HALIFAX, NS - Inverness MLA Allan MacMaster introduced a bill today to keep defined benefit pension plan members better informed. 

“Today in Nova Scotia, there is better information available to a holder of a $1000 RRSP account than there is for members of multi-million dollar pension plans,” said MacMaster.

The legislation would require defined benefit pension plan members and pensioners to receive an annual report so they better understand how their investments are performing, and how well current investments support future pension income needs.

“I have heard great frustration by NewPage pensioners about how their pensions were fully funded only a few years ago, yet today they are faced with 30 to 40 per cent pension reductions.," said MacMaster. "What is the point of having defined benefit pensions if people can’t count on having the pension they are told to expect when they retire?”

MacMaster's bill would also require pension administrators to explain how decisions, like early retirement packages and reduced workforces from restructuring, affect pension incomes. 

“We cannot always control the outcomes of investments, but we can improve reporting to pension plan members so they feel they have more of the security promised by these defined benefit plans,” said MacMaster.

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