Information on the Annual Information Return (AIR)
In this section, you will find the information necessary to file the annual information return related to a supplemental pension plan subject to the Supplemental Pension Plans Act (except information concerning a simplified pension plan).
Main changes to the 2024 AIR
- The maximum amount of required fees increases to $182 000.
- The required fees per member or beneficiary (line 15) are now $12.75.
- The required conditions for a plan to be exempted from the financial report audit have been changed. Therefore, every plan whose fair value of its net assets is less than $5 million, regardless of the number of plan members and beneficiaries, may be exempt from the financial report audit for the fiscal years ending on 31 December 2024 and subsequent years.
- A line has been added in the Plan's financial position section to specify the amount of the surplus assets used by the employer to increase plan benefits.
Collaborators entered in the SPP Portal
The administrator's representative is responsible for regularly updating the list of collaborators entered on the SPP Portal to ensure that access is given to the right persons, based on the tasks that they must carry out.
Auditor
If the plan's financial report must be audited, the name of a person must appear on the list of collaborators under the plan as an auditor so that he or she can provide answers to the questions of the AIR addressed to him or her. The auditor also has the necessary access to add documents to the AIR, for example, the audited financial report and the report on supplementary matters arising from an audit.
Persons authorized to complete the AIR
The administrator's representative can add persons to help him or her complete the Information on the pension plan and Annual information return sections of the SPP Portal. Those persons will be able to consult and change all the information contained in those sections.
Important!
The collaborators cannot submit the AIR to Retraite Québec. The only person who can submit the AIR is the administrator's representative.
Financial report preparation and audit
The plan administrator must, for each fiscal year that has ended, have a financial report prepared in accordance with one of the following two accounting frameworks accepted by Retraite Québec, at the administrator's discretion. With a few exceptions, the financial report must be audited.
Plan whose financial report must be audited
If the plan's financial report must be the subject of an audit, the questions in subsection 3.3, Information regarding the financial report of the AIR will not be available. The auditor must provide the answers requested on lines 387 through 389 in the Consult, verify and submit the AIR section of the annual information return.
Auditors' reports prepared in accordance with the accounting frameworks chosen by the plan administrator and the report on supplementary matters arising from an audit must be produced by the auditor and submitted to Retraite Québec at the same time as the AIR.
Plan whose financial report may be exempted from the audit
Under certain conditions, a plan can be exempted from the financial report audit for the fiscal year covered by the annual return. The plan administrator must have informed the members and beneficiaries first, during an annual meeting, of its intention not to have the financial report audited.
In that case, answers to the questions of subsection 3.3, Information regarding the financial report, must be provided by the plan's representative or by the persons authorized to complete the AIR.
Schedule for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
As long as the AIR has not been submitted to Retraite Québec, you can complete the schedule for the CRA through the SPP Portal. When submitting the AIR to Retraite Québec, the schedule will be submitted to the CRA at the same time and will be available for consultation in the Add or consult a document section of the AIR.
Once the AIR has been submitted to Retraite Québec, you can no longer complete the schedule for the CRA through the SPP Portal. In that case, you must use the form 
available on the CRA's website and send it directly. You must not send it to Retraite Québec.
For any questions regarding the schedule, please contact the Canada Revenue Agency's Registered Plans Directorate directly at 1 800 267-3100.
Context-sensitive help and validation of data
The help boxes (context-sensitive help) are positioned on each line or section that requires explanation; they serve to guide users in correctly completing the online return.
A validation function makes it possible to verify the information and correct any errors before submitting the AIR.
If needed, you can consult the Guide to the Annual Information Return , which contains all the help boxes for each section of the SPP Portal, including those of the most recent AIR.
Declaration by the plan administrator's representative
The administrator's representative must confirm, before submitting the AIR, that the plan administrator has read it and can attest to the accuracy and veracity of the information contained therein. This declaration replaces the signature.
Submitting the AIR and the required documents online
The AIR must be submitted online through the SPP Portal. The related documents, including the audited financial report and the report on supplementary matters, can be added in the Add or consult a document subsection of the AIR section.
Any person that has access to that section of the SPP Portal can add documents to an AIR, whether or not it has already been submitted.
Important!
Only the administrator's representative is authorized to submit the AIR. Therefore, it is important to inform us quickly by email or through the SPP Portal electronic messaging service of any change regarding the administrator's representative.
Information on pension committee members
Information concerning the plan administrator, including the contact information of pension committee members, must be updated before submitting the AIR, but can also be changed at any time through the SPP Portal. Only the administrator's representative and persons authorized to complete the annual information return have access to the information and can update it.
Note That...
In order for Retraite Québec to ensure that the makeup of the pension committee complies with the Supplemental Pension Plans Act, the type of designation must be selected for each member. For more information, consult the Pension committee section of the Guide to the Annual Information Return ; an example is shown to help you choose the appropriate type of designation.
Contacting Retraite Québec
If you have access to the SPP Portal, please use the electronic messaging service to contact the Retraite Québec's Direction générale des régimes complémentaires de retraite. Otherwise, you can contact us:
Important!
Letters are now filed in the SPP Portal in PDF format in the Documents section, not in the Electronic messaging section. Retraite Québec no longer sends letters by mail, except to recipients who do not have access to the SPP Portal.
Useful links: