Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to your questions about the ICPP.
Joining
The Ideal Canadian Pension Plan (ICPP) is a multi-employer, collective defined contribution retirement arrangement.
It is structured as a pooled platform that can accommodate multiple registered savings and retirement plan types, including registered pension plans (RPPs), registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), deferred profit-sharing plans (DPSPs), registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), life income funds (LIFs), and tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), within a single, integrated solution.
The specific plan type established for a participating employer is determined based on the employer’s objectives and workforce needs. The ICPP supports each employer through this determination process at the time of joining the arrangement.
The ICPP uses a Multi-Employer Plan framework. This means that any Canadian employer can sign into the ICPP, giving their employees access to a reliable lifetime pension. There are no minimum or upper limits on how many employees a company must have in order to participate in the ICPP.
New employers joining the ICPP follow a clear and streamlined implementation process:
- Selection of contribution level including determining the level of support supplied by employees directly.
- Select the type of retirement savings vehicle to use depending on the purposes of the retirement program and desired flexibility. ICPP administrators will assist in the selection of the appropriate savings vehicle(s) during the implementation process.
- Execution of ICPP Participation Agreement which formalizes the plan provision including, contribution level, enrolment requirements, salary definition, etc.
Once an employer has joined the ICPP, members are guided through a structured and supported enrolment process.
Pension consultants provide clear communications outlining the enrolment steps and key decisions. New members attend an onboarding presentation delivered by the pension consultants, which explains the ICPP in detail and provides an opportunity to ask questions.
Members are provided with a comprehensive Member Booklet and secure access to a Personal Pension Portal containing educational materials and plan information. To complete enrolment, members submit an Enrolment Form and an optional Benefit Preference Form, where they confirm their expected retirement age and may elect additional benefit targets beyond the default Ideal Benefit established by their employer.
Using this information, pension consultants prepare an initial pension statement and determine appropriate contribution levels aligned with the member’s retirement objectives. Members may contact Member Support at any time during the enrolment process for additional assistance or clarification.
Our pension consultants make switching to the ICPP as easy as possible, with little disruption to employers or members. We also waive any of our fees associated with transitioning to the ICPP.
The ICPP was designed by pension experts as a direct response to the shortcomings of typical workplace retirement arrangements in Canada, which can be burdensome to employers and ultimately fail to provide sufficient financial security to members in retirement.
Participating Employers in the ICPP enjoy an outsourced solution that greatly reduces the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities associated with pension plans. They also reap the benefits of offering real retirement security to their employees, which helps to attract and retain top talent and ensures employees retire on the appropriate schedule.
For members, the ICPP has many features that make it more advantageous than traditional DC pension plans, Group RRSPs, DPSP or other retirement savings programs. Members can expect: lower fees resulting in bigger payouts for the same contribution levels; lifetime payments that ensure they don’t outlive their savings; expert support during their working years and in retirement; and worry-free retirement planning.
Participating
Following enrolment, the employer’s ongoing responsibilities are limited to remitting contributions through the regular payroll process and notifying the ICPP of membership changes, such as new hires or terminations.
All other aspects of the arrangement, including plan administration, governance, investment management, member communications, and ongoing support, are managed on behalf of participating employers, allowing for a simple and low-burden employer experience.
The Member’s role in the ICPP is intentionally limited and focused on setting personal retirement objectives, rather than managing investments.
With guidance from pension consultants, members confirm their expected retirement date and may elect to fund additional Benefit Targets above the default Ideal Benefit established by their employer. Based on their retirement income preferences and overall financial circumstances, members may choose to contribute toward one or more of the ICPP’s flexible Benefit Target options.
Members receive regular pension statements, available through a secure personal online portal, providing updates on the progress of their retirement savings. Members may adjust their benefit targets, expected retirement date, and contribution levels (above any required minimums) at any time.
The ICPP’s Member Support team is available on an ongoing basis to assist members with questions, changes, or general support, allowing members to remain engaged without the need for day-to-day decision-making.
If you are not currently enrolled in the ICPP and would like to learn more, we invite you to contact us. We would be happy to provide further information about the plan and offer a free proposal.
Current members of the ICPP can contact us at support@idealcanadianpensionplan.ca or Toll-Free: 1-866-265-5694. You can also login to your personal pension portal to access your latest pension statements and member information.
Cost
The ICPP offers flexible contribution arrangements designed to align with a participating employer’s total compensation philosophy. The plan can accommodate a wide range of contribution structures, including employer-required contributions, employer matching contributions, employee-required contributions, employee optional contributions, and employee discretionary contributions, as appropriate.
Contribution levels are established by the participating employer and are linked to the default Ideal Benefit Target selected for their workforce. Total contributions are subject to the applicable limits for registered pension plans under the Income Tax Act.
The ICPP’s professionals work closely with each participating employer to determine an appropriate Ideal Benefit Target and the corresponding contribution structure needed to support that target, taking into account workforce demographics, compensation objectives, and affordability.
