Terra Klinck

Practice Areas

Pension, Benefits and Executive Compensation

Career

Terra L. Klinck is an experienced pension and benefits lawyer with Toronto-based firm, Brown Mills Klinck Prezioso LLP. Terra has over 25 years’ experience advising both provincially- and federally-regulated employers and plan administrators, primarily in the private sector, on all legal issues relating to defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension plans, including: governance, fiduciary responsibilities, plan administration and regulatory compliance, funding requirements, pension fund investment and surplus utilization. Terra has a wealth of experience advising private sector employers on restructuring their legacy DB pension arrangements, including investment restructuring and de-risking initiatives (e.g., buy-in and buy-out annuity purchases), plan mergers and plan wind-ups. Terra has extensive experience advising on pension and benefit matters in corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, insolvencies and restructurings.

Professional Memberships

• Canadian Bar Association | Pension and Benefits Law Section | Vice-Chair, Executive Committee (current) | Professional Development Committee, Co-Chair (current)

• Osgoode Professional Development | Pension Law Certificate Program | Instructor (2018-2023)

• Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario | Standing Technical Advisory Committee for Defined Contribution Pension Plans | Member (2020-2023)

Publications

• The Best Lawyers in Canada™ (2020-2025)

• The Legal 500 Canada (2024)

• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2015-2018, 2020-2024)

• Lexology Index: Labour, Employment & Benefits (2024)

• Lexology Index: Canada (2019-2023)

• Lexpert Zenith Award (2018)

Experience

Representative Work:

• Advises a large professional association in conjunction with its development and implementation of a retirement program for its 40,000 members, which includes a novel annuity purchase feature.

• Acts as counsel to a large Canadian financial institution in respect of its Canadian pension and savings plans, including governance, compliance and regulatory matters, plan consolidations and mergers and acquisitions related activities.

• Advises an employer on the conversion of its single employer plan into a sector jointly sponsored pension plan, including the transfer of legacy defined benefit liabilities.

Education