The NHL Players Association is trying to secure an ORPP exemption for Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators players, the CBC reported yesterday.
The ORPP does allow for exemptions in situations where an employer already has an adequate plan in place. The issue for Leafs and Senators players, according to the report, appears to be a purely logistical one: their pension plan is registered in the U.S.
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Stew Gavin, president of Gavin Management Group in Toronto, tells Advisor.ca that during the last round of collective bargaining, the players secured an attractive defined-benefit plan, replacing the defined-contribution pension plan they had previously.
Gavin, whose clients include NHL players, is a former long-time player himself, spending five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, starting in 1980, before moving to the Hartford Whalers (1985 to 1988) and, finally, the Minnesota North Stars (1988 to 1993).
“The reality is [the players] have a good pension plan,” he says. “There are strong grounds to be exempt from [the ORPP].”
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