Your right to obtain information
Do you have a question or would you like more details about your simplified pension plan (SIPP)? Contact the financial institution that administers the plan. He or she will be able to answer your questions about the SIPP, as well as questions about the amounts credited to your accounts.
The financial institution that administers the SIPP must provide:
- a written summary of the plan within 90 days after you become eligible to join the plan, accompanied with:
- a brief description of the rights and obligations under the plan and the Supplemental Pension Plans Act
- a description of the main advantages of plan membership
- a notice of any amendments to the plan, if the amendment applies to you
- an annual statement of benefits, within 9 months following the end of each fiscal year
- a statement of cessation of membership, within 60 days following the date on which the financial institution is informed of that you have ended your active membership in the plan
- upon request, a statement of benefits in the event of a breakdown in a conjugal relationship
- a statement in the event of a pension plan division, within 30 days following the division
- a statement of benefits in the event of the plan's termination or the withdrawal of your employer.
Your investments
The financial institution must provide you with the information provided for in the Supplemental Pension Plans Act with respect to investments. The financial institution should also give you the information and aid provided for in the Guideline No 3 for Capital Accumulation Plans from the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) .
Your annual statement
Each year, within 9 months following the end of each fiscal year, the financial institution must send you a statement indicating, among other things:
- the amount of the contributions credited to your locked-in and not locked-in accounts during the preceding fiscal year
- the contributions accumulated, with interest, since you joined the plan.
The statement must include a summary of any amendments made to the plan during the preceding fiscal year that affect you.
The retirement information committee
If 50 members or more work for the same employer, a retirement information committee can be set up if a majority of the members request one. The committee or, if none exists, the employer must make available to members, upon request and free of charge, any document or information received from the financial institution (for example, the annual information return or the plan text). The committee or employer must also forward any member requests for information to the financial institution and, in turn, the financial institution's responses to the members.
What if you're unable to get the information you want?
If you are not satisfied with the financial institution's response to your request for information, you can inform Retraite Québec: