 55
42 Non‑vested
participants
Division 4
Miscellaneous Provisions on Benefits
43 Cost-of-living
increases
44 Interest
allowance
45 Pension
commencement
46 Commencement
of guaranteed term of years
47 Suspension
of pension on employment
48 Suspension
of pension on reappointment
49 Beneficiaries
50 Method
of payment of pensions
51 Idem
– conversion following death
Part 6
Miscellaneous
53 Interest
chargeable
54 Advance
against pension
55 Actuarial
formulas
56 Exercise
of benefit choice
57 Prohibition
against assignment, etc.
58 Matrimonial
property orders
59 Liability
of benefits to legal process
60 Liability
of Government and prohibition
against extra‑legislative benefits or remedies
62 Overpayments
and deficiencies
63 Return
of money
64 Retentions
for debt
65 Requirement
of evidence
66 Appeals
67 Termination
of the Plan, and surplus on wind‑up
68 Transitional
– interest rates – 1998
71.1 Transitional – election for certain judges
71.2 Transitional – interest relief for non‑electing judges
72 Recalculation
of past benefits
73 Forms
Preamble
WHEREAS the Supreme Court of Canada recently
decided certain questions on the subject‑matters of benefits payable to
provincial judges and judicial independence; and
WHEREAS the 1998 and
2000 Judicial Compensation Commissions have made recommendations respecting
those benefits, including specifically pensions and other retirement benefits,
and also those for masters in chambers; and
WHEREAS it is the intent
of this Regulation generally to put into effect those recommendations, so far
as they relate to pensions and other retirement benefits, and to bring the
legislation into line with current
income tax rules (so far as applicable) and, as to structure and
draftsmanship, other public sector pension legislation;
THEREFORE
the Lieutenant Governor in Council enacts as follows:
General Provisions
Division of Regulation
1 Apart from the Preamble and sections 1 to
7, this Regulation is divided into
(a) Schedule
1, containing the Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers (Registered)
Pension Plan continued by that Schedule, and related provisions, and
(b) Schedule
2, containing the Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers (Unregistered)
Pension Plan established by that Schedule, and related provisions.
Interpretation
2 Expressions that are used in sections 1
to 7 and defined in Schedules 1 and 2 have the corresponding appropriate
meanings given by those Schedules collectively.
Transfer of assets
held under temporary arrangements
3 The Minister of Finance shall, as soon
as practicable, transfer all the assets held in the Consolidated Cash
Investment Trust Fund account under section 7 of the Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers (Temporary Pension
Arrangements) Regulation, 1998 (AR 177/98),
(a) to
the extent that they consist of or derive from contributions which, by virtue
of Schedule 1, were liable to be made to the pension plan continued by Schedule
1, to the pension fund continued by section 7(1) of Schedule 1, and
(b) to
the extent that they consist of or derive from contributions which, by virtue
of Schedule 2, were liable to be made to the plan established by Schedule 2, to
the fund established by section 7(1) of Schedule 2,
and, notwithstanding the repeal of that Regulation by
section 6(2), that account is to
continue in force, so far as necessary but without any further addition of
contributions, until that transfer is made.
Prevalence over
repealed Regulations
4 Notwithstanding anything in
section 35 of the Interpretation Act,
to the extent that this Regulation and the Regulations repealed by section 6(1)
and (2) are inconsistent with reference to anything occurring before the making
of this Regulation, this Regulation prevails over those repealed ones.
AR 196/2001 s4;251/2001
Collection and
disclosure of information
5(1) In this section, “judicial service information”
means personal information within the meaning of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that
(a) relates
to pensions and other benefits or to participants’ and former participants’
service, and
(b) has
a reasonable and direct connection to the administration of pensions and other
benefits.
(2) The
Minister is authorized to collect judicial service information from, and to
disclose it to,
(a) the
specific participant or former participant to whom the information relates,
(b) an
appeal board established under Schedule 1 or 2, where the information relates
to the appellant or respondent, and
(c) the
Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
(3) The
Minister of Justice and Attorney General is authorized to collect judicial
service information from, and to disclose it to,
(a) a
person or board referred to in subsection (2)(a) or (b), and
(b) the
Minister.
(4) The
Minister may require the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to provide to
the Minister, within the time specified by the Minister, information that is
required by the Minister to enable him
or her to fulfill his or her functions under this Regulation.
6, 7 Repealed AR 118/2005 s2.
