If you sponsor an SIPP for your employees

By respecting certain conditions and subject to any power sharing agreement with a union, you can amend the provisions of your simplified pension plan (SIPP), withdraw from the plan to join an SIPP offered by another financial institution or stop sponsoring an SIPP entirely

An SIPP is a signed contract with an authorized financial institution

Several employers and participate in the same SIPP, which is why the contract has 2 parts:

• the first part contains the provisions that are common for all the participating employers
• the second part contains the specific provisions that apply for each employer

An SIPP is administered by a financial institution

• The administrator of an SIPP is a financial institution, whose responsibilities include providing all necessary information to the members and to the supervisory authorities, that is, Retraite Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency.

• The employer also has rights, powers and responsibilities with respect to an SIPP. For example:

  • You must make employer contributions to the plan and remit the employer contributions as well as the member contribution (if they contribute) to the financial institution.

    If employer contributions vary according to the number of years of employment or credited service, they must be approved by Retraite Québec. This is the case if the variable employer contributions meet certain rules.

  • You may, if desired, make an additional employer contribution at any time for one or several members; the additional contribution can be made in one or several payments.

The retirement information committee

If the SIPP has 50 members or more who work for you, a retirement information committee can be set up if a majority of those members request one. The committee acts as liaison between those members and the financial institution to give members easy access to information about the plan.