Pension and Employee Benefits

Lawson Lundell has Western Canada's leading Pension and Employee Benefits Law Group which has an unmatched level of experience in Western Canadian courts conducting pension litigation and defending pension class actions. The group consists of a core of solicitors practising exclusively in the pension and benefits law area. The group works closely with several lawyers with relevant expertise in related areas who assist in representing clients on trust, fiduciary, investment and litigation matters affecting pension and benefit plans.

Pension and employee benefits law is a specialized area of law focused on providing advice and solutions on issues arising out of different kinds of plans and programs that employers provide for their employees and executives.

These include:

• Defined benefit registered pension plans
• Capital accumulation plans (including defined contribution registered pension plans, group RRSPs, and deferred profit sharing plans)
• Supplemental employee retirement plans (or “SERPs”)
• Retirement compensation arrangements (or “RCAs”)
• Health and welfare trusts
• Employee benefit trusts
• Group benefits including life, disability and health and dental plans
• Employee incentive plans and bonus plans
• Executive compensation plans and change in control agreements

Our pension and employee benefits lawyers are specialists in navigating the legal and regulatory hurdles encountered in establishing, governing, managing, communicating, litigating, merging and terminating pension and employee benefit plans. We are fully conversant with the Income Tax Act and provincial and federal pension standards issues facing plan sponsors and administrators. We work closely with decision-makers in the benefits consulting, trust, insurance and investment management businesses. We maintain a broad network of contacts at all levels.

Our Pension and Employee Benefits Law Group advises numerous Western Canadian employers who sponsor pension and employee benefit plans. We also act for more than 30 boards of trustees of multi-employer pension and health and welfare plans. Our clients are in all sectors of the economy, including resources, financial services, manufacturing and government.