Schedule
1
Provincial Judges and Masters in
Chambers (Registered) Pension Plan
Interpretation of
Schedule 1
1(1) In this Schedule,
(a) “actuarial
equivalent” means the equivalent in actuarial present value, calculated in
accordance with demographic and economic factors that are recommended by an
actuary and approved by the Minister;
(b) “actuary”
means a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries;
(b.1) “appointed”,
used in relation to a judge or supernumerary judge of the Provincial Court or a
part‑time judge, includes reappointed;
(c) “benefit”
means a retirement benefit, a death benefit or a benefit on termination before
pension eligibility, under Part 5;
(d) “capped
salary” means salary that is or was compensation within the meaning of the tax
rules, subject however to such limitation as is or was necessary to ensure that
the benefit accrual under the tax rules for the taxation year does not or did
not exceed the defined benefit limit fixed by the tax rules for that year;
(e) “contributions”
means contributions under the Plan;
(f) “former
Regulation” means the Provincial Judges
and Masters in Chambers Pension Plan Regulation (AR 265/88) (repealed);
(g) “judge”
means
(i) a judge of the Provincial Court appointed under the Provincial Court Act and includes a
Chief Judge, Deputy Chief Judge and an Assistant Chief Judge, or
(ii) a master,
but does not include a
supernumerary judge of the Provincial Court or a part‑time judge or part‑time
master;
(h) “judicial
service” means periods of judicial service as, or otherwise occupying the
position of, a judge;
(i) “latest
pension accrual date” means the last date as of which the tax rules allow a
participant to accrue pensionable service;
(j) “leave
without salary” means a period during which a participant is or was, with due
authorization, on leave from his or her regular duties as a judge and is receiving
no remuneration or remuneration that is less than his or her regular
remuneration, and includes any period recognized as leave without pay under the
former Regulation, but does not include a period during which he or she is or
was on LTDI;
(k) “master”
means a master in chambers appointed under the Court of Queen's Bench Act;
(l) “matrimonial property order” means a
matrimonial property order within the meaning of the Matrimonial
Property Act, or a similar
order enforceable in Alberta of a court outside Alberta, that affects the
payment or distribution of a person’s benefits;
(m) “maximum
benefit accrual date” means, in respect of a participant, the date on which the
70% benefit accrual percentage referred to in section 11(3)(a) is reached;
(n) “Minister”
means the member of the Executive Council responsible for the administration of
the Management Employees Pension Plan;
(o) “on
LTDI” means, in relation to a judge or former judge (other than a former judge
who is or was a part‑time judge), in receipt of money provided to a
participant under and within the meaning of the Long Term Disability Income
Continuance Plan established by Schedule 2 to the Provincial Court Judges and Masters in Chambers Compensation Regulation
(AR 176/98), and includes his or her being in receipt of benefits under the
Government’s Long Term Disability Income Continuance Plan for management
employees before the first‑mentioned Plan came into effect;
(p) “participant”
means a person who is a participant of the Plan by virtue of section 6;
(q) “participant
current service contributions” means a participant’s contributions under
section 11(1);
(q.1) “part‑time
judge” means a person appointed as such under section 9.24 of the Provincial
Court Act;
(r) “pension”
means a pension under the Plan, and “pensioner” means a person in receipt of
such a pension and includes a prospective pensioner;
(r.1) “pension
partner” means
(i) a person who, at the relevant time, was married to a participant
or former participant and
(A) was not judicially or otherwise separated
from him or her, or
(B) if so separated, was wholly or substantially
dependent on him or her,
(ii) if there is no person to whom subclause (i) applies, a person
who, as at and up to the relevant time, had lived with the participant or
former participant in a conjugal relationship
(A) for a continuous period of at least 3 years,
or
(B) of some permanence, if there is a child of
the relationship by birth or adoption,
and was, during
that period or that relationship, as the case may be, held out by the
participant or former participant in the community in which they lived as being
in that conjugal relationship, or
(iii) if there is no person to whom subclause (i) or (ii) applies, a
person who was married to but separated from the participant or former
participant and not wholly or substantially dependent on him or her at the
relevant time;
(s) “pension
commencement” means the time established by section 45 that constitutes the
effective date for the commencement of the relevant pension;
(t) “pensionable
service” means any period to be taken into account as pensionable service under
section 13;
(u) “plan
fund” means the pension fund continued by section 7(1);
(v) “registered”
means registered or accepted for registration under the Income Tax Act (Canada);
(w) “salary”
means,
(i) subject to subclause (ii), a judge’s annual salary under the Provincial Court Judges and Masters in
Chambers Compensation Regulation (AR 176/98) or any predecessor of that
Regulation, or both, as the case may be, or
(ii) in the case of a person who is or was on LTDI or on leave without
salary, the amount that would have been the annual salary under subclause (i)
had that person remained in active judicial service in the capacity in which he
or she served immediately before becoming disabled or going on leave without
salary, as the case may be,
but, in respect of any
period after a participant has reached the latest pension accrual date, means
$0;
(x) “service”
means any period that is judicial service or pensionable service or both;
(y) repealed
AR 97/2002 s4;
(z) “tax
rules” means those provisions of the Income
Tax Act (Canada) or of the regulations under it, or of both, that apply to
pension plans registered or to be registered under that Act and includes any
approval, certification or other permission or any direction or order from the
federal Minister of National Revenue the absence of which or failure to comply
with which may make the Plan’s registration liable to revocation under that
Act;
(aa) “termination”,
subject to subsection (1.1), means a person’s ceasing to be a participant under
any circumstances other than death;
(bb) “the
Plan” or “this Plan” means the pension plan continued by section 2(1) as the
Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers (Registered) Pension Plan;
(cc) “vested”
means, in relation to a participant or former participant, having accumulated
at least 5 years’ pensionable service or terminating or having terminated on or
after reaching the latest pension accrual date;
(dd) “years
of pensionable service” means, in respect of a participant or former
participant, the number of complete years and any fraction of a remaining year
of pensionable service.
