CADA 360 introduces a new dealer-led Pension Committee to strengthen oversight of the CADA 360 Group Retirement Savings program.
Risk management is the foundation of every CADA 360 program, and Group Retirement Savings is no exception.
With the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) updating its Capital Accumulation Plans (CAP) Guideline for the first time in more than two decades, the countdown to January 1, 2026, is underway.
CADA 360 is using this opportunity to enhance how the Group Retirement Savings (GRS) program is governed, monitored, and communicated, helping individual dealerships navigate the new expectations more efficiently.
This article explores how dealers offering Group Registered Pension Plans (RPPs) and TFSA-type retirement products for their employees can leverage CADA 360’s enhanced governance framework to meet evolving regulatory standards and improve retirement outcomes.
Dealers with formal Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution Pension Plans, along with their advisors, will remain responsible for their own regulatory compliance. Options for them will be explored in a future article.
Dealers with legacy pension plans, whether defined benefit or defined contribution, will continue to manage their own governance and reporting requirements in conjunction with their advisor. CADA is working with Mercer to determine if a separate program can be offered to this group.
The scale underscores the stakes. As of July 2025, the CADA 360 retirement program has over $460 million in assets under administration on behalf of dealers nationwide. That large-plan status gives CADA 360 leverage to negotiate competitive fees and service standards, and to build a top-of-class governance framework that supports dealers and aligns with regulatory expectations.
“We’re tightening governance to match the program’s growth and the new CAP requirements,” said Cindy Robinson, Director, Employee Benefits and Group Retirement Savings. “The goal is simple: lighten the compliance load for dealers and deliver better outcomes for their employees.”
CAPSA’s updated guideline modernizes expectations for how retirement and pension vehicles are overseen, with renewed emphasis on documented governance, investment selection and review, fee competitiveness, member education, and clear roles among sponsors, providers, and advisors.
Rather than asking each participating dealer to interpret and implement the changes in parallel, CADA 360 is centralizing key supports while recognizing that ultimate governance remains with the employer.
“We don’t need hundreds of dealerships each recreating the wheel to ensure they are in compliance with the CAP Guidelines,” said Michael Psotka, CFO and Director of Member Services at CADA. “Where CADA 360 can build common tools, processes, and oversight that satisfy the guideline, we will. That’s how we assist dealers in managing risk at the dealer level.”
What’s changing
CADA 360 has delegated oversight of the Group Retirement Savings (GRS) program to a dedicated, dealer-led Pension Committee, distinct from the Employee Benefits Committee. While CADA sponsors certain non-RPP plans, individual dealers remain the legal sponsors of their registered pension plans (RPPs).
A formal charter for the Pension Committee is slated for approval at CADA’s October board meeting. It will outline responsibilities for monitoring investments, fees, service providers, education, and compliance under the CAP Guideline. Built by dealers for dealers, the committee formalizes accountability while keeping the program aligned with dealership realities.
CADA 360 has retained Mercer as ongoing plan consultants to advise on investment menu design, conduct regular due diligence on funds and recordkeeping services, benchmark fees, and recommend changes as needed.
“We wanted best-practice advice from a firm that sees hundreds of plans,” said Robinson. “Mercer has been retained to advise the Pension Committee on investment menu design, fund due diligence, and benchmarking, supporting them to make informed decisions.”
Today, the program includes a broad array of funds from multiple providers. Under the refreshed governance model, and consistent with the CAP Guideline’s push for clarity, CADA 360 will streamline the menu to fewer, well-researched options.
“A focused lineup is easier to supervise and easier for members to use,” said Psotka. “It also helps us monitor performance, control costs, and make more appropriate investment choices.”
As part of the governance refresh, CADA 360 is reviewing service and pricing and expects to negotiate a new contract to reflect the enhanced oversight model. The review keeps options open on provider configuration, an important lever when balancing service, technology, and cost.
“Our size means we can ask more of our partners,” said Psotka. “That influence ultimately needs to show up in member experience and fees.”
The most immediate benefit is risk reduction through consistent, association-level governance. The Pension Committee will support dealers by centralizing common governance tasks, such as investment monitoring and member education, while recognizing that ultimate governance responsibility remains with each participating dealer.
CADA 360 is targeting Q2 2026 to announce program changes under the new governance and service framework. Between now and then, members can expect staged updates as the committee is seated, reporting is standardized, and the investment menu is refined.
“We’ll move deliberately and keep dealers informed,” said Psotka. “The priority is to meet CAPSA’s January 1, 2026, deadline and do so in a way that’s practical for stores of every size.”
Retirement readiness is both a people strategy and a risk strategy. Financially confident employees are less distracted, more loyal, and more likely to stay through business cycles.
For dealers, that translates into lower turnover risk and a stronger total-rewards story in a competitive labour market. “This is about creating durable value on both sides of the employment relationship,” said Robinson. “Better governance, better education, and competitive fees add up to better outcomes.”
Dealers participating in the RRSP program are not required to take immediate action to prepare for the CAPSA deadline. CADA 360 will coordinate the transition and provide centralized tools, education, and communication to support dealers in meeting CAPSA’s updated guidelines. While CADA 360 facilitates compliance and provides centralized oversight through the Pension Committee, each dealer retains ultimate governance responsibility for their registered pension plans. For non-RPP plans sponsored by CADA, governance is shared through the committee structure.
Dealers not yet in the program can speak with their CADA Advisor or the CADA 360 team to see how association scale, governance, and fees compare with stand-alone arrangements.
