Essential Tasks of Pension and Benefit Plan Trustees
February 19, 2026 at 9:00AM PST
Downtown Vancouver and Live Webinar
Essential Tasks of Pension and Benefit Plan Trustees
February 19, 2026
Overview
As a trustee, it is essential that you understand your legal duties, what to watch out for, and how to limit your exposure to liability. To this end, this conference assembles leading experts to educate you on your legal duties as a trustee and how to protect yourself, to update you on recent changes in the law, and to provide you with best practices and practical advice to assist you in creating successful and sustainable plans.
Whether you are newly appointed or a more experienced trustee, this conference is designed to equip you with the tools required to successfully fulfill your duties and to assist in creating and maintaining successful and sustainable plans.
You Will Learn About:
The keys to being an effective pension and benefit plan trustee
Your responsibilities as a trustee and how to protect yourself from liability
Recent legal developments in both the regulatory and judicial realms
Self-insured long-term disability plans
Recent trends in pension and benefit fund investing
An update from the BC Financial Services Authority
A case study on the Regina Civic Employees’ Superannuation and Benefit Plan
This Conference Is Designed For:
Pension and benefit plan trustees
Pension consultants, investment professionals, lawyers and other advisors
Actuaries
Insurance professionals
Agenda
9:00 - Welcome and Introduction by PBLI
9:05 - Chair’s Welcome and Introduction
Murray Campbell
Lawson Lundell LLP
9:10 -Being an Effective Pension and Benefit Trustee: Responsibilities and Protections
Lisa Chamzuk
Lawson Lundell LLP
What is a trust?
Trust law as it applies to pension and benefit plans
Trustees’ duties
Liability for other trustees’ actions
Use of professional advisors
Protecting trustees
10:10 - Questions and Discussion
10:20 - Morning Break
10:35 - Recent Legal Developments
Murray Campbell
Lawson Lundell LLP
Latest pension and benefits case law and statutory developments
11:20 - Questions and Discussion
11:30 - The Case for Self-Insured Long-Term Disability Plans
Avinash Maniram
PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd.
Discussion regarding insured vs self-insured LTD plans
Review of high-profile self-insured LTD plan failures
Review of the governance model for successful self-insured LTD plans
Discussion regarding the benefits of a properly run self-insured LTD plan to members
12:20 - Questions and Discussion
12:30 - Lunch Break
1:30 - Negotiating the Fine Print: Entering into a New Investment Relationship
Megan Kaneen
Lawson Lundell LLP
Navigating the rules that apply to pension and benefit plan investments
OCIO arrangements
Alternative investments
Contractual trends and liability
2:15 - Questions and Discussion
2:25 - Afternoon Break
2:40 - BCFSA Update
Speaker to be announced
Developments at BCFSA
Most common compliance concerns for plan sponsors, and how to avoid them
3:25 - Questions and Discussion
3:35 - Case Study: The Regina Civic Employees’ Superannuation and Benefit Plan
Colyn Lowenberger
Möbius Benefit Administrators Inc.
Stories and lessons learned
4:20 - Questions and Discussion
4:30 - Networking Reception Sponsored by Lawson Lundell LLP
Meet the Chair
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Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver, BC
Mr. Campbell practises exclusively in the pension and employee benefits area, and is the head of his firm’s Pension and Employee Benefits Group. He is legal counsel for over two dozen multi-employer pension and health and welfare plans in BC and Saskatchewan. He has advised on many disputes relating to pension and benefit plans, and is involved in all manners of compliance and governance issues arising out of the administration of such plans. He is a frequent speaker on pension and benefit issues.
Meet the Faculty
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Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver, BC
Lisa is a partner in the firm’s Pensions and Employee Benefits Group and Protection of Privacy and Freedom of Information Group. She represents boards of trustees and corporate plan sponsors in both the public and private sector and in a wide variety of industries. Lisa regularly advises boards of trustees and other sponsors of pension and employee benefit plans in respect of the interpretation and amendment of plan texts, the application of the governing legal principles and of provincial and federal legislation. She often prepares formal opinions for her clients advising on proposed courses of action in light of the governing legal principles. Lisa is particularly familiar with the provincial and federal privacy legislation as they apply to pension and employee benefit plans and has drafted privacy policies for a number of her clients.
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Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver, BC
Megan advises boards of trustees and plan sponsors on a variety of legal matters involving pension plans, employee life and health trusts and other benefit plans. Her clients include both single employer plans and trusteed multi-employer plans across a wide range of industries.
