How will the ORPP be implemented?

The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), for which the government has tabled legislation, will be implemented in about two years.

Read: Ontario moves ahead with ORPP

But there are many questions about that plan that remain unanswered, reports Craig Sebastiano for Benefits Canada.

It’s intended to help Ontarians who don’t have workplace pensions, he adds, but many in the industry are wondering who will and who won’t be required to participate in the ORPP. Read more.

Read: Understanding PRPPs and VRSPs

Industry reaction

In a release this afternoon, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association president Frank Swedlove said the good news is “Ontario [is] join[ing] six other jurisdictions in Canada that have already passed PRPP legislation to improve access to workplace pensions for workers.”

Plans such as the ORPP “are…particularly attractive to small businesses [that] don’t want the administrative burdens of traditional pension plans,” he adds. “PRPPs are what is needed to improve…the retirement income prospects of Ontario workers.”

However, he notes there are very few details available so far on how the plan will be implemented. As these are clarified, he says the government must ensure “the ORPP doesn’t undermine existing plans and disadvantage…workers.”

Read:

Small businesses worry about ORPP

Manulife receives approval of federal PRPP product