Continuing Education Credits: Attendance at this 2 day conference qualifies for up to 12.25 hours of substantive and professionalism continuing legal education credits under the Law Society of British Columbia, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Barreau du Quebec, as detailed below. Please click here for more information.

3:00 – 7:00pm          Registration:  Half Moon Conference Centre

6:30 – 7:30pm            Opening Reception:  The Royal Pavilion, Half Moon (Outdoor location)

7:30 - 10:00pm          Welcome Dinner

Welcoming Remarks:  The Honourable Mark Golding, Minister of Justice, Government of Jamaica

8:30 - 8:45am       Welcome and Opening Remarks from Co-Chairs
                               Cathy Lyn, Duggan Consulting - Actuary - Kingston, Jamaica
                         Randy Bauslaugh, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada.

8:45 - 9:45am      PLENARY #1

P1   Improving Retirement Coverage and Adequacy
Click here to read session paper 1
Click here to read session paper 2
This session will address the policy reasons for promoting enhanced coverage and adequacy of post-retirement income, with emphasis on coordination and development of pension policies within a multi-jurisdictional economic zone.

Moderator: Randy Bauslaugh, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada.

Panellists:

• Leon Anderson, Acting Executive Director, Financial Services Commission - Kingston, Jamaica
• Chris Daykin, Immediate Past Chair, Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Européen - Actuary - London, U.K.
• Angela Beckford, OECD, IOPS Representative and Chief Actuary, Financial Services Commission of Jamaica - Actuary - Kingston, Jamaica
• The Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance), Government of Canada - Ottawa, Canada

9:45 - 10:45am      PLENARY #2

P2   Pension Reform in Developing Countries
Click here for session presentation
This session will present the results of a survey of the status of current pension laws in developing countries.  The purpose is to encourage discussion of experience in other countries including proposals for reform.

Moderator: Karla Dwyer, Senior Legal Officer, Financial Services Commission of Jamaica - Lawyer - Kingston, Jamaica

Panellists:

• Derek Osborne, National Insurance Board - Actuary - Nassau, Bahamas
• Jonathan Mort, Jonathan Mort Inc. - Lawyer - Cape Town, South Africa
• Michael Beatty, Maida Vale Fiduciary Services Ltd. - International Consultant - United Kingdom

10:45 - 11:00 am      Health Break

11:00 - 12:00 pm      CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS - Group 1

W1   Executive Compensation: Comparing Incentives
Click here for session presentation
This session will examine the use of equity, cash and carried interest alternatives:
• For employees, what are the relative business, tax accounting, and securities considerations of their incentive alternatives?
• For executives, what are the principle advantages and disadvantages of these awards, especially from a financial and tax perspective?
• From a fiduciary and litigation perspective, what are the major risk considerations and precautions associate with each alternative? 

Workshop Facilitators: Mark Poerio, Partner, Paul Hastings Law - Lawyer - Washington D.C., U.S.A. & Brian Buggy, Partner, Matheson, Ormsby, Prentice - Lawyer, Dublin, Ireland

W2  Funding Issues For Private Pensions
Click here for session paper
• Funding Policies
• Plan design alternatives to address funding issues
• Legislative response to funding issues, including solvency funding requirements and solvency funding relief measures

Workshop Facilitators: Jana Steele, Partner, Goodmans LLP - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada & Robyn Day, Apex Consulting Ltd  Actuary -Port of Spain, Trinidad

W3   Investment Policies for Pension Funds
Click here to read session paper
Click here for session presentation
Pension standards legislation and best practice guidelines in most jurisdictions require an investment policy to be developed.  This session will examine best practices and how investment policy is developed.  It will also deal with legislative developments, such as including reference to socially responsible investing (SRI) or environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) considerations. 

Workshop Faciliators: Brenda Lee Martin, Sagicor International - Kingston Jamaica, & Eric Smith, Consulting Services Support Corporation - USA

W4   Bargaining Trends in Pension and Benefit Provision
Click here for session presentation
• What pension concessions, improvements or changes are employers and unions asking for in bargaining?
• Is it possible to create a win-win scenario in bargaining pension and benefits provisions?
• Examples of recent high-profile pension and benefits solutions
• How does legislation help or hurt the ability to find good solutions in bargaining? 

