plan wind up faqs

what pension plan am i currently contributing to as an employee of 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 ?

contributions to the pension plan for professional staff and the 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 employee pension plan have ceased for all eligible employees and are now being made to the caat dbplus pension plan.

what’s happening with our old pension plans?

as a result of collective bargaining and employee group requests, the university is taking steps to grant employees and former employees the freedom to move their account balances to their own financial institutions or to another pension plan.  as the previous two pension plans can’t be wound up easily or quickly, the university is creating a third pension plan and moving all active and inactive members into it, then winding it up.  all pensioners will remain in their respective plans and continue receiving the same benefit they always have.

what is a pension plan wind up?

a pension plan wind up means that the pension plan is completely closed. your defined contribution (“dc”) account balance and will be paid out to you in full. you will have several options available to you for where you want your account balance to be transferred.

i am a retiree currently in receipt of a pension, do i have to change anything or be concerned about anything?

no.  your pension benefits are protected by multiple layers of regulation, legislation and oversight from the university and from provincial and federal regulatory bodies.  your benefit is not moving, ending, or otherwise changing in any way, and your pension is not part of the wind up process.  only those members who are not currently drawing a pension will be affected.

does a wind up mean i have to move my balance out?

yes, if you're an active member or former employee with an account balance who has been moved from the professional plan and luepp to the new plan.  deferring and leaving your account balance is no longer an option in the event of a plan wind up.

what communication has the actuary sent regarding the wind up?

an asset transfer notification and wind up notification was sent to all affected members with a cover letter by eckler ltd. on november 22, 2024.  the postal strike may have caused delays in many people receiving them, however.  you can view a generic version of the entire package here (substitute professional plan for employee plan as applicable): generic notification package

when is the wind up happening?

the steps required to wind up a pension are lengthy and involve many regulatory filings and approvals but have been ongoing and are expected to conclude in 2025. 

the effective date of the asset transfer is october 1, 2024. however, an asset transfer application must be prepared and filed with the ontario pension regulator (“fsra”) to request approval to transfer the members’ account balances to the new plan. once the asset transfer application has been approved, the dc account balances will be transferred to the new combined plan.

the wind up effective date is november 30, 2024. we expect that the wind up report will be filed with fsra early in 2025. however, fsra will not approve the wind up report until 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 confirms that the asset transfers have been completed. once that confirmation has been sent to fsra, they will review and approve the wind up report. the wind up report will detail the number of members, total account balances and confirm that the wind up will be carried out in accordance with ontario pension legislation. fsra’s priority is to ensure members are treated fairly and in accordance with pension legislation.

at some point after that in 2025 members will receive option packages allowing them to move their account balances.  it is recommended that all members start discussing their options with a qualified financial advisor as early as possible (bringing your annual member statement will help facilitate these conversations).

where can i find my annual member statement?

you would have received your 2023 statement for our previous pension plans by regular mail sometime in june.  if you no longer have it, you can contact the office of payroll and pension services to have it reproduced. 

what are my options on plan wind up if i’m not retiring?

1. transfer your account balance to a locked-in retirement account (lira) at your financial institution.
2. transfer your account balance to another pension plan, if that plan will accept the transfer in.

i'm thinking about retiring or planning to retire soon, what do i need to know?

if you're planning on retiring on or before april 30, 2025 you should notify the university and contact pension services as soon as possible, but by january 31, 2025 at the latest.  any pension amounts transferred to retirement accounts prior to may 1 will be paid from the pension plan you are currently in, and will not become part of the asset transfer to the combined plan.  any pension amounts transferred on or after may 1, 2025 will be paid from the combined plan.  though it is expected that the combined plan filings and reports will be approved before may 1, 2025, it is possible that there could be regulatory delays that also delay account transfers.  the university and eckler will still always do everything possible to action all pension transfers as quickly and smoothly as possible.  these same timeframes also apply to transfers related to resignations and other terminations.

what is expected of a plan member during this process?

plan members do not need to take any steps regarding the asset transfer and wind up. that process will be handled by 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 , with the assistance of eckler.

it is important to ensure that you notify 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 if you have an address change at any time during this process, so that we can ensure that we can keep you up to date on matters related to your pension benefit.

what will happen to my account balance during this process?

in order to wind up a pension plan, a formal wind up date must be set so that the legislated process can take place, but this does not mean that the pension monies are frozen at that date. in fact, the money will continue to be invested in the markets the same as it was before november 30, 2024 and plan members will get the full rate of return in the pension fund up to the date the money is actually paid out, which we expect will be sometime in 2025.

i’m still an employee of 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 , can i transfer my balance into caat?

caat will accept transfers from our previous pension plan up to a specifically calculated maximum (18% of your earnings in each year of employment with the university while you were a contributing member of a pension plan).  this is called a purchase.  to request a purchase quote, you must log in to your caat member portal and navigate to the link “purchase your leave”, then "increasing your pension with a purchase".  阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 only participates in the dbplus pension plan, so the applicable information is found under dbplus purchases.  from there, follow caat's educational process titled "learn, return, earn", to determine if a caat purchase is beneficial for you.

i’m no longer an employee of 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 , can i transfer my balance to caat?

only if you’re with a different employer who is also participating in the caat pension plan, otherwise it can only go to your current employer’s pension plan, or a lira.

if i transfer my balance to caat, what will i get for a pension?

the monthly pension resulting from a caat purchase varies by individual and is based on age and the amount of funds being used for the purchase.  to determine the monthly pension that a purchase will provide you, you must use caat’s online estimator in your own caat member portal by following the instructions after clicking the link “purchase your leave”, then "increasing your pension with a purchase".  阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 only participates in the dbplus pension plan, so the applicable information is found under dbplus purchases.  from there, follow caat's educational process titled "learn, return, earn", to determine if a caat purchase is beneficial for you.

what happens if i don’t make an election and don’t return my pension option election form? 

we ask that you return your pension option election form within 30 days, and we encourage you to do so. however, you legally have 90 days to make an election. if you do not make an election within 90 days (or such longer period if we allow it), pension legislation requires that we make an election on your behalf, called being “deemed” to have made a pension election. what this means is that we will purchase an annuity to pay you a pension for your lifetime at retirement.

what is an annuity? 

an annuity is a financial product that is purchased from a canadian life insurance company to provide you with a regular monthly pension payment. the amount of monthly pension you will receive will be based on the amount that your dc account balance will buy in monthly pension from the insurance company. the insurance company will pay you a fixed amount of money typically on a monthly basis. annuity payments would commence once you reach your eligible retirement date (age 65) or earlier on a reduced basis.

to protect and secure your annuity income, canadian life insurance companies have to be members of a consumer protection agency called assuris, which protects policyholders up to a certain amount if the insurance company is unable to pay.