The union representing National Hockey League players wants the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators on the bench when Ontario's proposed supplemental pension plan begins in 2018.
The NHL Players Association believes that players on both Ontario-based teams should be exempt from participating in the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, Toronto, a mandatory supplement to the C$282.6 billion ($217.2 billion) Canada Pension Plan, Ottawa.
Those players already participate in the $232 million NHL Players Retirement Plan, New York. The union says that should exempt them from the ORPP under the province's guidelines.
“On behalf of the NHL Players Retirement plan, outside counsel is simply alerting the Ontario government that NHL players have a leaguewide pension plan,” said Jonathan Weatherdon, NHLPA spokesman. “The legislation already contemplates exemptions for workers who have existing plans.”
Clancy Zeifman, spokesman for Mitzie Hunter, Ontario associate minister of finance in charge of the ORPP, said Ms. Hunter's office is aware that some defined benefit and defined contribution plans with Ontario-based employees are registered in other jurisdictions. “The government is looking closely at how we treat these plans,” Mr. Zeifman said. “But, through the verification process, the ORPP Administration Corp. will make a determination on which employers must enroll.”