Workshop Facilitators: Andrea Boctor, Partner, Stikeman Elliott LLP - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada, &  Nathalie Henderson, Counsel, Labour and Employment, Air Canada – Lawyer, Montreal, Canada  

12:00 - 1:30pm      LUNCH

12:00 - 12:20 pm  Luncheon Address: The Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance), Government of Canada

1:45 - 2:45pm      PLENARY #3 

P3   Pension Regulation Key Issues
Click here to read session paper
Click here for session presentation 1
Click here for session presentation 2
Click here for session presentation 3
Efficient regulation and supervision of occupational pension plans is essential in a world in which retirement income security relies on private rather than public sources.  Legal compliance, financial control, actuarial examination and appropriate monitoring and supervision are essential to the development and maintenance of appropriate regulation of DB and DC schemes.  This session will examine some key issues in pension fund supervision from the perspective of the regulator, the lawyer and the actuary.

Moderator:  Jeff Mamorsky, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP - Lawyer - New York, U.S.A.

Panellists:                                                                                                                    .  • 

2:45 - 3:00 pm      Health Break

3:00 - 4:00 pm      CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS - Group 2

W5   Plan Disclosure and Communications Best Practices
Click here for session presentation 1
Plan member communications have become the new battleground for legal disputes involving employer provided pensions and for increased legislative disclosure rules.  In an industry dominated by legal and technical jargon, what are best practices for communication and risk management? 

Workshop Facilitators:Caroline Helbronner, Partner, Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada, Peter Goldson, Partner, Meyers, Fletcher & Gordon, Attorneys-at-Law - Lawyer - Kingston, Jamaica & Cathy Lyn, Duggan Consulting - Actuary - Kingston, Jamaica

W6   Employer Responsibility for Plan Administration and Governance
Click here for session presentation 1
Click here for session presentation 2
Click here for session presentation 3
This session will examine global best practices in plan administration and governance, with special emphasis on how conflicts of interest are managed in those jurisdictions in which employers are permitted to be the administrators of the plans they sponsor and how employers and their advisors participate in plan governance and administration in other jurisdictions.

Workshop Facilitators: David Farmer, Partner, Olswang LLP - Lawyer - London, U.K., Jeff Mamorsky, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP - Lawyer - New York, U.S.A. & Narda Graham, Associate, Dunn-Cox, Attorneys-at-Law - Lawyer - Kingston, Jamaica  

W7   Default Investment Strategies for Defined Contribution Plans
Click here to read the session paper
Click here for session presentation
Default investment strategies for defined contribution plans, including use of lifecycle or target date funds and other risks with DC plans.

Workshop Facilitators: Gregory Brown, Partner, Katten Muchin, Rosenman LLP – Lawyer - Chicago, U.S.A.; Ari Kaplan, Partner, Koskie Minsky LLP -- Lawyer - Toronto, Canada 

W8   Issues In Liability Driven Investment (LDI)
Click here for session presentation
This Session will examine what Liability Driven Investing (LDI) is and how changes in legislated funding requirements and accounting rules are driving more pension funds to adopt LDI. It will also look at how asset liability modeling would help pension funds approach LDI appropriately given the fund's specific situation.

Workshop Facilitators: Mark Ruloff, Towers Watson – Actuary, Washington DC, U.S.A.

4:00 - 5:00pm      CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS - Group 3

W9   Pension Litigation to Protect Pension Portfolios
• Protection of global pension portfolios from Wall Street toxins
• Vigilance: the duty of plan administrators to monitor or pursue legal action
• When and how to take remedial action
• New weapons to protect plan beneficiaries
• US Supreme Court decision in Morrison: more confusion or more options

Workshop Facilitators: Darren Robbins, Partner, Robbins, Geller, Rudman & Dowd, LLP -- Lawyer - San Francisco, U.S.A.

W10   How to Conduct a Governance Audit
Click here to read session paper 1
Click here to read session paper 2
Good governance is more than a system of checks and balances.  Good governance results in an operating structure that is able to deliver the pension promise efficiently, prudently, transparently and in compliance with legal requirements.  This workshop will explore how governance performance can be assessed, and what are the key elements of a good governance structure.

Workshop Facilitators:
Bethune Whiston, Partner, Morneau Shepell Ltd. - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada & Terry L. Moore, Director of Employee Benefits Services, Greenberg Traurig, LLP - Lawyer- New York, U.S.A.

