Information on the annual information return (AIR)
Changes to the 2020 Annual Information Return
- The maximum amount of required fees increases to $157 000.
- The required fees per member or beneficiary (line 15) are now $11.
- Further to the coming into force, on 1 July 2020, of the
2020 Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans, active members, non-active members and beneficiaries whose work conditions are under federal jurisdiction are counted to calculate the required fees.
- A line has been added in the Statement of changes in the plan's net assets section so that a distinction can be made between the variation in the fair value of annuity contracts guaranteed by an insurance company and the variation in the fair value of other investments.
Plans subject to a financial report audit
If the plan is subject to a financial report audit, the questions in section 3.3, Determining the requirement of a financial audit, will not be available. The auditor must provide the explanations requested on lines 387 through 389 in the Consult, verify and submit the
AIR section of the annual information return.
Under certain conditions 
, a plan can be exempted from the financial report audit for the fiscal year covered by the annual return. The plan administrator must however have informed the members and beneficiaries,
in the notice calling the annual meeting and during the meeting, of its intention not to have the financial report audited and of their right to decide otherwise. The audit can be waived if, during the meeting, less than one-third of the members and beneficiaries are opposed to it. In that case, section 3.3, Determining the requirement of a financial audit, must be completed by the plan's representative or by the persons authorized to complete the
AIR.
Context-sensitive help and validation of data
The help boxes (context-sensitive help) are positioned on each line or section that requires explanation; they serve to guide users in correctly completing the online return.
A validation function makes it possible to verify the information and correct any errors before submitting the
AIR.
If needed, you can consult the
Guide to the Annual Information Return, which contains all the help boxes for each section of the
SPP Portal, including those of the most recent
AIR.
Declaration by the plan administrator's representative
The administrator's representative must confirm, before submitting the
AIR, that the plan administrator has considered and can attest to the accuracy and veracity of the information contained therein.
Note that
The declaration replaces the signatures in the old form in the section entitled Certificate of the signatories.
Submit the
AIR and the documents required to complete the return online
The
AIR and related documents, including the independent auditor's report and the report on supplementary matters, must be submitted online through the
SPP Portal.
With the exception of pension committee members, every person having an authentication code can, at any time, add documents to the
AIR in the Attach or consult a document section.
Pension committee members can consult all those documents.
Important
Only the administrator's representative is authorized to submit the
AIR.
Contact information of pension committee members
Information concerning the plan administrator, including the contact information of pension committee members, can be updated at any time through the
SPP Portal. Only the administrator's representative and persons authorized to complete the annual information return have access to the information and are able to update it.
To ensure that written communication is received by pension committee members,
Retraite Québec now requests their residential address. Addresses are not visible on the
AIR once it has been saved or printed.
Note that
In order for Retraite Québec to ensure that the makeup of the pension committee complies with the
Supplemental Pension Plans Act, the type of designation
must be selected for each member. For more information, consult the Pension committee section of the
Guide to the Annual Information Return; an example has been added to help you choose the appropriate type of designation.
Contacting Retraite Québec
If you have access to the
SPP Portal, please use the electronic messaging service to contact the Direction générale des régimes complémentaires de retraite de Retraite Québec. Otherwise, you can contact us:
Important
Letters that were previously sent by mail will now be filed in the
SPP Portal in PDF format
in the Documents section, not in the Inbox section. Retraite Québec no longer sends letters by mail, except to recipients who do not have access to the
SPP Portal.
Useful links: