On June 24, 2011, the Ontario government filed long-anticipated regulations in support of amendments to the Pension Benefits Act effected by Bill 133, the Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2009.

O. Reg. 287/11 (Family Law Matters) follows the previously reported March 2011 release of draft regulations and a related Consultation Paper, and reflects that consultation process by making significant changes to the earlier draft regulations.

Among other family law-related matters, Bill 133 amends the Pension Benefits Act and creates new rules governing both:

(1) the valuation of pension assets by plan administrators for family law purposes; and

(2) the immediate settlement of the former spouse’s entitlement, either through a lump sum transfer if the marriage breakdown occurs prior to retirement or division of the pension in pay, where there is a court order, family arbitration award or domestic contract awarding a payout from the pension.

O. Reg. 287/11 and supporting, further amendments to General Regulation 909 contained in O. Reg. 288/11 are required prior to proclamation of the related amendments to the Pension Benefits Act.

The pension division and valuation aspects of Bill 133 are expected to come into force on January 1, 2012, which is the date set for these new regulations to also come into force.

We are in the process of reviewing the final regulations, and a more detailed update discussing both will be available shortly on our website.