Pension News updated February 01, 2012
Ontario Teacher Pension Survey
The Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF), the Ontario government, and
the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) have hired POLLARA, a national
research firm, to conduct a survey of pension plan members to gauge
their understanding of pension plan provisions and issues.
POLLARA will be conducting telephone interviews during the month of February. Specifically, some pre-testing of survey questions will occur February 7-13, 2012 and the survey itself will be conducted between February 15-29, 2012.
OECTA encourages members to participate in this survey.
Read the full OECTA e-agenda here
Changes to CPP January 1, 2012
Changes to the Canada Pension Plan may affect your contributions and benefits. Read the service Canada "need to know" page here.
Effective 1 January 2012 employees who are at least 65 years of age but under 70 and receiving a CPP retirement benefit must make contributions to CPP unless an election to stop paying CPP contributions (Form CPT30 - attached) is forwarded to the Winnipeg Tax Centre and a copy is received in the payroll department. The election will take effect on the first day of the month following the month you provide a completed and signed election form. Deductions will stop on the first pay in the month following receipt of the copy of the CPT30 in the payroll department.
New: CPP post retirement benefit for recipients 60-65. Read details here.
Should you elect to continue making contributions no further action is required on your part. Contributions made to CPP after your CPP pension has commenced will be directed towards the new Post-Retirement-Benefit (PRB). The Post-Retirement Benefit (PRB) is a new lifetime benefit that will increase your retirement income and rises with increase in the cost of living, even if you already draw the maximum pension from CPP. For more information on changes to CPP and how they will affect you please go to the Service Canada Information page.
Even if you have previously provided the Board with a copy of
your Notice of Entitlement a copy of a completed
Form CPT30 must be
received in the payroll department, if you do not wish to start
contributing to CPP again.
The original Form CPT30 must be sent to:
Winnipeg Tax Centre
Specialty Service Section
66 Stapon Road
Winnipeg, MB R3C
Pension Update - Polling of Members
The Ontario Teachers’ Federation, in co-operation with the Government of
Ontario and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has commissioned Pollara to
undertake a poll of members. During the next couple of months you may be
contacted by Pollara to solicit your participation.
We would appreciate your co-operation in this project.
2012 OTPP Inflation Adjustment
The inflation adjustment for OTPP pensions to be applied January 1, 2012 is
2.8%.
This is also the rate to be used to adjust the pensionable salary for members on
LTD for the 2011/2012 school year.
Since conditional indexing has been set at 60% for post-2009 service, the
post-2009 portion of pensions will receive an adjustment of 1.68% (= 60% of
2.8%). The pre-2010 portion will receive the full 2.8% adjustment.
For interest, the annual change in inflation for September 2011 was 3.2%. This
is the number which is quoted in the media.
OTPP has shared this result with both the Ontario Pension Board (OPB) and OPSEU
Pension Trust, who use the same formula and time period to calculate their
inflation adjustment. Both plans have confirmed the OTPP result.
OMERS and CPP use a calculation similar to OTPP, but their averaging period ends
in October. It is expected that their adjustment will be around 2.8%.
If you have any questions, please contact Joe Pece at the Provincial Office.
PENSION UPDATE – tentative plan to address funding
The Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF) and the Ontario government are
using conditional inflation protection as part of a tentative plan to
address a projected $17.2 billion funding shortfall in the Ontario
Teachers' Pension Plan. The agreement is subject to final approval by
the OTF and the government.
- If you retired before 2010, the change does not affect you. You
will continue to receive 100% inflation protection every year.
- If you retired after 2009, the change will result in annual pension
increases for the next three years that are slightly smaller than
they would be with 100% inflation protection. For example, a
typical retiree will forgo about $2 a month in inflationary
increases for three years.
The 2011 shortfall solution also includes a 1.1% contribution rate
increase for working members and recognizes the current contribution
rate as the permanent base rate.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.otpp.com/funding
http://www.FundingYourPension.com
PENSION UPDATE – 2011 Valuation Discussions
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has lots of money in the fund, but...
Each year, an independent actuary prepares a financial assessment of the Ontario
Teachers’ Pension Plan based on best-estimate assumptions. This “valuation”
examines Plan assets and liabilities, projecting 70 years into the future. The
Partners—the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) and the Ontario Government—must
then decide whether to “file” that valuation with the regulators.
To file the valuation, the Plan must be fully funded, that is, without a
deficit. Legally, public pension plans must file a valuation at least every
three years showing that they are fully funded. Filing can occur sooner, if the
Partners decide it is in the best interest of the members.
Read the May 19 Pension Update here.
RWTO/OERO - Retired Women Teachers
Consider joining RWTO/OERO, an organization of Retired Women Teachers - Mississauga Branch
Details on their web pages at http://www.rwto-oero-mississauga.com
Pensioner OTPP and CPP deductions
Pensioners are required to send a letter to payroll stating that you are in receipt of Pension from the Teacher’s Pension Plan and that you understand the re-employment guidelines. Details and a letter can be found below.
Changes to the plan's re-employment provisions - September 2012
The Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF) and the Ontario government
have changed the plan's re-employment provisions.
Effective September 1, 2012:
- You can work in education up to 50 days per school year.
- Employers will report re-employment service to Teachers'. You
will still be required to track your re-employment service and contact Teachers'
if you exceed the limit.
In addition, the definition of "re-employed pensioner" will expand to the
following effective September 1, 2010:
- If you provide any services for compensation after retirement for an employer
who participates in the pension plan, you will be considered a re-employed
pensioner and subject to re-employment
rules and regulations. This applies whether you are employed, self-employed or
hired through a third party.
For more information on working after retirement, please visit the pension
website at:
the OTPP webpages
Re-employment limits for pensioners
As of January 1, 2009, all retirees, regardless of age, are subject to the 95/20 day re-employment limits.