The ICPP is designed to deliver institutional-quality retirement outcomes at a highly competitive, all-inclusive cost. The plan’s fees are assessed as a single, transparent amount and cover all investment management, administration, governance, and member support services required to operate the arrangement.
By comparison, traditional defined contribution pension plans and group RRSP arrangements for small to mid-size employers typically involve meaningfully higher aggregate costs once investment management, administration, recordkeeping, advisory services, and governance oversight are considered, often in addition to the internal time and resources required to manage multiple service providers.
The ICPP’s pooled, multi-employer structure allows participating employers to benefit from scale, professional governance, and streamlined oversight without the need to separately manage or coordinate third-party providers.
Investment expenses matter when accumulating retirement savings. Member fees payable from the ICPP are 50% less than typically charged under small to mid-size employer Defined Contribution arrangements and 70% less than typically available in the Canadian retail sector. This leads to significantly larger retirement benefits for members of the ICPP compared to most typical retirement solutions available to the Canadian private sector.
As membership in the ICPP continues to grow, fees are expected to decline over time. The plan is structured to benefit from economies of scale, with costs assessed on a pooled basis and efficiencies increasing as assets and participation expand.
The long-term objective of the ICPP is to deliver retirement outcomes at a cost level consistent with large, mature institutional pension arrangements, ensuring that members and participating employers benefit directly from the plan’s growth and scale.
Investments
The investment philosophy for the ICPP is simple: there is an optimal collective approach for all Members that can yield better returns and lower expenses. Contributions made to the ICPP are invested professionally with appropriately designed strategies for the plan’s various Benefit Targets. Individual Members do not have to bear the burden of investing wisely. Instead, collective investment management supports better payouts for all members. Learn more about how we invest.
The ICPP does not permit member-directed investment choice in order to improve retirement outcomes and reduce avoidable investment risk.
Extensive research shows that most individual plan members are not well served by making their own investment decisions, often resulting in inappropriate asset allocations, higher fees, poor timing decisions, and ultimately lower retirement income or delayed retirement. Traditional defined contribution plans that rely on a broad menu of investment options can place an unnecessary and unrealistic burden on members to evaluate complex investment decisions for which they may have limited time, interest, or expertise.
Instead, the ICPP employs a professionally managed target-date (lifecycle) investment approach, under which each member’s assets are invested based on their expected retirement date. Asset allocation is automatically adjusted over time, gradually reducing investment risk as retirement approaches, without requiring any action from the member.
This collective, target-date structure allows the ICPP to align investment strategy with long-term retirement income objectives, while benefiting from institutional governance, disciplined portfolio management, and pooled scale. By removing the risk of uninformed or inconsistent investment decisions, the ICPP is designed to deliver more stable and predictable retirement outcomes than arrangements where members select and manage their own investments.
All assets within the ICPP are held by the ICPP’s fund custodian, Cooperators Life Insurance.
Members can view their investment performance through the secure Member Portal.
Investment performance is reported on members’ regularly issued pension statements, which are available through the Member Portal and updated on a periodic basis. These statements provide a clear summary of account balances, contributions, and investment performance over time, allowing members to track their progress toward their retirement goals.
Support
Participating Employers receive ongoing expert support from the ICPP’s pension consultants, designed to make sponsoring a workplace pension as simple and low-maintenance as possible. Employers’ responsibilities are generally limited to enrolling eligible employees, remitting contributions through payroll, and notifying the ICPP of employment changes.
All other aspects of the arrangement, including plan administration, governance, investment oversight, and member communications, are managed on the employer’s behalf. Participating Employers also receive regular updates on plan performance, providing assurance that their employees’ retirement savings are being managed effectively and in line with the ICPP’s retirement-outcome objectives.
Members receive regular communications about their personal savings and any important plan updates. Members can login to their online pension portal at any time to access their pension statements, enrolment forms, and other plan information such as their Member Booklet and instructional videos. Members can also reach out to our support team if they have questions or concerns, or would like to make changes to their Benefit Targets, Contributions, or Expected Retirement Date.
The ICPP is unique in that its members continue to receive support during their retirement years. Retired members can reach out to our support team at any time with questions or concerns. Additionally, retired members continue to receive regular pension statements and are advised on appropriate withdrawal levels to ensure they are not receiving too much or too little of their pension to provide for lifetime payments.
Current members of the ICPP can contact us at support@idealcanadianpensionplan.ca or call us toll-free: 1-866-265-5694. You can also login to your personal pension portal to access your latest pension statements and member information.
General inquires can be directed to info@idealcanadianpensionplan.ca or toll-free: 1-866-265-5694.
Governance
The ICPP is governed by the ICPP Management Board. The Management Board is the Sponsor and Administrator of the ICPP and is comprised of representatives for all major stakeholders in the Plan.
