Farmers contribute to pension plan - for now

Friday, August 21, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Farmers will have to pay the new Ontario pension plan contribution for their temporary foreign or seasonal agricultural worker program employees, an Ontario Ministry of Finance spokesman has confirmed.

But that may change in the future as “the government continues to examine unique workplace arrangements, including temporary foreign workers and seasonal agricultural workers,” finance ministry spokesman Scott Blodgett says by email.

The new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan requires employers and their workers to contribute an equal amount capped at 1.9 per cent each on an employee’s annual earnings up to $90,000 if there isn’t a comparable workplace pension plan. Amounts earned above the $90,000 figure in 2014 dollars will be exempt.

Temporary, seasonal, part-time and contract workers “will generally be required to participate in the ORPP (Ontario Retirement Pension Plan) if they do not participate in a comparable workplace pension plan,” Blodgett says. BF