Profit-Sharing Plans
A profit-sharing plan is one that allows an employer to make contributions on behalf of the eligible employees. Contributions in this type of plan are discretionary and reflect the profits from that year. In a defined contribution plan option in which the employer makes the contribution, determining when and how much the company contributes to the plan. With a traditional profit-sharing plan, the company contributions can be subject to a vesting schedule and the employers have the flexibility to contribute based on a formula such as 0 to 25% of the gross profits after reserving 10% of net capital used. That provides an employee’s right to the contribution becomes non-forfeitable only after some time.
The income tax act requires, the company contribution cannot exceed 25% that the employer contributes a minimum of 1% of all benefiting employees. Many business owners use profit-sharing as a great way to save on corporate taxes because latter plans are not registered pension plans the profit-sharing pension plans differ from the deferred profit-sharing plans or employee’s profit-sharing plans. As far as the legislation is concerned, all legislative changes apply to profit-sharing pension plans. Besides the contribution to profit-sharing plans reward, all employees, and owners with great tax benefits and failure to contribute, can cause penalties. A profit-sharing Contribution discretionarily and a good option when cash flow is an issue. A profit-sharing is as simple as complex as an employer establishes a profit-sharing plan they may also maintain other retirement plans.
Allocation of Benefits
The pension benefits are typically allocated to shelter from taxation until it distributes the money. Profit-sharing plans allow employers to make contributions to an account that earns investment income and the employee can make voluntary contributions out of his or her pretax salary. The employer’s contributions are usually based on a percentage of the profits that the company makes every year and encourage employee hard work and loyalty. Their great advantage from the employer’s point of view is that there is no commitment requiring contributions to the plan in lean years.
Past Service Contributions
One of the most attractive features of an IPP is the extremely generous funding formulas to make contributions for years of service before the set-up of the plan compared to RRSP contribution limits. An IPP can be an excellent way for an entrepreneur or professional to “catch up” contributions to purchase past service pension credits for over a maximum period of 15 years. To take advantage of an individual’s past service, business owners make contributions to an IPP, to have quick funds to their retirement. Non-connected IPP members may make past service contributions subject to the conditions for all defined benefit pension plans, deductible contributions to an IPP to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars with an older individual.

Guaranteed Level of Retirement Income
As a defined benefit pension plan, and IPP guarantees a set level of retirement income upfront but it’s not performing up to expectations, as required by pension legislation, additional tax-deductible contributions must be made in an attempt to put the plan back on track. In contrast, if assets in an RRSP do not perform up to expectations, there is no opportunity to top up the plan with additional tax-deductible contributions above and beyond the normal contribution room of the annuitant.
Indexing of Pension Benefits
For having increased benefits, it may require larger contributions, While IPP has provisions made to index the pension benefits. In contrast, it does not permit an individual to make additional tax-deductible contributions his or her RRSP just so he or she can index his or her retirement income.
Reduced Payroll Taxes
the money that an employer contributes to an IPP on behalf of the employee is not subject to any payroll tax but when may provide key employees with an increase in salary to make RRSP contributions is subject to payroll taxes.
Tailored to Individual Needs
They sometimes use IPPs as an incentive to entice individuals in high demand to meet the specific needs of an individual. For example, there is flexibility concerning the actual retirement date, the distribution options of the plan assets at retirement and the level of pension. Mr. z plan to establish a plan that provides only 1.5% per year of service and on this could also take early retirement at a reduced pension.
Estate Preservation
With a standard company pension, it pays retirement benefits to a former employee for his or her lifetime. Following the death of the plan member, the benefit goes to the spouse or the common in law partner but the death between the spouses or common-law partners, the obligation of the company pension is finished, any unpaid entitlements remain the property of the pension plan. However, with an IPP any remaining benefits will be paid to it will distribute the estate of the later to die according to his or her will.
Mandatory Contributions
Once an IPP is established, regardless of the employer’s annual income, the mandated actuarial assumptions for investment returns are conservative meaning that pension surpluses are common but also cause problems for businesses that experience reduced cash flow because of declining sales or increasing expenses.

Shortfalls and surpluses
If the assets in an IPP do not perform to these actuarial expectations, as required by pension legislation, it may require the sponsoring company to contribute vacation and they can make the shortfall funding over five years. Annual contributions to an IPP compound at a net annual rate of 7.5%.
Terminal funding
This circumstance could arise following the sale of company assets, where there may be a window of opportunity just before the commencement of pension benefits whereby, a significant lump-sum tax-deductible amount—over and above regular prescribed contribution to the plan.
No Spousal or Common-law Partner Contributions
Under an IPP, pension benefits are provided directly to the plan member, and will only be paid to the member’s spouse or common-law partner as a survivor’s benefits only after the member’s death. This being said, the spousal or common-law partner has no direct provision of benefits in IPP, until they are not working for the same related company. With an RRSP, a spouse or common-law partner in a high marginal tax bracket can make tax-deductible contributions to a spousal RRSP under which the lower-income spouse or common-law partner is the annuitant.
Employer point of view
While the contributions are large, the sponsor must be an incorporated and active company; no holding companies. There strict guidelines for investments that have set actuary formula for the amount of benefit earned by the member. Incorporated businesses looking to add a benefit for their valued executives to let the money grows tax-deferred, an alternative to the registered retirement savings plans. In 1991, the federal government remedied the situation by enacting the IPP legislation to compensate high-income earners and contributors have to pay taxes on the money and pay according to your current situation.IPP the best retirement savings solution for individuals 40 years and older who have a T4 income of more than $100,000 and have historically maximized their RRSPs and pension contributions.