Pension Plans Survey (PPS) 2017-18
Simple Tables

Table 1: Q2a. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with OSFI as a regulator and supervisor of private pension plans?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Satisfied 77 42 40 35
Somewhat Satisfied 53 29 37 33
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 39 21 21 19
Somewhat Dissatisfied 11 6 11 10
Very Dissatisfied 4 2 4 4
DK/NA 16 -- 1 --
Total 184 100 113 100
Table 2: Q2b. Please provide any comments on why you are (satisfied/unsatisfied) with OSFI as a regulator and supervisor of private pension plans
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Total 80 100 60 100
Reasons for satisfaction
Satisfied with OSFI/ good regulator/supervision 15 19 16 27
Good staff/service/helpful 13 16 16 27
Quick/efficient service/responsive 12 15 9 15
Good communication/updates 10 12 7 12
Knowledge/good source of information 9 11 7 12
Good/effective website/RRS 4 5 3 5
Provides safety/security/protection 2 2 -- --
Available/accessible 1 1 -- --
Reasons for dissatisfaction
Difficulty using RRS/website 13 16 6 10
Demands unrealistic/too complex 9 11 3 5
Inflexible/interpretation too rigid 7 9 14 23
Lack of support/information/consistency from OSFI 6 8 10 17
Slow service/poor response time 6 8 10 17
Lack of contact/staff hard to reach 4 5 5 8
Lack of clarity 4 5 2 3
Limited dealings/lack of experience with OSFI 5 6 -- --
Other 7 9 2 3
DK/NA 104 -- 53 --
Table 3: Q3. Thinking about OSFI's guidance, would you agree or disagree with the following: I am aware of the guidance material published by OSFI.
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Strongly Agree 38 20 55 49
Agree 103 55 42 38
Neither Agree nor Disagree 29 16 12 11
Disagree 12 6 1 1
Strongly Disagree 4 2 2 2
DK/NA 14 -- 2 --
Total 186 100 112 100
Table 4: Q4. Thinking about OSFI's guidance, would you agree or disagree with the following: I know where to find OSFI guidance material?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Strongly Agree 34 19 51 46
Agree 95 52 44 39
Neither Agree nor Disagree 31 17 10 9
Disagree 20 11 5 4
Strongly Disagree 3 2 2 2
DK/NA 17 -- 2 --
Total 183 100 112 100
Table 5: Q5. Overall, how effective or ineffective do you think OSFI's guidance is in: Providing a clear indication of OSFI's expectations?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Effective 57 31 44 40
Somewhat Effective 77 42 47 42
Neither Effective nor Ineffective 33 18 14 13
Somewhat Ineffective 14 8 4 4
Very Ineffective 1 1 2 2
DK/NA 18 -- 3 --
Total 182 100 111 100
Table 6: Q6. Overall, how effective or ineffective do you think OSFI's guidance is in: Supporting you in your role to ensure that your plan is in compliance with federal pension requirements?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Effective 66 36 37 34
Somewhat Effective 69 37 52 47
Neither Effective nor Ineffective 32 17 10 9
Somewhat Ineffective 13 7 7 6
Very Ineffective 5 3 4 4
DK/NA 15 -- 4 --
Total 185 100 110 100
Table 7: Q7. Which, if any, of the following types of OSFI written correspondence have you received in the last year?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Plan-specific issue 55 28 53 46
Late filing of regulatory returns 42 21 17 15
Review of actuarial valuation report 39 20 47 41
Plan examination correspondence/ findings/recommendations 37 18 21 18
Notification of late remittance of contributions 37 18 15 13
Estimated solvency ratio or increase in funding requirements 16 8 11 10
Other correspondence 20 10 4 4
No correspondence received 66 33 31 27
Total 200 100 114 100
Table 8: Q8. Thinking back over the last year, how would you rate OSFI with respect to: Providing an opportunity for your plan(s) to discuss issues of concern with OSFI prior to OSFI coming to a conclusion?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Good 41 31 31 39
Good 47 36 25 31
Fair 32 24 12 15
Poor 12 9 10 12
Very Poor -- -- 2 2
DK/NA 68 -- 34 --
Total 132 100 80 100
