Employer Monthly - October Issue
The second annual Employer Education Week was a resounding success thanks to your enthusiastic participation and commitment to continuing education on Plan administration. Thank you for attending and for your generous feedback. It’s so helpful to hear your input and learn how we can continue to enhance Employer Education Week in support of your Plan administration experience.
We also appreciate your collaboration in helping us bring the new e-access and OMERS Learning Experience (OLE) to fruition! Once again, your input was instrumental in helping us design a sleek, new online administration portal and e-learning platform for customized employer education. At any time, you can visit the e-access Information Portal to find training materials, upcoming workshops, news updates and a link to the new e-access system, which you can now bookmark in any browser.
In this issue, you’ll find information on 2022 contribution rates, and learn how we’re advocating for employers with the Public Sector Accounting Board and how you can get involved. In addition to more details on OLE and guidance on offering voluntary enrolment before the end of the year, we’ve also included a link to the Employer Satisfaction Survey. We look forward to hearing from you.
Jackie DeSouza
Vice President, Employer & Stakeholder Relations
Contribution rates for 2022
As part of ongoing Plan governance, the OMERS Sponsors Corporation (SC) regularly monitors and reviews the Plan to determine whether there is a need to adjust benefits or contribution rates. The SC has determined that no changes will be made to the contribution rates for 2022. As part of its ongoing work on Plan Risk Assessment, the SC is reviewing the long-term health of the Plan to ensure that we are appropriately managing the risks that it faces. Learn more about Managing Benefits and Contributions.
The OMERS Contribution Rates page will be updated when the Canada Revenue Agency announces the year's maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE) for 2022.
Responding to the Public Sector Accounting Board’s standard for financial reporting
The Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) is proposing to revise its accounting standard for employee benefits. PSAB was initially proposing that employers of multi-employer defined benefit plans be required to report their share of OMERS accrued benefit obligation on their financial statements. This could be challenging for employers on many fronts, including the availability of information, the feasibility of the calculation and financial pressure placed on your organization.
In July 2021, PSAB issued an exposure draft that now recognizes that employers in a multi-employer plan may not have sufficient information to satisfy this reporting requirement on a consistent and reliable basis. If sufficient information is not available, the exposure draft allows employers to continue reporting based on existing defined contribution accounting standards.
PSAB has invited comments to the exposure draft by November 25, 2021. OMERS will be making a submission in November. We believe that OMERS employers will not have the information available to accurately identify their share of the financial position and performance of the plan.
We encourage employers to consult with their auditor, review the exposure draft and share feedback directly with PSAB by taking part in the Connect.FRASCanada.ca project or by submitting a comment letter.
Brandon Weening, OMERS Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance, spoke about OMERS perspective on the exposure draft and its potential implications for employers at Employer Education Week. Watch the video below to hear what he said, and email Brandon at BWeening@omers.com if you have questions.
Watch the video
OMERS Learning Experience is live!
The OMERS Learning Experience (OLE) platform is your new way to learn about pension administration, with helpful training materials and resources integrated directly into the new e-access system. OLE is designed to be customized to your experience level with Plan administration, and to help you learn about enrolments, retirements and everything in between. Visit the new e-access to get started today.
Annual reconciliation in the new e-access
This year marks the first time we’ll complete the annual reconciliation process in the new e-access system, and we think you’ll find the experience more pleasant and easier to manage than ever before. We’re hosting a series of webinars on the process and how to complete the steps easily in the new administration portal. Register below for a webinar in November.
e-Form 119 Reporting – Preparing for your e-Form 119
Friday, November 5 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 9 | 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Steps 1 & 2: Import and Submit e-Form 119 Data
Tuesday, November 16 | 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Monday, November 22 | 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Visit the Annual Reconciliation (e-Form 119) page to see the full range of Administration Webinars hosted by the Pension Education & Relationship Management team, providing you the latest tips on the annual reconciliation process.
Offering voluntary enrolment
It’s the time of year to begin preparing offers of voluntary enrolment. Offers of voluntary enrolment to qualifying other-than-continuous full-time (OTCFT) employees must include an Offer of OMERS membership (Form 104) and a copy of the OMERS Member Handbook. To learn more about offering voluntary enrolment, register for an upcoming webinar.
Learn from our Pension Education & Relationship Management team
Sign up for our general administration webinars to learn more about important topics and get answers to your questions.
Contributions, Remittances and the e-Form 105
Thursday, November 4 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Disability Administration Part 1: Disability Leave Period (e-Form 165)
Tuesday, November 9 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Leave Period Administration (e-Form 165)
Wednesday, November 17 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
See our complete schedule on a variety of topics on our Administration Webinars page.
Take the Employer Satisfaction Survey
Your feedback matters, and hearing it is vital to improving our services. Tell us about a recent interaction you've had with OMERS or share suggestions on working better together.
Take the survey
We’re here to help. Contact Employer Services:
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Phone: +1 416.350.6750
Toll-free: +1 833.884.0389
Email: employerservices@omers.com
Thank you for helping us administer the Plan and deliver a wonderful experience to our members.