PENSION SEMINAR
FOR NON-TEACHING
PENSION PLAN
MEMBERS
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April 24, 2010
Presented by Trudy Arndt-Harrison
Pension Coordinator
AGENDA
INTRODUCTION
• Trudy Arndt-Harrison, Pension Coordinator
• Retirement Committee Members
• Vivian Chan, Client Service Officer, HR & Social Development Canada
• General Pension Plan Background, options and considerations
OVERVIEW
PENSION
CALCULATOR &
WEBSITE
•How to access and use the Pension Plan website
•How to access and use the Pension Plan Calculator
•As Canadians, what can we expect to receive?
•Planning for Early Retirement
CPP & OAS
•FAQ’s, other questions and comments
CLOSING
REMARKS
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DISCLAIMER



This presentation highlights important features
of the Non-teaching Pension Plan. It does not,
however, replace the official Plan documents
which legally govern the Plan.
In the event of inconsistencies between the
Pension Seminar Notes and the Plan documents,
the Plan documents govern Pension application.
If you require additional information in terms of
retirement planning, we suggest you seek advice
from a professional financial advisor.
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HOW TO NAVIGATE THE COMPLEXITY OF
PENSION ?
Where do I
start?
What do I
need to
know?
Where can I
go for more
information?
We will give
you the
tools!
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Where do I start?
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INTRODUCTION




About 1/3 of Canada’s 33 million people are born
between 1946 and 1962. Canadians approaching
retirement represent the fastest growing demographic
in the country (Vancouver Sun).
Only 1/3 of the older workers are worried about
whether they’ll have adequate income when they
leave the workforce (Stats Canada).
The remaining 2/3 are under the delusion they’ll be
“air-tight” upon retirement.
Demographics raise some concern: more seniors than
ever (1 in 7 a senior in 2006; 50 years ago, 1 in 14 was
a senior).
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INTRODUCTION-CONT’D
SO……
 How much do you need to make a successful
transition to retirement? Benchmark?



How much will you spend in retirement?
Do you need to set personal and financial goals
before retirement?
Do you need to make a plan to achieve them?
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What do I need to know?
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GENERAL PENSION PLAN BACKGROUND

Our Pension Plan is a defined benefit Pension Plan
Written contract by which the employer and workers are
required to make monetary contributions in view of
providing workers with retirement income.
 The amount of your pension is set in advance according to
a precise formula.
 The amount of the contributions is determined by the
actuary who carries out the Plan’s actuarial valuation.


You know in advance the amount of your retirement
pension


In general, the amount corresponds to a % of your salary
times the # of years of service
Our actuaries, AON Consulting, set the amount of the
contributions that must be paid to the Plan based on
the estimated cost of the benefits to be paid.
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GENERAL PENSION PLAN BACKGROUND



The Plan began in May, 1955 and has been
amended from time to time since then. The last
amendment occurred in June 2008.
Most of the Plan Text is contained in the
pamphlet found on the Pension website entitled
“The Retirement Plan for Non-teaching
Employees”.
Plan members include CUPE, Exempt staff and a
majority of Teaching Speech Pathologists.
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GENERAL PENSION PLAN BACKGROUND

If you joined the Plan after 1996, the following rules
apply:

You are eligible to join the Plan if you are employed by the
school board as a non-teaching employee and meet Plan
criteria.

You must join the plan on your date of appointment if you
are appointed on a permanent basis to a permanent
position and work at least 20 appointed hours per week.

As a casual worker, you are eligible to join if you have
completed two consecutive calendar years of employment
and have received salary of 35% or more of the YMPE
($16,520 in 2010) in each of the two calendar years. If you
choose not to join when you are first eligible, you can still
join at the beginning of any subsequent period.
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HOW IS THE PLAN ADMINISTERED?
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What contributions can I make
to the Plan?
15
HOW MUCH DO I CONTRIBUTE TO THE
PLAN?
16
HOW MUCH DOES THE BOARD CONTRIBUTE
TO THE PLAN?
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MAY I MAKE ADDITIONAL VOLUNTARY
CONTRIBUTIONS?
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CONTRIBUTIONS DURING A LEAVE OF
ABSENCE
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WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS?
20
MAY I DISCONTINUE CONTRIBUTIONS?
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Definitions you need to
know
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WHAT IS PENSIONABLE SERVICE?
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WHAT ARE PENSIONABLE EARNINGS?
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WHAT IS RETIREMENT SERVICE?
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WHEN CAN I
RETIRE
????
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WHEN CAN I RETIRE ON PENSION?
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WHAT $ WOULD I RECEIVE (UNREDUCED
PENSION)?
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WHAT IF I HAVE LESS THAN 3
CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EARNINGS?
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WHAT $ WOULD I RECEIVE (REDUCED
PENSION)?
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WHAT $ WOULD I RECEIVE (REDUCED
PENSION)?
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WHAT HEALTH BENEFITS CAN I RECEIVE
WHEN I RETIRE?
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PENSION PAYMENT OPTIONS: WHAT ARE
THEY AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
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PENSION PAYMENT OPTIONS…CONT’D
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DO PENSION PAYMENT AMOUNTS CHANGE
AFTER PENSION COMMENCEMENT?
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WHAT HAPPENS TO MY PENSION IF I DIE
BEFORE RETIREMENT?
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POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PENSION
BENEFIT PAYMENTS
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POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PENSION
PLAN PAYMENTS…CONT’D
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OTHER PENSION-RELATED ITEMS

Family Relations Act


www.qp.gov.bc.ca
Pension “vesting”

Vesting means you are eligible for pension and
occurs after 2 years of Plan membership, or, if you
were a plan member before 1998, after 5 years
continuous employment
Disability Pension
 Deferred Pension
 Beneficiary designation

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OTHER PENSION-RELATED ITEMS—CONT’D

Effects of Reciprocal Agreements

Plan is party to reciprocal arrangements with Public
Sector Plans of BC (Muni, Teach, College, Public
Service)

Importance of April 1, 2004 participant date
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OTHER PENSION-RELATED ITEMS—CONT’D


Reciprocal Agreements..cont’d
On or after April 1, 2004, if you come from a
participating employer or go to work for one, you
can elect to transfer funds to this Plan or other
one and have some or all of your service
recognized.

