workplace wellness update for thunder bay and district

season's greetings from tbdhu

the tbdhu workplace wellness team wishes you a happy and healthy holiday season. thank you for your continued dedication to employee wellness. we look forward to providing you with helpful information, training opportunities, and new workplace wellness resources in the coming year.

creating a psychologically healthy workplace - simple steps for workplace leaders

webinar recording available!

did you miss the recent webinar on how to create a psychologically healthy workplace? good news - it's not too late to deepen your learning on this important topic. you can watch the recording!

click on the webinar recording link below to learn about how you can support the mental health of employees in your workplace. as krystina hunter, the webinar facilitator outlines, there are key meaningful actions any organization can take to foster a psychologically safe work environment, even with tight budgets, busy schedules, and competing priorities.

what's even better? the webinar also offered bonus materials to participants. if you are interested in these, please send us a quick email at workplacewellness@tbdhu.com. we'll be happy to send them to you.

the webinar was an initiative of superiormentalwellness@work, a collaborative project coordinated by the thunder bay district health unit.

for information about the workplace mental wellness resources and for details about future learning events, visit superiormentalwellnessatwork.com

click here to view the webinar

mental health guide for small businesses (new)

workplace safety north recently published a new guide to assist owners of small businesses to manage employee mental health. it was developed by advisors who are certified in psychological health and safety and trained by the canadian mental health association. this guide outlines the simple steps to recognize and manage factors that can affect mental health at the workplace. it also provides resources and tools to help small business leaders to create a supportive and safe environment for mental health.

click here to view the mental health guide for small businesses

12 days of sit less challenge toolkit

are you looking for a great way to challenge your coworkers to sit less and move more? check out tbdhu's "12 days of sit less" challenge toolkit. it offers workplace wellness champions a really easy way to encourage employees to take breaks from sitting each day. the customizable email templates make it as simple as "copy and paste" and have fun!

check out the 12 days of sit less challenge toolkit at this hyperlink: tbdhu 12 days of sit less challenge toolkit

mental health first aid - first nations training

koru training and consulting in thunder bay is hosting a mental health first aid for first nations training. this is a culturally adapted training program designed for first nations participants and anyone that works with first nations people and communities. the 3-day training event is scheduled for january 21-23, 2025. for details, visit korudirection.com/training

for the 5th year, 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 celebrated thrive week, from january 22 to 26, by hosting a week-long series of events helping all members of our community to explore their pathways to better mental health, well-being and resilience.

it was our biggest thrive week yet, and it really felt like a campus initiative with so many lakehead departments, lusu and student groups taking part.

check out some #employeesthrive highlights from thrive week 2024 below:

thrive is an initiative that began at ubc as a conversation between colleagues about the importance of reducing the stigma associated with mental health. it has since grown into a movement celebrated at campuses across canada, providing opportunities for important conversations about mental health to take place. 

thank you all for taking part and supporting thrive week!!!

thrive week 2024, january 22-26, 2024 - 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
#thriveweek2024 #employeesthrive #lakeheadthrives #thunderwolvesthrive

get ready for a fun-filled family night out!

the lu social committees is excited to offer lakehead employees and their family a chance to attend the lakehead thunderwolves vs. york lions game on friday, january 3rd, 2025, at 7 pm at fort william gardens.

limited tickets available!

to ensure everyone has a chance to attend, a maximum of 2 tickets per rsvp will be available to employees while quantities last.

to secure your free tickets, simply rsvp before wednesday, january 1st, 2025.

how to rsvp: https://forms.gle/dgbtahhyx7vmwhgt9

ticket pickup:

• thursday, january 2nd: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
• friday, january 3rd: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
• location: student central

let's show our thunderwolves spirit - wear your gold and blue to cheer on our team!

we can't wait to see you there!
sincerely,

the 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 social committee

p.s. you can find more information about the event here: //www.hsbcwebinars.com/faculty-and-staff/departments/services/hr/events/archive/node/237532.

