The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and Standard Life have signed an agreement to create a voluntary retirement savings plan (VRSP) for the association's members in Quebec. On August 21, the two organisations announced that their VRSP would be one of the very first association plans available in the province.

“This agreement will help us finalize the technical components of this major project in order to make a VRSP solution available in Quebec in 2015,” commented Martine Hébert, senior vice-president at the CFIB. “Business leaders will then be able to sponsor such a plan well before the initial December 31, 2016 deadline under Quebec's Act.”

The CFIB has about 109,000 members across Canada and 24,000 members in Quebec. The association plans to expand the program to offer similar retirement savings solutions to business owners in other provinces as new retirement savings legislation comes into force.

"Other provincial and territorial governments are invited to follow in Quebec's footsteps and quickly enact regulatory legislation enabling more Canadian workers to benefit from new voluntary retirement savings plans options," says the CFIB.