(1.1) To
avoid doubt, where a judge is appointed as a judge under section 9.23 of the
Act with immediate effect from the end of a previous term of appointment as a
judge (whether under section 9.23 or not) and without any break, then, for the
purposes of this Schedule, there is no termination.
The Plan
2(1) The pension plan provided for by and
under the former Regulation is continued, subject to this Schedule, as the
Provincial Judges and Masters in Chambers (Registered) Pension Plan.
(2) It
is the intent of this Schedule that the Plan be and remain a registered pension
plan under the Income Tax Act
(Canada).
Part 1
Administration
Administration of the
Plan
3(1) The Minister is the administrator of
the Plan.
(2) Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan except subsection (3), the Minister shall administer the
Plan in accordance with the tax rules.
(3) If
in any respect the Plan does not comply with the applicable tax rules, the
Minister may administer the Plan as if this Schedule were amended so to comply.
Fiscal year
4 The fiscal year of the Plan is
from April 1 in one year to March 31 in the next.
Report to the
Legislative Assembly
5(1) The Minister shall prepare and lay
before the Legislative Assembly a report on the operation of the Plan with
respect to each fiscal year.
(2) The
report must include the most recent actuarial valuation report prepared under
section 8 unless that valuation report has already been included in a previous
annual report.
Part 2
Participation
The participants
6 The persons who are to and are
allowed to participate in the Plan are
(a) all
judges, and
(b) all
former judges who are on LTDI.
Part 3
Funding
Registered pension plan fund
7(1) The Provincial Judges and Masters in
Chambers Pension Fund referred to in section 21.2 of the Financial Administration Act is continued as the “Provincial Judges
and Masters in Chambers (Registered) Pension Plan Fund” for this Plan.
(2) The
Minister of Finance shall hold and administer the plan fund in accordance with
this Schedule.
(3) The
Minister of Finance shall invest the assets of the plan fund in accordance with
the Employment Pension Plans Act and
the regulations under it.
(4) All
the assets of the Plan are to be held in, and all its liabilities are to be
assumed by, the plan fund.
Actuarial valuation
report
8 The Minister shall have an
actuarial valuation of the Plan performed, and a report on that valuation
prepared, by an actuary at least once every 3 years.
Fiduciary
relationship and use of surplus
9(1) Subject to subsection (2), the
Minister of Finance shall hold the assets of the Plan in trust for the persons
who are or who become entitled to benefits, and for the payment of the costs of
administering the Plan.
(2) Without
breaching the trust under or being in any other manner affected by subsection
(1), where the total amount held under that subsection exceeds the amount that
is actuarially determined to be necessary to pay benefits and the costs of
administering the Plan, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, with respect to
any portion or all of the excess,
(a) transfer
it to the General Revenue Fund, or
(b) apply
it towards reduction of the contributions for which the Government is liable
under section 12.
Contributions and
accretion
10(1) All contributions to the Plan, with
interest if any, shall be made and remitted to the Minister of Finance, who
shall deposit them into the plan fund directly on receiving them.
(2) All
income of and all appreciation and depreciation in the value of the assets of
the Plan accrue to the plan fund.
Participant
contributions
11(1) Subject to this section, a
participant shall, at intervals coinciding with the salary periods fixed by
order of the Minister, make contributions for current service at the rate of
(a) 9%,
until March 31, 2000, and
(b) 7%,
with effect from April 1, 2000,
of the participant’s
capped salary.