december member newsletter

plan changes take effect next month

it’s finally happening – our plan changes are in effect as of january 1, 2025. this is good news for both our dbprime and dbplus members.

here are the key changes:

dbprime: your contribution rate is going down. this means that you will be paying less while continuing to earn the same valuable benefit.

dbplus: your annual pension factor is going up. this means that your pension will grow faster.

for full details about the plan changes, check out the faq section on the website.

your growthplus investment account questions

stop your scrolling! you can’t miss the answers to our members’ top questions about our new optional savings account.

want to know even more about how caat’s new member-focused offering can help build your savings?

we thought so! keep reading:

what is growthplus?

caat’s growthplus investment account launched on october 1. in addition to your valuable defined benefit pension, you have access to growthplus – a simple way for you to grow your tax-sheltered retirement savings and benefit from caat’s investment returns.

following our growthplus member webinar on oct. 9, we collected your top questions about this new account. check out these questions and our resource guide.

how does the growthplus investment account impact my pension?

growthplus is an optional savings account separate from your secure lifetime caat defined benefit (db) pension and does not replace or change your pension. growthplus also has different rules and features from your db pension. you can read all about the features in the growthplus member handbook on our website.

can i transfer in funds from a tfsa or non-tax-sheltered vehicles?

no, since growthplus is a tax-sheltered account, you can only transfer-in funds from an existing tax-sheltered eligible registered retirement savings vehicle. you can transfer in both locked-in and non-locked-in tax-sheltered savings, including registered retirement savings plans (rrsps), locked-in retirement accounts (liras), and group registered pension plans (rpps). a full list of vehicles is available on the growthplus webpage at growthplus.ca.

read more

multi-factor authentication coming to my pension in 2025

we are introducing multi-factor authentication (mfa) for my pension, your pension portal, in the spring to enhance the security of your information.

this means that you will need to set up mfa to access my pension in 2025. you may already be familiar with mfa if you access your banking or other secure websites online.

we will be sending out your member id in the spring. stay tuned for more information on our website and by email or mail.

meet the member services team

members are our number one priority at caat pension plan. our commitment to all our members – 100,000 strong across the country – is a secure lifetime pension when they retire.

we decided to give you an inside peek into the minds of the leaders of our member services team.

• sonny khindria, vice president, member services
• betty gin, director, member services
• maria peduto, director, client services

1: first up, let’s meet the team. what’s your role at caat and how does your team help our members?

sonny: i lead a team of pension professionals that are focused on supporting our members with administrative and support services.   we are here for our members and are committed to providing resources and expertise to help you to maximize your caat defined benefit (db) pension and deliver a trusted and predictable retirement income.

betty: my team and i are dedicated to supporting you every step of the way in navigating your pension.  we work for you, making sure you have the resources needed to fully understand your pension, including how to make purchases and planning your retirement. these resources will guide you to making informed decisions.  whether it is helping you by answering questions about your options, we are here to ensure your pension serves you.

maria: we play a vital role in helping members with their pension-related questions by providing clear, accurate information and addressing concerns with care and empathy. we want you to look at caat as a trusted partner. we are here to help you understand your pension plan benefits and to guide you through complex topics with ease to help you make informed decisions about your financial future. 

read more

extra things you need to know 

visit my pension for a pension estimate

beginning january 1, we are retiring the general pension estimator on our website for the majority of our members. our pension estimator on my pension is secure and tailored to your personal information. it is also a great resource for your retirement planning. if you haven’t registered for my pension, you can do this on our website.

if your employer joined caat through a merger, you can continue to use the specific estimator for your employer on caat’s website. find your employer to get started.

update your information

did you get married this year? have a child? change addresses? it’s important to keep caat (not just your employer!) informed of these changes. call us at 1-866-350-2228 (monday to friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm in the toronto area) or make the change on  my pension, your pension portal with caat. if you joined caat through a merger, changes to your personal information remain with your employer.

if you have questions or comments please email us at contact@caatpension.ca.