Overview
Miller Thomson’s Pension, Benefits and Executive Compensation group consists of lawyers from various disciplines across Canada. In today’s business environment, pension, benefits and compensation considerations enter into nearly every business decision, and continue to increase in significance as Canadian companies work to balance the competing challenges of employee and executive retention with overall financial stability. Our lawyers provide specialized expertise and practical advice to employer plan sponsors and administrators, boards of directors and trustees and pension and compensation committees on all areas of pension, benefits and other compensation arrangements.
Our services include:
- Advising on plan design and administration including compliance and regulatory issues, plan wind-ups, plan mergers and conversions
- Advising on plan governance including governance audits and making recommendations on legal liability issues
- Advising plan administrators, boards of directors and trustees and frontline staff on fiduciary and statutory duties, proper external delegation, and reviewing and negotiating agreements with external service providers
- Negotiating pension funding relief and pension surplus-sharing agreements
- Advising on plan funding issues including contribution holidays and plan expenses, letter of credit funding arrangements and fund investment
- Drafting and reviewing plan documentation including plan texts and amendments, funding agreements, employee booklets, investment manager agreements, investment policies and change of control provisions
- Implementing effective employee communication strategies to reduce potential liability and advising employers on changing or amending post-retirement benefits
- Advising on design, funding and tax compliance issues for registered plans, supplemental retirement arrangements, retiring allowances, deferred income arrangements, profit-sharing plans, health and welfare trusts, and equity incentive plans
- Dealing with pension, benefits and compensation issues connected with corporate mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations and insolvencies
- Advising employers on plant closures, downsizing and early retirement programs
- Drafting submissions and representation of clients in collective bargaining and grievance arbitration and before regulatory bodies and the courts, involving litigation over pension and benefits issues, including class actions