(2) A
participant who is about to enter into a period of leave without salary that
does not exceed the 2‑year maximum specified in section 13(3) may apply
to have that period taken into account as pensionable service and, if he or she
wishes to have it so taken into account, shall make and, to the extent, if any,
necessary, remit contributions, with respect to that leave,
(a) pursuant
to subsection (1) for the period of or periods aggregating one year less any
periods of leave without salary previously taken and falling within this clause
or section 9(4)(b) of the former Regulation, and
(b) pursuant
to subsection (1), except at double the rate set out in subsection (1), for any
subsequent periods.
(3) Notwithstanding
anything in this section, participant current service contributions are not to
be made after a participant
(a) attains
a benefit accrual percentage of 70%, the benefit accrual percentage being equal
to
(2% x A) + (2.67% x B) +
(3% x C)
where
A
= the participant’s years of pensionable
service before April 1, 1998,
B
= the years of pensionable service from
April 1, 1998 to March 31, 2000, and
C
= the years of pensionable service after
March 31, 2000,
or
(b) reaches
the latest pension accrual date,
whichever of those
events occurs first.
(4) A
participant shall not make contributions while on LTDI except that, if a
participant on LTDI is also earning a salary under a rehabilitation employment
program, he or she shall make and remit contributions pursuant to subsection
(1) in respect of that salary.
(5) Subject
to subsections (2) and (4), the Government is liable for the remittance of the
participant current service contributions under subsection (1), for which
purpose it may withhold those contributions from remuneration payments.
Government
contributions
12(1) The portion of the current service
cost for which the Government is liable is the cost of future benefit accruals
after taking into account participant current service contributions and any excess
amount applied towards a reduction of its contributions pursuant to section
9(2)(b).
(2) Subject
to section 9(2), the Minister shall, if necessary, within a reasonable time
after receiving an actuarial valuation report under section 8 and following the
recommendations of the actuary in the report, in writing adjust the
Government’s contributions
(a) in
respect of current service, to a rate, determined by reference to a percentage
of participants’ capped salaries, that is sufficient to finance that portion of
the current service cost that is ascribed to the Government by subsection (1),
and
(b) if
the Plan has an unfunded liability within the meaning of the Employment Pension Plans Regulation
(AR 35/2000), to payments that are sufficient to amortize that unfunded
liability in accordance with that Regulation.
Part 4
Pensionable Service
Computation of
pensionable service
13(1) Subject to this section, in
computing the length of pensionable service that a person accumulated, the
following are the periods to be taken into account, namely,
(a) any
period that legally constituted and that was recognized as pensionable service
under the former Regulation, and
(b) any
period after March 31, 1998 in respect of which that person was a participant.
(2) Notwithstanding
anything in this Plan, pensionable service is not to accrue after a
participant’s maximum benefit accrual date or latest pension accrual date,
whichever occurs first, is reached.
(3) Leave
without salary occurring after March 31, 1998 may be taken into account as
pensionable service only
(a) if
the participant complied with the terms and conditions of the leave and
returned to active judicial service as a sitting judge or went on LTDI
following the cessation of the leave,
(b) to
the extent that the aggregate of all the periods of the participant’s leave
without salary, before, on and after April 1, 1998, does not exceed 2 years,
and
(c) if
the participant paid the requisite contributions under section 11(2) in respect
of the leave.
(4) A
person may not be credited with more than one year’s pensionable service in
respect of service performed in a calendar year, regardless of the nature and
extent of the service so performed.
(5) Service
with respect to which the contributions made have been returned or paid to a
person or transferred out of the Plan on a person’s behalf may not be taken
into account as pensionable service.
Part 5
Benefits
Interpretation and
application of Subdivisions A
14(1) This section applies with respect to
the interpretation and application of Subdivisions A of Divisions 1, 2 and 3 of
this Part and, subject to section 15(4), of Division 4 of this Part and, in any
such Subdivision or Division,
(a) “deferred
pension” means a pension under section 40(b);
(b) “highest
average salary” means, subject to subsection (2), the average of a person’s
annual salaries,
(i) if that person terminated before April 1, 2006, in the 5 or, if
less than 5, the total number of consecutive years (whether before or after or
partly before and partly after the beginning of 1992) of the following service
over which the average of the salaries was the highest, namely
(A) the person’s pensionable service, and
(B) any further service that would be
pensionable service but only for its occurring between the maximum benefit
accrual date and the latest pension accrual date,
&nb