October 12, 2022

Submission of Defined Benefit Wind up Reports on the Pension Services Portal (PSP) becomes available 

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is pleased to announce that the PSP is now able to accept applications for the approval of defined benefit (DB) wind up reports. Pension plan administrators and their agents are now able to request the approval of a wind up report for a DB pension plan electronically, through a simple, fast and paperless upload process. 

Additional application submissions available on the Pension Service Portal

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) continues enhance the Pension Services Portal with the addition of two additional application submission processes.  The Windup Notice and the Asset Distribution Notice have been added to our available application list that can be submitted through the PSP.

May 26, 2022

Streamlined Annual Information Return goes live

In keeping our goal to provide a better user experience on the PSP, FSRA has revised the Annual Information Return (AIR) on the PSP to eliminate some questions that pension plans with a defined contribution (DC) only, must complete on the AIR. The AIR online form will now only prompt specific questions that are required for the respective plan benefit type. This enhancement aligns well with our user-centric approach to the functionality of the PSP, resulting in improved efficiency for users completing the AIR. Visit the April 2022 pension e-blast for more details.

 

March 24, 2022

Updated - Application for registration of a Pension Plan Amendment (Form 1.1)

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) revised and updated the Form 1.1 effective March 24th, 2022. Changes to the Form 1.1 were made in consultation with industry stakeholders.

How to obtain the updated form 1.1

The Form 1.1 is available on the Pension Services Portal (PSP) and we encourage the industry to submit this form electronically through the PSP. Any individual with a valid PSP account may submit the Form 1.1 through the PSP.

Step-by step instructions: Instructions for Submitting an Application for the Registration of a Pension Plan Amendment through the PSP

If you are unable to submit the Form 1.1 through the PSP and need a fillable PDF, please download the Form 1.1 from FSRA’s Pension Forms page.

Benefits of submitting the Form 1.1 on the PSP

By using the PSP’s online application for submitting a Form 1.1, PSP users will experience the following benefits:

  • Saves you time.  If you use the PSP, you may only need to answer a few questions about your pension plan amendment and the PSP will automatically fill out the online application for you to review and submit to FSRA. This means you don’t need to fill out a paper version of Form 1.1, or take a copy of your submission.  
  • Checks your application for errors and omissions. The PSP will warn you if it detects any drafting errors or omissions in your online application (e.g., forgetting to complete a required field).  
  • Get immediate acknowledgement of your submission.  You won’t need to wait until you get an acknowledgement letter from FSRA to confirm that your application was received and is being reviewed.
  • Experience a faster approval process.  Since the PSP will conduct a preliminary review of your application and accompanying documents, you’ll benefit from a faster, more streamlined approval process.
  • View your application and track its progress.  The PSP will provide you easy access to any application you submit online. You’ll also be able to check the status of your submission throughout the review process.
  • Receive immediate notification.  Once your amendment is registered or if we require additional information, you’ll receive an email notification from FSRA. 
  • Download and print your certificate right away.  As soon as your Certificate of Registration is available, you can download or print it directly from the PSP. You won’t need to wait for a paper copy to be sent to you.

 

 June 1, 2021

Submission of Applications on the Pension Services Portal (PSP) Becomes Available

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is pleased to announce that the PSP is now able to accept an expanded list of applications for review and registration. Pension plan administrators and their agents will be able to submit 14 additional application submissions electronically, through a simple, fast, paperless and guided process.

PSP submissions assist in streamlining processes and shortening FSRA’s turn around times. The full list of applications submissions currently available are selectable in the “Applications” workspace.

The 14 additional applications supported are:

  • Biennial member waiver
  • Wind up interim payment
  • Plan viewing/ photocopy request
  • PBGF refund request
  • Letters of Credit
  • Annuity discharge
  • Refund of excess contributions – revocation exemption (RCE)
  • Commuted value section 19
  • DB refund of overpayment to employer
  • SOMEPP – Notice
  • SOMEPP – Election
  • DB refund of member contributions
  • DC refund of member contributions
  • Undertakings

 

March 22, 2021

Submission of DC Wind Up Reports on the Pension Services Portal (PSP) Becomes Available

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is pleased to announce that the PSP is now able to accept applications for the approval of a wind up report for defined contribution (DC) pension plans. Pension plan administrators and their agents will be able to request the approval of a wind up report for a DC pension plan electronically, through a simpler, faster, paperless and guided process by using the DC wind up smart form on the PSP. The DC wind up form can be used to request approvals under sections 70(2) and 70(3) of the Pension Benefits Act (PBA).

Instructions for Submitting a Defined Contribution Wind Up Application on the PSP

Benefits of Submitting a DC Wind Up Report on the PSP

By using the PSP’s online application for submitting a DC wind up report, PSP users will experience the following benefits:

  • Checks your application for errors: The PSP will warn you if it detects any errors or omissions in your online application (e.g., forgetting to complete a required field or not uploading a supporting document).
  • Get immediate acknowledgement of your submission: You won’t need to wait until you get an acknowledgement letter from FSRA to confirm that your application was received.
  • Experience a faster approval process: Since the PSP will conduct a preliminary review of your application and accompanying documents, you’ll benefit from a faster, more streamlined approval process.
  • View your application and track its progress: The PSP will provide you with easy access to your online submission. You’ll also be able to check the status of your submission throughout the review process.
  • Receive immediate notification: Once your wind up report is approved or if we require additional information, you’ll receive an email notification from FSRA. If more information is required by FSRA, you can respond directly to FSRA by adding Notes or uploading correspondence in the ‘Application Workspace’.
  • Download and print your approval letter right away: As soon as your wind up approval letter is available, you can download or print it directly from the PSP. You won’t need to wait for a paper copy to be mailed to you.

 

March 31, 2020

Pension Plan Document Repository

As the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) continues to explore new ways to improve and enhance your experience on the Pension Services Portal (PSP), FSRA has developed a new functionality to allow PSP users to upload pension plan documents to the PSP. 

The new ‘Documents’ submenu, under the ‘Plan Profile’ menu, allows delegated users to seamlessly upload and view essential pension plan documents on the PSP. FSRA believes that this functionality will support PSP users in performing their regulatory duties by allowing centralized access to these critical documents, when they need them.

Please have a look at our updated instructions and FAQs:

Instructions for Using the Pension Services Portal
FAQs on Accessing/Delegating Access to the Pension Services Portal (PSP)

 

December 16, 2019

Enhanced new user creation & delegations process - Redesigned user interface for improved usability

As the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) continues to explore new ways to improve and enhance your experience on the Pension Services Portal (PSP), FSRA has developed an enhanced user creation and delegations process.

Previously, plan Administrators were required to submit a request to FSRA to create new user accounts. Now, Primary Administrators and Delegated Administrators are empowered with the ability to instantaneously create new user accounts and delegations on the PSP. This enhancement demonstrates FSRA’s desire to be more responsive, while reducing burden on pension plans by minimizing time delays for pension plans.

In keeping with our objective to enhance the user experience, FSRA has redesigned the PSP layout to allow users to navigate and perform tasks more seamlessly while maintaining the functionality you already know. In addition, PSP now allows users the ability to use their email address as a login; users are no longer required to remember their unique PSP ID.