PENSION SEMINAR FOR NON-TEACHING PENSION PLAN MEMBERS 1 April 9, 2011 Presented by Trudy Arndt-Harrison Pension Coordinator AGENDA INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW PENSION CALCULATOR & WEBSITE • Trudy Arndt-Harrison, Pension Coordinator • Retirement Committee Members • Ifigenia Fasogiannis, Citizen Services Specialist, Service Canada • Nonteaching Pension Plan --background, payment and benefit options, other retirement considerations • How to access and use the Pension Plan website and Pension Plan Calculator • Estimating pension payments and assessing benefit options • Gathering information to make better informed choices • As Canadians, what we can expect to receive • Planning for Early Retirement CPP & OAS CLOSING REMARKS • FAQ’s, other questions and comments • Book raffle 2 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. 3 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! 4 Where do I start? 5 6 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). 7 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? 8 What do I need to know? 9 10 GENERAL PENSION PLAN BACKGROUND Our Pension Plan is a defined benefit Pension Plan You know in advance the amount of your retirement pension 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. In general, the amount corresponds to a % of your salary times the # of years of service Our actuaries, AON Hewitt, set the amount of the contributions that must be paid to the Plan based on the estimated cost of the benefits to be paid. 11 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 January, 2011. 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. 12 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. 13 HOW IS THE PLAN ADMINISTERED? 14 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? 17 MAY I MAKE ADDITIONAL VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS? 18 CONTRIBUTIONS DURING A LEAVE OF ABSENCE 19 WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS? 20 MAY I DISCONTINUE CONTRIBUTIONS? 21 Definitions you need to know 22 WHAT IS PENSIONABLE SERVICE? 23 WHAT ARE PENSIONABLE EARNINGS? 24 WHAT IS RETIREMENT SERVICE? 25 WHEN CAN I RETIRE ???? 26 27 WHEN CAN I RETIRE ON PENSION? 28 WHAT $ WOULD I RECEIVE (UNREDUCED PENSION)? 29 WHAT IF I HAVE LESS THAN 3 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EARNINGS? 30 WHAT $ WOULD I RECEIVE (REDUCED PENSION)? 31 WHAT $ WOULD I RECEIVE (REDUCED PENSION)? 32 WHAT HEALTH BENEFITS CAN I RECEIVE WHEN I RETIRE? 33 34 PENSION PAYMENT OPTIONS: WHAT ARE THEY AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN? 35 PENSION PAYMENT OPTIONS…CONT’D 36 DO PENSION PAYMENT AMOUNTS CHANGE AFTER PENSION COMMENCEMENT? 37 38 WHAT HAPPENS TO MY PENSION IF I DIE BEFORE RETIREMENT? 39 POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PENSION BENEFIT PAYMENTS 40 POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PENSION PLAN PAYMENTS…CONT’D 41 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 42 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 43 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. 44 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 45 I plan to retire soon…what are my next steps?? 46 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 to support your future plans Utilize “Money Mentors” Spending Plan Form Estimate your pension and other income, using the online Pension Calculator or generally calculate your pension amount using the info tools you have already been provided with Utilize Income Projector module on SD43 Online Pension Calculator 47 BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF RETIREMENT….CONT’D If you choose, contact our Employee Assistance program provider, Human Solutions, to make an appointment for a pre-retirement planning session via telephone 1-800-663-1142 (toll free English) www.humansolutions.ca Before your telephone session, complete the Money Mentors Spending Plan Form and email the forms to your assigned counsellor, before your telephone session 48 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 49 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 Departments Payroll estimates your earnings to retirement date and forwards info to Pension Department Pension Department Notes info & forwards same to AON Hewitt 50 51 AFTER YOU WRITE YOUR LETTER OF RETIREMENT…CONT’D AON Hewitt 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 Hewitt and make pension benefit and health benefit choices, you return the completed forms to either Aon Hewitt or Irene in our Pension Department REMINDER: once a pension benefit choice has been made, it is irreversible Our role Once completed forms received, Irene checks the forms for completeness and forwards info to 3 Retirement Committee members 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) 52 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 53 Where can I go for more information? 54 55 INFORMATION SOURCES Through your home computer: Go to the Pension website Go to the Pension Calculator website Access your my43 website Click on Departments>>Finance>>Links>>PensionNonteaching www.aoncanada.com/SD43 To login, ensure you know your personal SD43 number and PIN provided on your last Annual Pension Statement Access other websites www.cra-arc.gc.ca www.servicecanada.gc.ca www.qp.gov.bc.ca www.pensionsbc.ca 56 57 INFORMATION SOURCES—CONT’D Read the Newsletters sent to you semi-annually in January and June Review your Annual Pension Statement produced annually in June Refer to the Plan Pamphlet “The Retirement Plan for Non-teaching Employees” Refer to Seminar Handouts for specific Plan Contributions and Health Benefits Contact either Irene Schoemaker (ischoemaker@sd43.bc.ca) or Trudy ArndtHarrison (tarndt@sd43.bc.ca) or call either party at 604-939-9201 Contact a Retirement Committee Plan Member (refer to list provided) Discuss your financial goals and Pension options with your bank, and your financial planner 58 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 Secretary Treasurer 604-939-9201 rhumphreys@sd43.bc.ca Richardson Bruce Chair 604-936-4545 cupe561@shawcable.com Schoemaker Irene Pension Clerk 604-939-9201 ischoemaker@sd43.bc.ca MacDonald Tom Trades Supervisor 604-939-9201 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 604-939-9201 gdowler@sd43.bc.ca 59 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR RETIREMENT “SAVINGS” Federal Tax-free Savings Accounts (TFSA) effective January 2009 Voluntary contributions through our Pension Plan Contact the Payroll Department for more information Buybacks of Pensionable Service for Leaves in excess of 15 consecutive days through our Pension Plan Contact your local bank/credit union for more info You are eligible to make up to $5,000 in annual contributions (retro to the 2009 tax year) Forms are available on the Pension website CSB purchase through Payroll Department or outside banks 60 We have given you some tools to work with…. 61 ARE YOU READY FOR RETIREMENT?? FAQ’s and other Questions Book raffle 62 63 INFO GATHERING LIFESTYLE PLANNING A HAPPIER RETIREMENT! 64 65