Rules Governing Individual Pension Plans

By Essie Osborn


The law has set guidelines for bodies sponsoring any pension plan. Those provided for individual pension plans indicate that only an active and incorporated firm can sponsor its employees. The members of such a plan must be employees earning T4PS or T4 employment wages from the sponsoring company. This means that employees of other companies cannot be included in the plan.

There is a formula provided by law to guide calculation of benefits by individual members. Members can personally calculate their entitlement when the plan matures. This will depend on the amount contributed and the duration of time the contributions have been made. The formula cannot be changed in the course of the plan. The contributor will not be slapped with unexplained fees or hidden charges that affect the amount he takes home.

Investment options for each plan are also outlined by the law. The aim is to secure contributions made by members and avoid loss through investment in unstable ventures. The rules should be followed by managers to the letter. Contributors are therefore assured valuable returns by the time they retire. It would be catastrophic to loose money invested by thousands of pensioners. Each plan is vetted and managers informed of these regulations during registration.

The contribution made by an employer is deductible from corporate income. The figure is determined by an actuary. Such an actuary must be certified to offers such services at that level. The members who are eligible for IPP are referred to as connected and non-connected persons. The non-connected members are employees who are highly paid.

Payments are not made by employers. Their role is to deduct the money from the income of their registered members and remit it to fund managers. This amount is not counted among the taxable income. Is should be entered in box 52 when filling returns to allow tax departments to make necessary adjustments. The adjustments are guided by a legally set formula.

Deductions are calculated based on the formula available when one is registering for the scheme. The formula captures several factors including the age of contributors and their level of income. T4 earning history is also a factor to offer a fair amount to contributors. The actuary is allowed to make several assumptions to cushion the managers and contributors from a tough investment environment.

The term designated plan is used because only particular individuals are supposed to benefit. This makes the scheme subject to restrictions on maximum funding. Because of the maximum funding restrictions, the assumptions used by the actuary should be ITR-mandated. This allows the calculations to deliver a constant figure for people working in the same category depending on their income and the benefits they wish to accrue from the scheme.

Regulations for IPPs do not apply uniformly to all schemes. Actuaries have the freedom to make independent assumptions in some cases. The figures generated through independent assumptions differ. The contributor should understand the formula as much as it is expected that the management firm will inform him about his maturity amount. The amount deducted must be entered in the income statement on regular basis.




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