- Know your re-employment limit
- Understand what work counts toward re-employment
The rules governing working after retirement are detailed here on the OTPP member information pages.
Note that 'volunteer work, even if you don't accept payment.' is counted as re-employment under some conditions. Retired teachers are reminded that they must notify the pension board and the school board if they exceed 20 or 95 days. Every paid day, including the O.T. P.A. day, is counted.
from the TPP web pages: "Any pension payments you were not entitled to receive after reaching the limit, must be returned to us with interest." It is your responsibility to track your days and notify both the school and pension board if you exceed the limit. Count half days as 0.6, as this is what the board reports to the TPP.
If you are re-employed in August, be sure you know which school year those days count toward. It's especially important if you have already exceeded your re-employment limit for the school year.
If you have concerns or questions, call the member hotline at (416) 226-2700 or 1-800-668-0105 (toll free).
Casebook Diary - Volunteer work counts as employment
Case
A retired teacher, who is working as an occasional teacher, calls with concerns
about an article in Pension News from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board
(OTTPB), which suggests that volunteer work counts toward the 95/20 day
re-employment limits.
Advice
Unfortunately, the Pension News article did not fully explain how volunteer work
would count as employment days. The OTPPB has clarified the point in the online
version of Pension News, which reads as follows: “Volunteering counts toward the
re-employment limit if the duties/position would normally be reported to OTP
(salary and credit are associated with the work), even if the person does not
accept the payment to which they are entitled. In other words, volunteering
counts if the employer otherwise treats it as employment in Education.”
Discussion
The OTPPB has received information about several cases involving pensioners who
have incorrectly assumed that they could agree to continue working beyond their
re-employment limits and not receive payment for the work. Clearly, these
individuals are doing work for which someone should be paid, and for which the
employer would normally pay. Failure to follow the rules can be costly. Excess
re-employment can result in pension payments that must be repaid before a
pension can resume. If in doubt, contact OTPP for confirmation of the rules.
Phone: 1-800-668-0105 Website: www.otpp.com
Online presentation explains funding the Teachers’ Pension Plan
Funding challenges facing the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) are
explained in a new online presentation “Funding Your Pension”, located at
http://fundingyourpension.com/index.php
Please take some time to view the online presentations and complete a brief
online survey, entitled “Rate the Presentations.”
Read the complete e-agenda.
Retired Teachers - no pension deductions if you exceed the limits
You no longer contribute to the pension plan if you exceed the re-employment limit, with one exception noted below. Contact your employer if contributions are inadvertently deducted from your pay after Dec. 31, 2008. (Your pension will still be suspended if you work after the month in which you exceed the limit.)
Full details are available on the OTPP pages here.
Pension Alert:
Re-employment Rule Changes Will Affect Retired
Members
As of January 2009, amendments to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan will affect retired members.
The most important addresses a complaint of ageism under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Specifically, retirees under the age of 71 were subject to re-employment limits that did not apply to retirees aged 71 and older (69 and over prior to January 1, 2007).
The Plan re-employment rule changes take
effect
January 1, 2009.
As for all re-employment issues, it is the responsibility of the
retired member to meet the Plan requirements.
On January 1, 2009, all retirees, regardless of age, are subject to the
95/20 day re-employment limits.
Therefore if you are 71 or older and currently exempt from re-employment limits, you should be aware of the following:
1) no prior work during the current school year is counted toward the limit. If you have taught between September 1, 2008 and December 19, 2008, these days do not count towards the 95/20 limits.
2) Begin counting all work after January 1, 2009 towards the re-employment limit.
3) If you are in a long term occasional assignment, the preceding (1 & 2) apply as stated.
4) To determine if you have any 95 day re-employment years remaining, you must take into account any previous re-employment years, prior to you meeting the previously existing exemption requirements (age 69 prior to January 2007 and age 71 until January 1, 2009). The 95 day rule states that in the first three years of any form of re-employment in education, you may work up to 95 days in Ontario public schools or designated schools or organizations.
For more information contact: Counseling & Membership Services Dept at OECTA Provincial at 416-925-2493 or 1-800-268-7230
Read the OECTA e-agenda alert on pension changes
**Should this negatively impact on you OR you do not agree with the new pension restrictions, email OECTA President, Elaine MacNeil (e.macneil@oecta.on.ca) and Reno Melatti (r.melatti@oecta.on.ca) OR send your letters to them c/o OECTA, 65 St. Clair Avenue East, Toronto, ON M4T 2Y8 to ensure they are aware of your views!
Notify
the Board of your retirement date
Occasional teachers who are applying to start receiving Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan pension should inform the Board in writing of the date of retirement. In the same letter they should state their intention to remain on the occasional supply list (if that is what they want). This will ensure that the Board can capture and report accurate information to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and will not affect their status on the supply list.
Notify the board if you are receiving CPP
(Canada Pension Plan)
Occasional teachers who are receiving Canada Pension Plan pension payments (CPP) should forward to the payroll department a copy of the "Notice of Entitlement" that they will receive from CPP. Upon receipt of this document payroll will stop deducting CPP.
Mandatory Retirement Changes
Check the link below for information regarding changes to mandatory retirement and related benefit information. The Human Resources Department will now be reviewing requests for extensions past 65 years of age.
Read about the mandatory retirement changes.
The Board will need to review and make the necessary changes to its policies and procedures to accommodate its employees who wish to work past 65. More information to follow as it becomes available.
Ontario's Family Medical Leave
The Minister of Labour has recently published a Minister's Letter and short document regarding Family Medical Leave under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
"The Ontario government has created a family medical leave that now allows employees in Ontario who are caring for a gravely ill family member to take up to eight weeks off work without worrying about losing their jobs."