Deron Waldock

A partner in Gowling WLG’s national Pensions Group, Deron Waldock has been helping employers navigate complex pensions, benefits, and executive compensation challenges for more than 25 years. Recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers Global, Lexpert and The Legal 500, he is trusted by clients not only for his deep technical expertise but also for his ability to distill intricate legal and actuarial issues into clear, inventive, and actionable strategies.

From plan design and administration to operations and compliance, Deron helps clients safeguard and strengthen their pension, profit-sharing, retirement savings, welfare benefit, and other executive compensation plans, ensuring they remain both effective and sustainable. He has particularly extensive experience with the treatment of plans in corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and insolvencies (CCAA), and provides strategic guidance on issues such as surplus entitlements and plan governance.

Renowned for his enthusiastic creativity, Deron dissects complex problems to uncover opportunities others may overlook, delivering solutions that balance legal precision with common sense. Grounded in a deep understanding of each client’s business priorities, risk appetite, and success metrics, his advice is practical, future-focused, and supported by a distinctive appreciation for the interplay between law and actuarial science.

Deron brings sophisticated public- and private-sector experience to this work, having advised a broad spectrum of clients—including universities, municipalities, government agencies, multinational corporations, and jointly-trusteed and multi-employer pension plans. He has also guided publicly traded companies across multiple Canadian jurisdictions on pension considerations in significant transactions.

A sought-after thought leader, Deron writes and speaks frequently on virtually all facets of pension law and currently serves as a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Pension Policy Council. He previously chaired the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute (Ontario Region) and the Ontario Bar Association’s Pensions and Benefits Law Section, and was a member of the FSCO Legal Advisory Committee. He has also guest lectured at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Outside his practice, Deron contributes his expertise to the broader community. In June 2025, he was elected Chair of the Board of Governors at St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo Region’s founding institution of higher learning. That same month, he was appointed by the Executive of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation to serve as an independent professional on the Investment Committee of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Retirement Plan—further underscoring his trusted standing in the pensions and benefits sector across Canada.