ITEM 8.01 OTHER EVENTS
On December 21, 2018, Resolute FP Canada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Resolute Forest Products Inc. (with its subsidiaries, the “Company”), provided notice to the Ontario pension plan regulatory authorities that, effective December 31, 2018, the Company will voluntarily exit the Ontario funding relief regulation that provides for aggregate funding of solvency deficits in respect of the Company’s Ontario pension plans (the “affected plans”) through December 31, 2020.
Following its exit from the Ontario funding relief regulation, the Company will cease to be required to make an annual basic contribution of Cdn$9 million to the affected plans, and it will also be relieved from the obligation triggered pursuant to the funding relief regulation to make supplemental contributions in the event the affected plans’ aggregate solvency ratio is more than 2% below the target specified in the regulation. In addition, provided the solvency financial position of its affected plans remains above 85% as of December 31, 2018, the Company will no longer be required to pay any of the deferred corrective measures contributions provided for under the Ontario funding relief regulation.
Beginning on January 1, 2019, the Company’s affected plans will become subject to the generally applicable pension funding regime of the Province, the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (the “PBA”), which is expected to reduce the amount of the Company’s pension plan deficit funding contributions. The PBA provides for funding pension fund deficits on a going concern basis, and also requires funding on a solvency basis, if the solvency funded status of the pension plan is below 85%.
As a result of the exit of the Ontario funding relief regulation, the Company will not be required to make any pension plan deficit funding contributions in respect of the affected plans in 2019 and no contributions are expected to be required until 2023 given the projected financial position of the Company’s affected plans as of December 31, 2018.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Statements in this current report on Form8-K that are not reported financial results or other historical information of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They include, for example, statements relating to the expected timetable for closing the sale of the Business and the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “forecast,” “intend,” “project,” “potential,” “target,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “will,” “may,” “expect,” and other terms with similar meaning indicating possible future events or potential impact on our business or the Company’s shareholders.
The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions, beliefs and expectations, all of which involve a number of business risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the impact of currency fluctuations; fluctuations in the rate of return on plan assets; and fluctuations in the discount rate. Additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the risks and uncertainties identified in Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors of the Company’s Annual Report on10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.
All forward-looking statements in this current report on Form8-K are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this report and in our other filings with the SEC and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