W11   Communication and Client Relations
Click here for required pre-read materials, doc 1. Please print.
Click here for required pre-read materials, doc 2. Please print.
Click here for more information on CPD credits for this session.
Delee Fromm is both a lawyer and a psychologist who has taught and coached to critical acclaim for over 25 years. She is a recognized leading expert in the arena of negotiation and has designed and facilitated workshops on leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution for international corporations, banks and organizations. 
The purpose of this interactive session is to help professionals avoid communication breakdowns, by dealing with the following:
• Communication Breakdown
• Building Trust
• The Four Listening Checks
• Interests
• Risk Management and Communication
• Being Transparent and Generous with Information
• Why Empathy is Important
• Personality and Communication

W12   Beyond DB and DC: Alternatives for Risk Sharing Between Employees and Employers
Click here to read session paper
Much has been written about the long-term sustainability of DB plans and the trend to DC plans.  But are DC plans the only alternative?  Is there a middle ground that more fairly allocates risk between employers, employees and pensioners?  Could government do more to assist in design innovation that more fairly allocates risk?  This session will identify alternatives and strategies for navigating a middle ground, including discussion of target benefit plans, cash balance plans and other hybrids -- and thoughts on how to get there.

Workshop Facilitator: Robert L. Brown, Retired Professor (University of Waterloo) and researcher - Actuary - Victoria, Canada

6:30 - 10:30 pm   Gala Dinner - Oleander Terrace, Half Moon

• Ravi Rambarran, President and CEO, Sagicor International - Barbados
• Jonathan Seres, Retired Partner, Sackers - London, United Kingdom

DAY 2
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

8:45 - 10:00 am      PLENARY #4 - When Pension Plans Fail.

P4   Protecting the Pension Promise: Pension Protection and Guarantee Systems
In recent years several countries have adopted or modified systems to keep defined benefit plans afloat.  Several high profile business failures, such as Nortel, have highlighted the role of pension protection funds in insolvency proceedings.  This session will examine the policy reasons for adopting or rejecting such systems, as well as an overview of how the systems that are in place are performing, from regulatory, actuarial and legal perspectives. It will also consider how issues relating to the final discharge of pension liabilities by means of insured annuity purchases.

Moderator: Mitch Frazer, Partner, Torys LLP - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada

Panellists:

• Harold Ashner, Keightley & Ashner, LLP (former Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation, PBGC) - Lawyer - Washington D.C., U.S.A.
• Ravi Rambarran, President and CEO Sagicor International - Actuary- Kingston, Jamaica
• Hamish Dunlop, Principal, Morneau Shepell Ltd - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada

10:15 - 11:15am      Health Break

10:15 - 11:15am      CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS - Group 4

W13   When the Pension Promise Fails – Unilateral or Forced Reduction of Accrued Pension Entitlements
Click here for session presentation
Click here for session paper 1
Click here for session paper 2
Due to low interest rates, poor fund performance or failure of the employer, pension funds may be substantially underfunded and no one may be available to fund the shortfall. How should pension obligations be reduced to conform to available funding?  What are the best approaches from a policy point of view?  What legal or other principle ought to apply to unilaterally reduce entitlements that are unconditionally “vested”?  What legal remedies may be available to plan members? To regulators? What if an insurer from whom annuities have been purchased fails, does the liability pass back to the plan or employer?

Workshop Facilitators: Hamish Dunlop, Principal, Morneau Shepell Ltd - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada & Howard Pianko, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP - New York, U.S.A.

W14   Managing and Assessing Service Providers in Pension Provision
Click here for session paper
Click here for session presentation 1
Click here for session presentation 2
Pension providers do not often have all of the skills or resources necessary to manage all aspects of pension provision.  Under what circumstances can or should administrators or trustees delegate tasks or responsibilities to third-parties?  What impact does the use of service providers have on retirement funds?  What are industry best practices?

Workshop Facilitators: Gugu Matiwane, Legal Officer, Registrar of Insurance and Retirement Funds - Lawyer - Mbabane, Swaziland, David Hildebrandt, Shareholder, Kirton McConkie - Lawyer - Salt Lake City, U.S.A. & Barbara Delaney, Principal, Stone Street Equity, LLC - Pearl River, NY, U.S.A.

