Consultation on Draft Information Security Guideline for B.C. Pension Plan Administrators

BCFSA is consulting on a draft revised Information Security Guideline for B.C. registered pension plan administrators. The consultation aims to gather feedback on the draft guideline.

In October 2021, BCFSA issued its Information Security Guideline for BC Credit Unions, Insurance and Trust Companies, and Pension Plan Administrators. The guideline, which applied to multiple segments of the financial services sector regulated by BCFSA, came into effect in September 2022. Now, to better reflect the specific regulatory requirements for pension plan administrators, BCFSA is introducing for consultation a standalone IS Guideline for pension plan administrators.

This separate Information Security Guideline for B.C. registered pension plan administrators will enable greater harmonization with other pension regulators, streamlines expectations, updates incident reporting processes, and clarifies the definition of a material incident. The revised guideline will replace the guideline issued in 2021.

Background

BCFSA guidelines establish principles that regulated entities are expected to implement and follow. This guideline sets out BCFSA’s expectations related to information security for administrators of provincially regulated pension plans. Revisions in this draft guideline include:

• streamlined expectations;
• updated incident reporting processes;
• clarified definition of what constitutes a “material” incident to better reflect the pension plan segment.

Harmonizing the revised guideline, as much as possible, with those of other regulators was an important objective during the development process. BCFSA has worked to ensure the guideline minimizes the administrative burden while mitigating information security risks and providing the information BCFSA needs to fulfill its mandate.

Consultation Timeline

• Phase 1: Pre-Engagement (June — July 2024)
• Phase 2: Public Consultation (July — September 2024)
• Phase 3: Implementation (2025)

Phase 2: Public Consultation

BCFSA invites stakeholder input from B.C. pension plan administrators, industry stakeholders and the public from July 8, 2024 to September 6, 2024.

• Draft Information Security Guideline for B.C. Pension Plan Administrators
• Consultation Feedback Form

Responses and comments received during the consultation will be reviewed by BCFSA and will inform the final version of the guideline.

BCFSA values the feedback it receives during consultations and will treat submissions as confidential records and will not publish individual submissions or attribute content. However, please note that all submissions are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Phase 1: Pre-Engagement

As part of BCFSA’s commitment to engaging proactively with its stakeholders, in June 2024, BCFSA established a B.C. Pension Plan Administrators Technical Working Group, comprising of a diverse group of pension plan administrators, actuaries and lawyers to provide initial feedback on the revised guideline.

Further details regarding the goals and timelines for the technical working group are available in the Terms of Reference.

Technical Working Group Members

• Aon Solutions Canada Inc.
• Bilsland Griffith Benefits Administration
• BC Municipal Pension Corporation
• BC Pension Corporation
• Eckler Ltd.
• George and Bell Consulting
• IWA-Forest Industry Pension Plan
• PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd.
• Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada
• TELUS Health
• UBC Faculty and Staff Pension Plans