Table 9: Q9. Thinking back over the last year, how would you rate OSFI with respect to: The clarity of OSFI's written correspondence outlining issues of concern?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Good 40 29 22 25
Good 56 41 43 49
Fair 32 24 14 16
Poor 8 6 7 8
Very Poor -- -- 2 2
DK/NA 64 -- 26 --
Total 136 100 88 100
Table 10: Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective do you think OSFI is in supervising your plan(s) (e.g., ongoing monitoring, examinations and specific interventions)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Effective 70 40 43 41
Somewhat Effective 71 41 46 43
Neither Effective nor Ineffective 27 15 9 8
Somewhat Ineffective 7 4 5 5
Very Ineffective -- -- 3 3
DK/NA 25 -- 8 --
Total 175 100 106 100
Table 11: Q11. Have you submitted an application for a regulatory approval in the past 3 years?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 28 20 33 31
No 112 80 73 69
Don’t Know 60 -- 8 --
Total 140 100 106 100
Table 12: Q12. Which of the following categories of regulatory approvals was most recently sought?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Plan registration or termination 10 43 16 52
Asset transfer or reducing amendment or refund of surplus 9 39 14 45
Prefer not to say 4 17 1 3
Don’t Know 5 -- 2 --
Total 23 100 31 100
Table 13: Q13. What is your overall level of satisfaction with OSFI in processing applications from your plan(s)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Satisfied 15 56 11 34
Somewhat Satisfied 4 15 9 28
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 6 22 3 9
Somewhat Dissatisfied 1 4 8 25
Very Dissatisfied 1 4 1 3
DK/NA 1 -- 1 --
Total 27 100 32 100
Table 14: Q14. How would you rate OSFI with respect to: Responding to requests for updates on the status of applications submitted by your pension plan(s)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Good 10 43 8 29
Good 9 39 6 21
Fair 4 17 8 29
Poor -- -- 4 14
Very Poor -- -- 2 7
DK/NA 5 -- 5 --
Total 23 100 28 100
Table 15: Q15. How would you rate OSFI with respect to: Providing an opportunity to discuss issues of concern with OSFI prior to OSFI coming to a conclusion?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Good 8 38 14 48
Good 9 43 3 10
Fair 4 19 7 24
Poor -- -- 4 14
Very Poor -- -- 1 3
DK/NA 7 -- 4 --
Total 21 100 29 100
Table 16: Q16. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the timeliness with which OSFI processes application(s) for approval from your plan(s)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Satisfied 11 44 5 16
Somewhat Satisfied 8 32 12 39
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 1 4 3 10
Somewhat Dissatisfied 4 16 6 19
Very Dissatisfied 1 4 5 16
DK/NA 3 -- 2 --
Total 25 100 31 100
Table 17: Q17. Approximately, how long did it take OSFI to process an application for approval from your plan(s)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
6 months or less 9 41 10 34
7-12 months 8 36 10 34
13-22 months 3 14 6 21
2 years or more 2 9 3 10
DK/NA 6 -- 4 --
Total 22 100 29 100
Table 18: Q18. When you have a question related to the plan(s) for which you play a role, who do you normally contact at OSFI?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Relationship Manager/ Plan Supervisor 48 31 37 39
OSFI toll free line (1-800 number) 36 23 12 12
OSFI general email 19 12 9 9
Returns Admin Support 14 9 3 3
Actuarial Consultant 12 8 12 12
Approvals Officer/ Manager 4 3 7 7
Policy Officer/ Manager 4 3 7 7
Contact insurance broker 6 4 -- --
Contact insurance company directly 2 1 1 1
Other 10 6 8 8
DK/NA 45 -- 18 --
Total 155 100 96 100
Table 19: Q19. Overall how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with: The timeliness of OSFI's response to general and plan-specific related enquiries?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Satisfied 72 47 46 44
Somewhat Satisfied 52 34 35 34
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 21 14 10 10
Somewhat Dissatisfied 7 5 7 7
Very Dissatisfied 1 1 6 6
DK/NA 12 -- 3 --
Total 153 100 104 100