W15   Recharging and Stress Management
Click here for required pre-read materials. Please print.
Click here for more information on CPD credits for this session.
Delee Fromm is both a lawyer and a psychologist who has taught and coached to critical acclaim for over 25 years. She is a recognized leading expert in the arena of negotiation and has designed and facilitated workshops on leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution for international corporations, banks and organizations.  The purpose of this interactive session is to provide tips to help you recharge as you work, know your energy sources, maximize what energizes you, relax, manage thoughts and mange your stress.

W16   Investment Challenges for Pension Funds
Pension funds are pooled investment structures intended to reduce risk, generate stable growth over long periods, and provide adequate pensions for employees on and after retirement.  Is good governance the major contributor to investment performance?  If so, what are the keys to good governance of pension fund investments?  If not what is?  Does this apply to DC and DB?

Workshop Facilitators: Rezworth B. Burchenson, Managing Director, Prime Asset Management Ltd. - Kingston, Jamaica & Eric Smith, President, Consulting Services Inc. - Actuary - New York, U.S.A.

11:15 - 12:15pm      CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS - Group 5

W17   Pension Fund Governance and Financial Regulation
Click here for session presentation
This workshop will be lead by the managing director of the Standards and Financial Market Integrity Division of C.F.A. Institute, who oversees all advocacy efforts and development, maintenance, and promotion of the highest ethical standards of practice for the global investment management industry.  This workshop will use a case study format to explore administration of pension funds where there is a professional responsibility, ethics or practice management decision, challenge, opportunity or issue faced by a lawyer or actuary. Workshop participants will be expected to put themselves in the position of the decision maker in the case to identify and analyze the legal, professional and personal challenges he or she faces. They will also be asked to develop alternatives and an action plan for resolving the issues in accordance with the actuary or lawyer’s professional obligations under their relevant Rules of Professional Conduct.

Workshop Facilitator: Kurt Schacht, Managing Director, Standards and Financial Markets Integrity Division, CFA Institute -- Lawyer, Charlottesville, Va., U.S.A.

W18   The Plan Sponsor Perspective: Challenges in Meeting Fiduciary and Administrative Compliance Obligations
Click here for session presentation
This program will provide an opportunity to hear from our clients.  Speakers from private company occupational pension plan sponsors as well as government entities will provide an overview of how they deal with fiduciary and administrative compliance issues.  This discussion will provide a broad interactive program covering areas such as service provider fees, actuarial valuations and funding issues, tax compliance challenges and working with outside consultants. One goal of the program is to provide insights into dealing with regular legal and actuarial issues from the perspective of our clients.

Moderator: Bill Wright, Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP - Lawyer - Philadelphia, U.S.A.

Panelists:

• Ray Branscome, Triumph Group – U.S.A.
• Austin L. Nibbs, Administrator, Employees Retirement System of The Government of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
  
• Cathy Smith, Government Pension Fund for U.S. Virgin Islands
• Beverly Stoddart, Director, International Pension & Benefits, Scotiabank, Total Rewards - Toronto, Canada  

W19   Pension Plan Discontinuance and Winding-Up
Consideration of legal issues arising on plan wind up, including:
• Ascertainment of membership and claims by former members to benefit entitlements on winding-up (Gillette case)
• Surplus distribution issues
• Deficit issues, including forced reduction of benefits and funding
• Application of maximum and minimum pension rules
• Relevance of equitable principles – estoppel, rule in Saunders v Vautier, rule against perpetuities

Workshop Facilitators: Angela Fowler, Partner, Livingstone, Alexander & Levy, Attorneys-at-Law  Lawyer - Kingston, Jamaica & Martin Rochette, Norton Rose LLP - Lawyer - Montreal, Canada

W20   Pension Splitting on Marital Breakdown
Click here for session presentation 1
Click here for session presentation 2
Many jurisdictions provide financial rights to pensions for conjugal partners of pension plan members when their relationship ends.  In some cases this applies to same sex as well as opposite sex relationships, and may extend financial rights to other dependents of the plan member, such as children. This session will highlight different approaches to the valuation and division of the pension upon marriage breakdown..  It will also explore the duties and powers of plan administrators and regulators where pensions must be split.
 
