About the Registered Plans Directorate

Mandate
Organizational chart
Directorate Divisions

Mandate

The Registered Plans Directorate is responsible for all program activities related to the provisions of the Income Tax Act for the registering and monitoring of employee pension plans, retirement savings plans, retirement income funds, deferred profit sharing plans, supplementary unemployment benefit plans, education savings plans, disability savings plans, tax-free savings accounts and registered investments. In particular, the Directorate is responsible for:

• national registration program for compliance with the Income Tax Act, Income Tax Regulations, and related administrative rules;
• national audit program for registered plans;
• verification of actuarial liabilities for pension plans and approval of contributions made to such plans;
• national enquiries service for deferred income plans, as well as the calculating of pension adjustments and past service pension adjustments by employers and plan administrators; and
• information, communication, and education programs for all aspects of registered plans, including publications on deferred income plans, as well as participating at conferences, consultations, meetings, and speaking engagements.

Organizational chart

Director General - Danielle Laflèche 613-954-0933

The Director General heads the Directorate which is responsible for all program activities under the Income Tax Act that pertain to the registration and monitoring of pension and other deferred income plans. Reporting to the Assistant Commissioner of the Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch, the Registered Plans Directorate is responsible for:

• administering a national registration program in accordance with the Income Tax Act, regulations and related administrative rules;
• selecting, reviewing, monitoring, and auditing registered plans, including approving the deductibility of contributions made to defined benefit pension plans;
• assisting with the calculation of pension adjustments, pension adjustment reversals and past service pension adjustments by employers and pension plan administrators;
• operating a national information service for registered plans;
• providing information/communication/education programs concerning all aspects of registered plans including participating at conferences, consultations, meetings and speaking engagements;
• providing specialized assistance, when requested, to the Department of Finance with respect to the formulation of new income tax legislation for registered plans;
• providing assistance to the Department of Justice in handling appeals to the courts in respect of ministerial decisions to refuse or revoke a plan's registration; and
• providing specialized actuarial expertise to other Branches of the Agency, as required.

Located in Ottawa, we have three divisions supported by a Directorate Management Services Section.

Directorate Divisions

Actuarial and Policy
Compliance
Registration

The following is a brief overview of each Division's responsibilities.

Actuarial and Policy Division
Director - Janice Laird 613-990-9267
Manager, Actuarial Section - Wan-Yi Huang 613-990-6461
Manager, Specialty Products Policy Section - Mark Legault 613-954-0406
Manager, RPP Policy & Systems Section - Daniel Brabant 613-954-0967
Manager, Technical Services Section - Jeff Boxer 613-954-0980

The Actuarial and Policy Division is responsible for providing actuarial analysis, advice and functional direction to the operational Divisions in the Directorate (Registration and Compliance Divisions) as well as to other Directorates and Branches in CRA and to external clients across Canada.

The Actuarial and Policy Division also develops actuarial, legislative and administrative policy in respect of the deferred income plans programs, and provides technical support to Directorate employees. Other responsibilities include: creating training courses, providing workshops, preparing briefings or issue papers on sensitive files, preparing media lines and question period responses, reviewing legislated plans, managing Directorate information systems, training and publications and communicating technical opinions, policies and procedures with internal and external audiences. It also liaises with Finance Canada and federal and provincial pension regulatory bodies regarding legislation that governs deferred income plans, and is the Directorate's representative on the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA). The Division organizes annual practitioners forums for members of the registered pension plan industry, and another session for representatives from the RRSP/RRIF/RESP industries.

Compliance Division
Director - Pamela Massad 613-954-0925
Audit Manager - André Martin 613-954-0922
Audit Manager - Michelle Charlebois 613-957-1581
Audit Manager - Sandro Ricciuti 613-990-8088
Audit Manager - Stéphane Laplante 613-954-0929

The Compliance Division ensures that all deferred income plans are operated in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act through desk and field audits.

Registration Division
Director - Mike Godwin 613-954-5622
Manager, English Enquiries - Katherine McKinley 613-941-6324
Manager, Bilingual Enquiries - Gilles Lalonde 613-954-0975
Manager, RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, RDSPs and TFSAs - Lorraine Veilleux 613-954-0928
Manager, Registered Pension Plans - Elisabeth Van Vliet 613-952-8378
Manager, Registered Pension Plans - Dominique Gilmour 613-946-3429

The Registration Division reviews pension, deferred profit sharing and supplementary unemployment benefit plan texts as well as education savings plan, disability savings plan, retirement savings plan and retirement income fund contracts for registration and compliance under the Income Tax Act. It also answers phone and written enquiries on all deferred income plans.