Effective September 30th, 2015, amendments to the British Columbia Pension Benefits Standard Regulations
come into effect.
The updated legislation replaces British Columbia LRSP accounts with LIRA accounts. As a result of the
changes, FTIC has initiated the process of transferring all client‐held British Columbia LRSPs to LIRAs. The
account transfers will be completed by Monday, October 5th. Clients will be assigned a new account number
and no additional action is required on the part of the client or advisor.
Other Important Amendment Highlights:
A number of other important changes were rolled out as part of this amendment. We have highlighted these
for your reference below:
- Clients may now unlock for financial hardship
- Clients may transfer to a LIF beginning at the age of 50
- LIF accounts are now unlocked on death of the owner
- Small balance withdrawals are now based on the value of an individual account rather than the cumulative total of all B.C. locked in plans
Client Notifications:
Next week, Franklin Templeton will send a notification to all impacted clients advising them of the fact that
their LRSP account has been transferred to a new LIRA account in order to comply with the amended
legislation. A new LIRA Addenda will be included with this client communication.
Additionally, next week, Franklin Templeton will send a notification to all clients holding a British Columbia
Locked‐In account which will include the updated Addenda.