The ICPP is designed to be hassle-free for Participating Employers by eliminating their role as Plan Administrator and Plan Sponsor. In fact, the ICPP is effectively a fully outsourced pension solution, with Participating Employers enjoying minimal risk and administrative burden.
Upon enrolling in the ICPP, Participating Employers must select a minimum default Ideal Benefit and minimum contribution level. They will also transmit the necessary member data so our pension consultants can administer the plan going forward. After enrolment, Participating Employers simply remit contributions as part of their regular payroll process. They must also notify us of any membership changes (i.e. new hires, terminations, etc.).
We take care of the rest, including plan administration, governance, and member support/communication. If they choose, Participating Employers may also seek to have direct representation on the ICPP Management Board.
The ICPP’s collective governance structure all but eliminates individual employer risks. As Administrator of the ICPP, the ICPP Management Board ensures lawful plan governance and oversees all third-party service providers to ensure optimal outcomes for members.
Some key benefits of the ICPP Management Board include the elimination of individual employer risks, reduced fees, significantly reduced administrative burden, equitable representation of all stakeholders, and reliable expertise from pension industry leaders.
Retirement
At retirement, a member will receive option forms from the ICPP administrator providing choices on how they can receive their retirement income. The member can elect to receive a monthly income amount expected to be payable for their lifetime. The ICPP has been specifically designed to optimize this income and ensure Members don’t have to worry about outliving their savings. Members may also elect to receive a lump sum transfer from the ICPP to another registered savings vehicle.
What makes the ICPP unique is that our Members, if they elect to receive a monthly pension, remain in the plan after retirement. This means they are able to continue to reap the benefits low fee investing, timely expert support, and professional investment management. This is different from typical Canadian Defined Contribution plans, whose members have to “go it alone” in retirement.
A key challenge of traditional defined contribution arrangements is managing retirement spending, specifically, the risk of withdrawing too much too early or too little and outliving one’s savings. The ICPP is designed to help mitigate this risk by supporting members with structured payout guidance intended to sustain retirement income over a member’s lifetime.
Members may continue participating in the ICPP throughout retirement, ensuring ongoing access to professional support and clear communications focused on managing longevity and withdrawal risk. Retirement income is paid directly from each member’s account through Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) and Life Income Fund (LIF)-style withdrawals, rather than requiring members to manage these decisions independently.
Members receive ongoing guidance on appropriate withdrawal levels from their accounts, helping to balance sustainable income needs while complying with applicable legislated minimum and maximum withdrawal requirements. This approach allows members to retain flexibility and control over their retirement income while benefiting from professional oversight and support.
Yes. Members of the ICPP may continue to participate in the plan during retirement. This ensures members continue to receive expert support and guidance. Retired members also reap the benefits of asset pooling and low fees.
Members continue to receive the same high level of support in retirement that they did during their working years. This includes direct access to the ICPP’s member support team. Retired members also receive advice on appropriate withdrawal levels and regular updates on the status of their account.
Members of the ICPP can change their Expected Retirement Date at any time. Should a member elect to retire earlier than originally anticipated, our pension consultants will provide advice on appropriate withdrawal levels based on the member’s current asset levels. You can retire as early as age 55.
Members of the ICPP can change their Expected Retirement Date at any time. Should a member elect to retire later than originally anticipated, our pension consultants will provide advice on appropriate contribution levels in relation to the new retirement timeline and the member’s Benefit Targets. Members can delay retirement up until December 1 in the year in which they attain age 71 in accordance with applicable tax legislation.
Leaving
In the event of your death before retirement, your spouse will be entitled to receive your account balance as a lump sum or maintain your account balance in the ICPP to provide them with a monthly retirement income. If you do not have a spouse, your beneficiary is entitled to receive the lump sum value of your account.
Upon termination of employment, a member will receive an option form from the ICPP administrators outlining the choices available based on the registered accounts held within the ICPP. Depending on the account type, these options may include maintaining the account within the ICPP, transferring the account balance to another registered retirement savings vehicle, or using the balance to purchase an annuity from an insurance company.
Where applicable, certain accounts may be subject to pension legislation requirements, while others are governed solely by tax rules under the Income Tax Act. The option form clearly identifies the options available for each account type.
In most circumstances, remaining in the ICPP allows members to continue benefiting from pooled investments, low institutional costs, and ongoing professional support, without the need to independently manage retirement assets.
At retirement, members of the ICPP are provided with a summary of the options available based on the registered accounts they hold within the plan. Depending on the account type, members may choose to retain their accounts within the ICPP, transfer the lump sum value to another registered retirement savings vehicle, or use the balance to purchase an annuity from an insurance company.
Certain accounts may be subject to pension legislation requirements, while others are governed solely by tax rules under the Income Tax Act. These distinctions are clearly outlined at retirement.
In many cases, remaining in the ICPP during retirement allows members to continue benefiting from pooled investments, institutional pricing, and ongoing professional support, without the need to independently manage their retirement assets.