Morneau Shepell, the HR consulting and pension management firm founded by Finance Minister Bill Morneau‘s father, has been appointed to take over administrative responsibilities for the Sears Registered Retirement Plan.
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The Ontario Superintendent of Financial Services chose Morneau Shepell through “a competitive tendering process,” it said on Tuesday in a statement.
The firm will take over the administration of the plan, “effective immediately,” the document reads.
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The assets in the Sears plan are kept separate from the company’s assets and cannot be accessed by the retailer’s creditors.
The Sears Canada pension plan has members across multiple provinces but is registered and regulated in Ontario because the plurality of its plan members are employed in the province. As a result, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) regulates the plan.
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The finance minister served as the executive chair of Morneau Shepell until October 2015, when he was elected in the riding of Toronto Centre.
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