Workshop Facilitators: Roxanne Poulin, Senior Consultant, Towers Watson - Lawyer - Montreal, Canada
& Anne Slivinskas, Legal Counsel, Plan Administration, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan - Lawyer - Toronto, Canada  

12:30 - 1:45pm      LUNCH 

1:15 - 1:35pm    Luncheon Address: Mr. Anthony Manders, Financial Secretary, Government of Bermuda

1:45 - 3:15pm      PLENARY #5

P5   Hidden Fees and Charges
Click here for session paper
Click here for session presentation 1
Click here for session presentation 2
“There is no point in bringing people into a pension if their savings are going to be eaten away by fees and charges which they can’t understand. They’ll simply walk away.”  Pension plan fiduciaries have a responsibility to understand, evaluate, manage, and communicate fees and expenses associated with plan investments, investment options and the services provided by third party providers.  This responsibility is even more pronounced in the context of hidden fees such as revenue sharing arrangements between the investment provider or mutual fund and other service providers such as record-keepers and third-party administrators.

Unfortunately, many of these fees and charges do not appear on investor statements, nor are they fully described in product offering documents or governance policies.  Failure to adequately understand and monitor fees and commissions may violate statutory or common law fiduciary standards.  In fact, fee litigation on the basis of a breach of fiduciary responsibility relating to a plan fiduciaries’ lack of understanding of fees and the unreasonableness of the fee level is on the rise in certain countries. This is or should be an issue for regulators, scheme administrators and their professional advisors. This session will provide an overview of the topic, identification of the various types of hidden fees, the experience in various jurisdiction and practical recommendations for improving the current situation. It will also provide significant opportunity for questions and audience dialogue. 

Speakers:

• Mark Solomon, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP - Lawyer - San Diego, USA
• Chris Daykin, Immediate Past Chair, Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Européen - Actuary - London, U.K.
• Erin Sweeney, Dickstein Shapiro LLP - Lawyer, Washington D.C., U.S.A.

3:15 - 3:30 pm   Conference Wrap Up - Randy Bauslaugh and Cathy Lyn

3:30 - 4:00 pm   Ice Cream Break

END OF CONFERENCE

Continuing Education Professional Credits
Attendance at this 2 day Conference qualifies for Continuing Professional Development credit under the MCPD regimes of the Law Societies of British Columbia (LSBC) and Upper Canada (LSUC) as well as the Barreau du Quebec. It may also qualify for CPD credit in a number of other jurisdictions. The number of credits depends on the particular sessions attended.

Ontario
• Up to 10.25 Substantive credit hours for LSUC members (other than 2010 or 2011 calls) AND
• Up to 2 Professionalism credit hours for all LSUC members (1 hr for each of sessions W11 and W15)

Québec
• Up to 12.25 MCE credits for members of the Barreau du Québec

British Columbia
• Up to 11.25 hours of eligible CPD activities for members of the Law Society of British Columbia


General Rules for Speakers/Presenters
• The expenses of speakers and workshop leaders are not reimbursed (limited exceptions for dignitaries and public figures with permission of the Committee). Hotel negotiated rate is US$200 plus taxes and service (including breakfast single) per night for delegates.

• Speakers and workshop leaders must pay conference registration fees (limited exceptions for dignitaries and public figures with permission of the Committee, and for preset financial sponsors). Conference registration fee $500 (early), $650 (late).

• Preference will be given to presenters who are members of IPEBLA and the CAA, and to regulators.

• Generally, one presenter per firm, unless there are good reasons otherwise. Workshop leaders are strongly encouraged to promote interaction and exchange of information among participants. Most workshops should not be lectures, but may start with a short presentation to encourage discussion.

• A short paper (5 to 10 pages) is required for each session. (Each speaker or workshop leader may submit a paper or there may be one paper per session co-authored by all or some presenters of the same session.) It must be submitted by April 9, 2012. All papers will be posted to the IPEBLA and CAA websites following the conference.

• A one page summary of your session must be submitted by April 9, 2012. Other materials you wish to include, such as power point, or "pre-read" material should also be submitted by April 9, 2012.

• Each speaker or workshop leader must grant non-exclusive permission to IPEBLA and CAA to use the material submitted, with credit to the author(s), e.g., for publication in CAA or IPEBLA Journals, or posting on their websites.