doing business in canada - Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Some employers also provide for employee benefits after an employee retires; however, due to the increasedcosts, the recent trend has been to reduce or terminate benefits or require retirees to pay premiums.EQUITY-BASED INCENTIVE AND SAVINGS PLANSEquity-based incentive and savings plans are useful tools in building effective compensation structures. Theseplans are very commonly used for executives in order to reward and retain them for the medium to long-term.There are a myriad of possible plan designs available including: share purchase plans, phantom share plans,share appreciation rights plans, deferred share unit plans, share option plans, tax-free savings account plans,and restricted share unit plans.There are complex requirements under the Income Tax Act and provincial securities legislation that must beadhered to in order to ensure that unintended legal consequences do not arise when implementing these typesof plans.66 Retirement Plans, Employee Benefits and Equity-Based Incentive and Savings Plans