Registered Plans Directorate Newsletter, no. 04-2 April 30, 2004

Registered Pension Plan Applications - Processing an Incomplete Application

As of the date of this newsletter, the Registered Plans Directorate will no longer accept incomplete applications for registering pension plans. Incomplete applications will be returned to the submitter, and for purposes of paragraph 147.1(2)(c) of the Income Tax Act (the Act), an application for registration will not have been made. By rejecting incomplete applications, we will be able to better serve our clients by focusing our resources on those applications that are complete.

Under paragraph 147.1(2)(c) of the Act, for a plan that is submitted for registration after 1991, the registration is effective from whichever occurs later: January 1 of the calendar year in which application for registration is made in the prescribed manner or the day the plan began.

In accordance with subsection 8512(1) of the Income Tax Regulations, the following documents must be sent to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the application to be considered complete:

1) an application form (the prescribed form is Form T510, Application to Register a Pension Plan, signed by the plan administrator);
2) certified copies of the plan text;
3) certified copies of the funding documents ¹ ;
4) certified copies of any agreements relating to the plan; and
5) certified copies of all resolutions and by-laws relating to the plan.

Specimen Pension Plans - Speeding up the Process

Applications that contain all the required documents will be deemed registered within 60 days. The application for registration will then be reviewed to ensure that the plan text complies with prescribed conditions and requirements of the Act. Our standard for responding to a complete application for registration is 180 days from the submission date. Our goal is to meet this standard 85% of the time.

The application for registration of the plan should be submitted to the CRA at the same time that the application for registration is submitted to the provincial or federal pension regulators.

How to contact us

By telephone

You can reach the Registered Plans Directorate at the following telephone numbers:

For general enquiries in English: (613) 954-0419
For general enquiries in French: (613) 954-0930

Our enquiries lines are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. After 5:00 p.m., you may leave a message on our voice mailbox system.

In writing

Please send written enquiries or submissions for registered plans to:

Registered Plans Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5

Fax: (613) 952-0199

Mailed and faxed submissions receive the same priority.

Your opinion counts

We welcome your feedback on this newsletter. Please send your comments or suggestions to the Director General of the Registered Plans Directorate at the address above.

La version française de cette publication s'intitule Demandes d'agrément des régimes de pension - Traitement des demandes incomplètes . Si vous désirez en recevoir un exemplaire, veuillez nous appeler au (613) 954-0930 ou visiter notre site Web à www.arc.gc.ca

¹ Non-insured pension plans registered in Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Saskatchewan, which are required by provincial law to establish a pension committee, are not required to submit evidence of a trust agreement or a contractual arrangement. However, we require evidence of who has been appointed to the pension committee, such as letters of acceptance from committee members, a board of directors resolution, or any document that lists the name and address of the members of the pension committee.

Date modified:

2004-05-04