Table 20: Q20. Overall how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with OSFI's capacity to interact with you in the official language of your choice?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Very Satisfied 116 72 79 77
Somewhat Satisfied 29 18 15 15
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 16 10 7 7
Somewhat Dissatisfied 1 1 1 1
Very Dissatisfied -- -- -- --
DK/NA 9 -- 3 --
Total 162 100 102 100
Table 21: Q21. In which of the following areas are you dissatisfied with OSFI's capacity to interact with you in the official language of your choice?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
OSFI’s capacity to speak in official language of choice -- -- 1 100
OSFI’s capacity to write in official language of choice 1 50 -- --
OSFI’s capacity to read materials sent to them in official language of choice 1 50 -- --
Other 1 50 -- --
Total 2 100 1 100
Table 22: Q22. Thinking about your most recent interaction with OSFI, what was the main reason you contacted OSFI?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Assistance submitting returns using the RRS 53 47 16 18
Plan-specific question(s) 21 19 36 40
Assistance filling out forms/ returns 19 17 3 3
Question(s) about members’ rights 5 4 1 1
Interpretation of legislation or regulations 4 4 26 29
Interpretation of guideline(s) 2 2 6 7
Assistance with RRS/online reporting 1 1 -- --
Submit application/report/changes 1 1 -- --
Other 6 5 1 1
DK/NA 88 -- 25 --
Total 112 100 89 100
Table 23: Q23. In the end, did you get the information/assistance you needed?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 101 90 73 82
No 11 10 16 18
Total 112 100 89 100
Table 24: Q23B. Please tell us what information/assistance you did not receive?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Still in progress/awaiting a response from OSIF 7 64 7 58
Poor/unclear information/ responses 3 27 6 50
Lack of knowledge/expertise -- -- 1 8
Other 2 18 1 8
DK/NA -- -- 4 --
Total 11 100 12 100
Table 25: Q24. Have you heard of OSFI's electronic newsletter 'InfoPensions'?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes, I’m aware of the electronic newsletter InfoPensions 100 50 89 78
No, I’m not aware of the electronic newsletter InfoPenisons 100 50 25 22
Total 200 100 114 100
Table 26: Q25. Have you read or reviewed an edition of InfoPensions in the last year?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 74 37 78 68
No 126 63 36 32
Total 200 100 114 100
Table 27: Q26. Why have you not reviewed or read any editions of InfoPensions in the last year?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Lack of time/too busy 18 55 8 62
No need/not relevant 2 9 2 15
Not useful/provides no added value 1 3 -- --
Use other resources 6 18 -- --
Have not received material 7 21 3 23
Other 2 6 1 8
Total 33 100 13 100
Table 28: Q27. How would you rate the usefulness of the information that is provided in InfoPensions?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
5— Very Useful 26 35 40 52
4 38 51 28 36
3— Neutral 10 14 9 12
2 -- -- -- --
1— Not At All Useful -- -- -- --
DK/NA -- -- 1 --
Total 74 100 77 100
Table 29: Q28. Is there any content you would like to see featured in an upcoming edition of InfoPensions?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Overall Index to InfoPensions content 1 11 -- --
Update outstanding items (i.e. what to do in case of missing or beneficiaries) 1 11 -- --
Guidance on marriage breakdown calculations 1 11 1 7
Decline in benefit plans 1 11 -- --
Long-term government policies 1 11 -- --
How to file for private pension 1 11 -- --
Requirements for Registered Pension Plan Financial Institution 1 11 -- --
Training 1 11 -- --
Alert to upcoming changes -- -- 1 7
Asset transfer guidelines -- -- 1 7
Best practices -- -- 1 7
How to handle un-locatable deferred members -- -- 1 7
Investment topics -- -- 2 14
Update timelines/OSFI interpretations -- -- 1 7
Profile on OSFI pension team member -- -- 1 7
Clearer/more concise text -- -- 1 7
Legislation affecting PBSA -- -- 1 7
Nothing 2 22 3 21
