Order Fixing January 1, 2027 as the Day on Which Sections 141 and 142 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1 Come into Force: SI/2026-6

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 7

Registration
SI/2026-6 April 8, 2026

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2021, NO. 1

Order Fixing January 1, 2027 as the Day on Which Sections 141 and 142 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1 Come into Force

P.C. 2026-275 March 30, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, under subsection 150(2) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, chapter 23 of the Statutes of Canada, 2021, fixes January 1, 2027 as the day on which sections 141 and 142 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

Approval to designate the Bank of Canada under subsection 10.3(1) of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (PBSA) and bringing into force sections 141 and 142 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1.

Designated entity

Under subsection 10.3(1) of the PBSA, the Order provides approval for the Minister of Finance to designate the Bank of Canada as the entity that will administer the pension assets of a person who cannot be located. The Order is effective on the day it is made.

Legislative amendments

Under subsection 150(2) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, this Order brings sections 141 and 142 of that Act into force on January 1, 2027.

Section 141 sets out

Section 142 sets out

Objective

Providing approval for the Minister to designate the Bank of Canada and bringing these sections into force enable the Government to take the next step to implement the framework for the unclaimed pension assets of people who cannot be located.

Background

Under the PBSA, plan administrators have a fiduciary duty to ensure that each plan beneficiary is paid the pension benefits to which they are entitled. Unclaimed pension balances arise when a pension benefit is supposed to be paid under the terms of a plan or legislation, but the person entitled to the benefit has not claimed it and cannot be located. As such, unclaimed pension balances can remain as plan liabilities indefinitely. This can prevent terminated plans from fully winding up and cause them to incur continued administrative expenses. In addition, in the instances where the plan has been terminated or the employer no longer exists, owners of unclaimed pension balances can face difficulty tracking down their pension funds.

Amendments to the PBSA to address the issue of unclaimed pension balances were initially made in 2010, but the framework was not operationalized at the time. Following consultations in 2018, additional legislative amendments to clarify existing provisions in the PBSA were introduced through the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, which received royal assent on June 29, 2021.

To facilitate unclaimed pension balances being claimed and assist individuals in identifying their funds, the legislative amendments allow who is an eligible claimant to be set out in the regulations, require the plan administrator to provide prescribed information to the designated entity, and allow the designated entity to publish prescribed information on a public database. The amendments to the PBSA also authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations related to the framework and to allow the Minister of Finance to designate an entity to administer the unclaimed assets.

Similar to unclaimed pensions, certain financial products can become considered unclaimed, such as bank accounts that have not been used for a period of time and are transferred to the Bank of Canada’s unclaimed deposits program. As part of Budget 2021, the Government announced it was expanding the scope of the existing program to include the unclaimed pension balances from terminated federally regulated pension plans to help more Canadians reunite with their lost or forgotten money.

The designation of the Bank of Canada as the entity to administer the unclaimed pension assets of terminated federally regulated plans, and amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 (PBSR), will operationalize the framework.

The OSFI is responsible for the supervision of federally regulated pension plans under the PBSA. Under the legislative amendments, the OSFI will be required to approve the transfer of unclaimed assets to the Bank of Canada.

Implications

Designated entity

The authority to designate the Bank of Canada enacted through this Order enables the Bank of Canada, following designation by the Minister of Finance, which is expected in 2026, to receive, hold and disburse the unclaimed pension assets of individuals who cannot be located. As Canadians already know to go to the Bank of Canada for other unclaimed amounts, adding unclaimed pension balances to the Bank of Canada’s platform will allow greater search access through a familiar tool. While the Bank of Canada is independent from the Government, the Minister of Finance is responsible for its oversight through regular and ad hoc updates from the Bank of Canada and through any updates provided to its board of directors.

Legislative amendments

The Order brings into force the authority to make regulations regarding the unclaimed pensions balances framework. Once the Minister of Finance designates the Bank of Canada as the entity to administer the unclaimed pension balances framework and the regulations are in force, the framework will be operationalized for terminated pension plans to transfer unclaimed balances as of January 1, 2027. The framework will allow terminated federally regulated pension plans to transfer pension assets for persons who cannot be located to the Bank of Canada, enabling the plans to fully wind-up and making it easier for Canadians with lost or forgotten federally regulated pensions to find their funds. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions will supervise the framework through the authorization of the transfer of unclaimed pension balances to the Bank of Canada.

Consultation

From June to August 2018, the Department of Finance conducted a public consultation soliciting Canadians’ views on proposals for the overall unclaimed pension balances framework for a period of 60 days. The Department received written submissions from over 20 stakeholder groups, including plan sponsors, labour groups, retirees and pension industry experts. There was broad support across stakeholder groups, and no major concerns were raised on the proposed framework. Stakeholders suggested that the Bank of Canada be the designated entity.

The related PBSR amendments were prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on July 24, 2023, followed by a 30-day comment period. The Department received comments on the proposed amendments from 10 stakeholders from pension industry associations, pension plan sponsors, pension plan administrators and labour groups, who were all supportive of the proposed framework.

Contact

Kathleen Wrye
Director
Pensions Policy
Financial Crimes and Security Division
Department of Finance Canada
90 Elgin Street, 13th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5