On retirement, you would receive a single pension
from the last Plan or a single one from our Plan.
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OTHER PENSION-RELATED ITEMS—CONT’D


Reciprocal Agreements..cont’d
Before April 1, 2004, if you came from a reciprocal
employer or went to work for one, no funds are
transferred but you may apply to have earnings in
both plans considered in average earnings and service
in each plan recognized in the other for



Vesting
Eligibility for unreduced early retirement, death and disability
benefits
No funds are transferred between Plans and on
retirement, you would receive two separate pensions
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I plan to retire soon…what
are my next steps??
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BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF
RETIREMENT


Sit down with your spouse (if applicable) and
figure out how much you will truly need each
month to pay for basic amenities and support
your future plans
Estimate your pension and other income, using
the online Pension Calculator and/or generally
calculate your pension amount using the info
tools you have already been provided with
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BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF
RETIREMENT..CONT’D

Review your Early Retirement options (if
applicable)



Reductions in pension benefits
Eligibility for Long Term Service and Sick Leave payouts
 Remember, Pensionable Service and Seniority are not the
same for pension calculation purposes
Review your other sources of income
 Other investments
 CPP benefit eligibility
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AFTER YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF
RETIREMENT

Contact the HR department
Provide adequate notice
 Generally, you might choose a retirement date close to the
end of the month because




Pension benefits are paid for complete months only
Pensions are paid monthly via EFT on the first of the month
HR Department
Notifies both Payroll and Pension Department
 Payroll estimates your earnings to retirement date and
forwards info to Pension Department


Pension Department

Notes info & forwards same to AON Consulting
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AFTER YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF
RETIREMENT…CONT’D

AON Consulting


Your role



Provides you with Retirement Benefit Statement which lists all
your Pension Benefit options and forms to fill out to transact
pension payments and health benefits
 Refer to sample Statement excerpt
Once you review info from Aon, make pension benefit and
health benefit choices, you return the completed forms to either
Aon or Irene in our Pension Department
REMINDER: once pension benefit choice made, it is
irreversible
Our role



Once completed forms received, Irene checks the forms for
completeness and forwards info tor 3 Retirement Committee
member for signature
Once signed by RC members, forms are forwarded to Payroll
Department for processing
Payroll adds you onto the next monthly Pension Payroll
(retroactive payments are also included in this first payment)
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AFTER YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF
RETIREMENT…CONT’D

Discuss your other benefit payouts with the
Payroll Department
Do you meet eligibility for Long Service, Sick Leave
gratuity, vacation pay, banked overtime payouts
 Voluntary Contributions will be paid out to you or
transferred to outside RRSP


Review and discuss your CPP Benefit options
with CPP personnel
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Where can I go for more
information?
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INFORMATION SOURCES

Pension website

Go to My43/finance



Or
http://www.sd43.bc.ca/resourcest/pension


Click on “HOME” in top left corner
Go to the Pension Calculator website


Click on Links>>>Non-teaching Pension Plan
www.aoncanada.com/SD43
Access other websites





Links>>>>
www.cra-arc.gc.ca
www.servicecanada.gc.ca
www.qp.gov.bc.ca
www.pensionsbc.ca
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INFORMATION SOURCES—CONT’D





Read the Newsletters sent to you semi-annually in January and June
Review the Pension Statements sent top you annually in June
Plan Pamphlet “The Retirement Plan for Non-teaching Employees”
Refer to Seminar Handout which summarizes Plan Contributions and
Benefits
Refer your queries to either Irene Schoemaker
(ischoemaker@sd43.bc.ca) or Trudy Arndt-Harrison
(tarndt@sd43.bc.ca) or call either party at 604-939-9201

Contact a Retirement Committee Plan Member

Discuss your financial goals and Pension options with your bank,
your financial planner
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YOUR RETIREMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Last Name
First Name
Title
Business
Email Address
Phone
Bolton
Betty
Retiree's representative
604-936-6300
Betty_Bolton@telus.net
Humphreys
Rick
Richardson
Bruce
Chair
Ginter
Dave
CUPE 561 President
604-936-4545
cupe561@shawcable.com
Janzen
Bob
Asst Secretary Treasurer
604-939-9201
bjanzen@sd43.bc.ca
Krahn
Darrell
Manager, HR
604-939-9201
dkrahn@sd43.bc.ca
Marshall
Stan
Info Technologist
604-937-6728
smarshall@sd43.bc.ca
Dowler
Gail
Assistant to ST
cupe561@shawcable.com
gdowler@sd43.bc.ca
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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR RETIREMENT
“SAVINGS”
Federal Tax-free Savings Accounts effective
January 2009
 Voluntary contributions through our Pension
Plan
 Buybacks of Pensionable Service for Leaves in
excess of 10 consecutive days through our
Pension Plan
 CSB purchase through Payroll Department or
outside banks

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We have given you some
tools to work with….
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ARE YOU READY FOR RETIREMENT??

FAQ’s

Questions

Final comments
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INFO GATHERING
LIFESTYLE PLANNING
A HAPPIER RETIREMENT!
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