Total 9 100 14 100
Table 30: Q29. Have you visited the Private Pension Plans area of OSFI's website in the last year?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 90 45 97 85
No 110 55 17 15
Total 200 100 114 100
Table 31: Q30. Why have you not visited the Private Pension Plans area of OSFI's website?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Lack of time/too busy 51 47 3 19
No need/not relevant 24 22 9 56
Not useful/provides no added value 3 3 -- --
Use other resources 17 16 1 6
Was unaware of the website 14 13 2 12
Someone else handles administration 10 9 -- --
Other 2 2 1 6
DK/NA 1 -- 1 --
Total 109 100 16 100
Table 32: Q31. What was the main purpose of your visit(s) to the Private Pension Plans area of OSFI's website in the last year?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Obtain information/updates on OSFI guidance or policy 42 47 73 75
Read the most recent edition of Info Pensions 23 26 38 39
Access information related to reporting requirements 31 34 27 28
Research or look for information on a specific topic 26 29 29 30
Obtain information on filing returns using RRS 24 27 17 18
Look for answers to specific questions 22 24 18 19
View, print or download forms 22 24 17 18
View and/or download documents 7 8 17 18
Search for specific pension plans 1 1 6 6
Learn about OSFI 4 4 2 2
Access speeches/presentations -- -- 4 4
Other 4 4 1 1
Total 90 100 97 100
Table 33: Q32. When using the Private Pension Plans area of OFSI's website for the reason(s) listed, would you say you found...?
Plan Administrators All Most Some A little None
  Counts (%) Counts (%) Counts (%) Counts (%) Counts (%)
Obtain information on OSFI guidance or policy statements (n=41) 16 39 17 41 7 14 -- -- 1 2
Access information related to reporting requirements (n=31) 13 42 15 48 2 6 1 3 -- --
Read the most recent edition of InfoPensions (n=23) 14 61 3 13 5 22 1 4 -- --
View, print or download forms (n=22) 13 59 7 32 1 5 1 5 -- --
Research/look for information on a specific topic (n=25) 2 8 14 56 7 28 2 8 -- --
Look for answers to specific questions (n=22) 2 9 9 41 10 45 1 5 -- --
View and/or download documents (n=7) 4 57 2 29 1 14 -- -- -- --
Search for specific pension plans (n=1) 1 100 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Obtain information on filing returns using the RRS (n=24) 4 17 11 46 6 25 2 8 1 4
Access speeches/presentations (n=0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Learn about OSFI (n=3) 1 33 1 33 1 33 -- -- -- --
Other (n=4) 2 50 2 50 -- -- -- -- -- --
Table 34: Q32. When using the Private Pension Plans area of OFSI's website for the reason(s) listed, would you say you found...?
Professionals All Most Some A little None
  Counts (%) Counts (%) Counts (%) Counts (%) Counts (%)
Obtain information on OSFI guidance or policy statements (n=73) 31 42 31 42 8 11 3 4 -- --
Access information related to reporting requirements (n=26) 12 46 12 46 1 4 1 4 -- --
Read the most recent edition of InfoPensions (n=37) 18 49 15 41 4 11 -- -- -- --
View, print or download forms (n=15) 8 53 7 47 -- -- -- -- -- --
Research/look for information on a specific topic (n=29) 3 10 16 55 8 28 2 7 -- --
Look for answers to specific questions (n=18) 3 17 9 50 4 22 1 6 1 6
View and/or download documents (n=17) 8 47 9 53 -- -- -- -- -- --
Search for specific pension plans (n=5) 1 20 1 20 3 60 -- -- -- --
Obtain information on filing returns using the RRS (n=17) 9 53 6 35 1 6 1 6 -- --
Access speeches/presentations (n=4) 3 75 1 25 -- -- -- -- -- --
Learn about OSFI (n=2) -- -- 2 100 -- -- -- -- -- --
Other (n=4) 2 50 1 25 -- -- 1 25 -- --
Table 35: Q33. Overall, how would you rate the usefulness of the information provided in the Private Pension Plans area of OSFI's website?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
5— Very Useful 27 31 49 51
4 48 55 33 34
3— Neutral 11 13 15 15
2 1 1 -- --
1— Not At All Useful -- -- -- --
DK/NA 3 -- -- --
Total 87 100 97 100
Table 36: Q34. Are you a user of RRS?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 157 78 71 62