Megan prepares and amends plan texts and trust agreements, advises on the application of provincial and federal pension legislation and regulator policy, and drafts supporting plan documentation such as participation agreements, third party reimbursement agreements and governance policies. She advises on issues that arise in day-to-day plan administration, assists her clients with specialized projects such as plan conversions, plan terminations and matters related to ownership of plan surplus, and assists the resolution of benefit disputes outside of court. She regularly works with the BC Financial Services Authority and other regulatory agencies through her practice.
Megan also negotiates a variety of plan contracts for her clients, including investment management and subscription agreements, custodial or solvency reserve account trust agreements, letter of credit trust agreements, securities lending agreements, annuity contracts, disability insurance policies and other pension and benefit plan service provider agreements. Megan has significant experience reviewing and advising on pension and benefit plan investment agreements.
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Founding President and Chief Executive Officer, Möbius Benefit Administrators Inc., Regina, SK
Colyn Lowenberger is the founding president and chief executive officer of Möbius Benefit Administrators Inc., an independent corporation focused on administering pension and employee benefit plans on behalf of organizations seeking the scale and expertise not available to them on a standalone basis. In addition to guiding the overall business and providing strategic direction, Lowenberger works closely with the investment team with particular emphasis on private markets.
Prior to Möbius, he spent more than 20 years in the finance and investment industries including stops at CIBC, BMO and the City of Regina. Lowenberger holds a masters in business administration from the University of Regina as well as a M. Cert. in management and a bachelor of science in mathematics and statistics.
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Partner, Senior Consultant, PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd., Vancouver, BC
Avinash D. Maniram is a partner and senior consultant with PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd., consulting to negotiated cost trusteed clients with regard to the provision of group benefit programs. He has over 20 years of insurance and consulting experience. Avinash has a broad range of experience in employee benefits and technical expertise in the design, funding, pricing and valuation of group benefit programs in a negotiated contribution environment. He serves multiemployer clients in the construction, telecommunications, retail and service industries. Avinash has also served on the faculty of the actuarial sciences program at Simon Fraser University. He attended the University of Manitoba on scholarships from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Canadian Federation of Labour. Avinash graduated with a B.Sc. degree (with Honours) specializing in actuarial and management sciences and subsequently obtained an M.Sc. degree in actuarial mathematics.
Registration Form
Program:
Essential Tasks of Pension and Benefit Plan Trustees 2026
Date:
February 19, 2026
Location:
UBC Robson Square (800 Robson Street - Classroom level), Vancouver, BC
Registration:
The registration fee is $990.00 plus GST of $49.50 totalling $1039.50 for webinar and in-person attendance. Registration fee covers your attendance at the program and electronic materials. In-person attendance includes a catered lunch and refreshments throughout the day.
Early Bird Discount:
Register by January 19, 2026 and receive a $100 discount on the registration fee ($890.00 plus GST). Discounts cannot be combined.
Group Discount:
Register four persons from the same organization at the same time and you are entitled to a complimentary fifth registration. Discounts cannot be combined.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form and email it to registrations@pbli.com:
Payment:
You may pay by VISA, Mastercard or cheque. Cheques should be made payable to the Pacific Business & Law Institute and mailed to Unit 2-2246 Spruce Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 2P3. Please do not send cheques via courier with signature required.
When and Where:
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The program starts at 9:00 a.m. (PST). UBC Robson Square is located at 800 Robson Street in Vancouver, BC, and our event will take place on the classroom level. Please visit https://robsonsquare.ubc.ca/find-us/ for directions.
Materials:
The faculty will prepare papers and/or other materials explaining many of the points raised during this program. Materials will be distributed electronically. Please contact us at registrations@pbli.com if you are unable to attend the program and wish to purchase a set of materials.
Cancellations/Transfers:
Refunds will be given for cancellations (less a $60.00 administration fee) if notice is received in writing five full business days prior to the program (February 12, 2026). After that time we are unable to refund registration fees. Substitutions will be permitted. We reserve the right to cancel, change or revise the date, faculty, content, availability of webinar or venue and transfer in-person registration to webinar registration for this event.
To register by phone:
Telephone us: 604-730-2500
Your Privacy:
We will keep all information that you provide to us in strict confidence, other than to prepare a delegate list containing your name, title, firm and city for our faculty and the program delegates. We do not share our mailing lists with any non-affiliated organization.
Course Accreditation:
Attendance at this course can be listed for up to 6 hours of continuing professional development credits with the Law Society of BC. For practitioners in other jurisdictions, please check your governing body’s CPD requirements.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form (DOWNLOAD FORM) and email it to registrations@pbli.com (*This form is for registrations of 5 or more and cannot be combined with any other promotions/discount codes.)
For individual registration, please continue with form below.