-A A +A
June 11, 2020

Pension Rules Stifle Innovation for Target-Benefit Plans

  • Current pension rules, designed from a defined-benefit perspective, are a bad fit for target-benefit pension plans.
  • Author Barry Gros argues contingent pension plans, especially target-benefit plans and multi-employer plans, need to be uniquely managed, communicated and regulated as they play an increasingly important role in delivering retirement benefits.
  • Regulators should adopt a principles-based approach to financing-related standards, while using a rules-based approach for aspects such as governance and member communication.
Barry Gros

Barry Gros is a pension actuary who retired from active consulting in Toronto in 2014. He just finished an 8-year tenure as the Chair of the pension board of the University of British Columbia Staff Pension Plan, a target benefit plan for the past 50 years.