No 43 22 43 38
Total 200 100 114 100
Table 37: Q35. Why have you not used RRS?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
It’s not part of my job function/ responsibilities 23 53 36 84
I could not find any training and support material 3 7 -- --
I had trouble logging in to the Bank of Canada secure site to access RRS 2 5 -- --
I didn’t know I had to use RRS 12 28 2 5
Other 6 14 5 12
Total 43 100 43 100
Table 38: Q36. Do you review and update your corporate information (e.g. plan administrator, plan custodian) directly in RRS when there are changes to the contact information?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 124 79 38 53
No 11 7 3 4
I do not file this information on behalf of the plan 22 14 31 43
Total 157 100 72 100
Table 39: Q37. Why don't you review and update your corporate information directly in RRS?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
I was not aware that this was required 4 36 1 33
I do not know where/how to do this 4 36 2 67
Other 4 36 1 33
Total 11 100 3 100
Table 40: Q38. Have you used any of the training and support materials for RRS users (e.g. web tutorials, user guides, quick reference guides)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Yes 75 48 31 44
No 82 52 40 56
Total 157 100 71 100
Table 41: Q39. Which of the following RRS training and support materials have you used?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Web tutorials/ videos 25 33 9 30
User guides 53 71 23 77
Quick reference guides 37 49 18 60
Other 4 5 -- --
DK/NA -- -- 1 --
Total 75 100 30 100
Table 42: Q40. Please tell us why you have not used the RRS training and support materials?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
I was not aware that training and support materials were available 41 49 15 38
I do not need training 22 27 17 42
Someone else prepares/inputs data/ I play a limited role 11 13 1 2
I could not find the training and support materials on the OSFI website 4 5 4 10
Busy/ no time 2 2 2 5
Other 3 4 1 2
Total 83 100 40 100
Table 43: Q41. Do you agree or disagree that the training and support materials for RRS users are easy to use (e.g. web tutorials, user guides, quick reference guides)?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Strongly Agree 10 13 2 7
Agree 31 41 11 38
Neither Agree nor Disagree 17 23 9 31
Disagree 12 16 3 10
Strongly Disagree 5 7 4 14
DK/NA -- -- 2 --
Total 75 100 29 100
Table 44: Q41b. Please explain why you did not find the RRS training materials easy to use.
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Hard to use/ no user friendly 7 50 1 20
Hard to understand/ too technical/ confusing 7 50 -- --
Documentation/ manual too lengthy 2 14 3 60
Did not provide sufficient information/ answers/ did not address issued faced 3 21 -- --
Lack of help resources 1 7 1 20
Hard to navigate/ poor layout/ information was hard to find -- -- 1 20
Other -- -- 1 20
DK/NA 3 -- 2 --
Total 14 100 5 100
Table 45: Q42. Overall, how useful did you find the RRS training and support materials?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
  Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
5— Very Useful 14 19 2 7
4 26 35 12 40
3— Neutral 27 36 11 37
2 5 7 3 10
1— Not At All Useful 3 4 2 7
DK/NA -- -- 1 --
Total 75 100 30 100
Table 46: Q43. Are there any other comments you would like to make concerning the issues raised in this questionnaire, or about other issues you believe are relevant at this time?
  Plan Administrators Professionals
Multiple responses accepted Counts Percentages (%) Counts Percentages (%)
Difficulty using RRS/website— too cumbersome/ time-consuming 17 55 14 47
OSFI needs to provide better support/ information 4 13 7 23
Satisfied with OSFI/ good regulation/ supervision of private pension plans 4 13 4 13
Good staff/ service/ helpful/ accommodating 3 10 1 3
Lack of contact/ OSFI staff hard to reach 1 3 2 7
Inflexible/ interpretation too rigid 1 3 2 7
Slow service/ poor response time -- -- 1 3
Other 8 26 3 10
DK/NA 169 -- 84 --
Total 31 100 30 100