John Prezioso

Practice Areas

Pension, Benefits and Executive Compensation

Career

John Prezioso is principal of Prescient Compensation Law, a boutique firm specializing in pension, benefits, and compensation law. With over 20 years’ experience in the area, John advises employers and plan administrators in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors on compliance, administration, governance, investment and surplus entitlement issues. He also advises plans on issues relating to de-risking of defined benefit pension plans and decumulation issues in relation to defined contribution arrangements. John has extensive experience working with employers and their advisors in the design, drafting, and implementation of incentive compensation plans, and with tax and compliance issues relating to employee benefit programs. John regularly advises with respect to tax issues relating to employees, directors, shareholders and independent contractors, including source deduction and tax reporting issues relating to employee compensation and taxable benefits, as well as payroll audits and the correction of deduction, remittance and reporting errors. John is an instructor for Osgoode PD’s Certificate in Pension Law course and a past instructor of the pension law course at Queen's University Faculty of Law.

Professional Memberships

• Canadian Bar Association | Pension and Benefits Law, Labour and Employment Law, and Taxation Law Sections | Member

• Ontario Bar Association | Pension and Benefits Law, Labour and Employment Law, and Taxation Law Sections | Member

• Queen’s University Faculty of Law | Pensions and the Law | Past Sessional Instructor

• Osgoode Professional Development | Pension Law Certificate Program | Instructor (2018-2025)

Publications

Recognized in:

• The Best Lawyers in Canada™ (2019-2025)

• The Legal 500 Canada (2025)

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

• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2021, 2023-2024)

Experience

Representative Work:

• Advised an Ontario broader public sector employer and its investment manager in the transfer and consolidation of its pension plan assets within a new created jointly sponsored pension plan.

• Represented a foreign parent corporation in defending two proposed Newfoundland and Labrador class actions seeking damages in relation to pension and benefits claims related to insolvent Canadian subsidiaries.

• Assisted a large employer and pension plan administrator on its engagement of an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) to invest a portfolio of defined benefit pension plan, defined contribution and supplemental pension assets totalling over $3 billion.

• Successfully co-defended a business against multiple proceedings in which the Minister of National Revenue alleged that certain of the business' workers had been improperly characterized as independent contractors for Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance purposes.

• Drafted and advised on the implementation of various incentive compensation plans for one of the largest investment managers in Canada.

Education