Work is underway in order to distribute approximately $55-million, our share of the 2023 pension surplus.
CBC officials have been meeting with representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) in an attempt to make the approval and distribution process for the 2023 surplus and future payouts simpler and quicker. Those meetings have yielded some positive results.
OSFI will oblige us to go through the same consultation and approval process as we did for the just completed (2021 and 2022) payout. In other words, it will require a mail-out of the so-called “first notice” and will ask eligible pensioners, survivor beneficiaries and deferred pensioners to respond yes or no. We will once again be required to achieve a 2/3rds approval rate. The good news is that OSFI has agreed that once completed, this approval will cover the next five years. So, if there is another payout for 2024 (which at this point seems very likely) the approval process beyond the first notice will not be required or for subsequent payouts. In other words, no vote.
The notice to pension plan contributors is being drafted by the CBC and will have to be approved by OSFI. It’s hoped that the process can be completed within the next couple of months. The timelines for receipt, comment and approval remain in place which means distribution of the surplus will not likely take place until March or April.