As you move through your career, information about your pension will help you make informed decisions.

Changing Jobs

What happens to my pension if I change jobs?

It depends on whether you are with an employer that has a transfer agreement with the Municipal Pension Plan. You may be able to transfer your pension credits. If you leave the municipal sector you have a number of options.

You can get more information by reading the Terminating your membership and Transferring service PensionFacts.

What if I am just moving from one Municipal Pension Plan employer to another?

Each Municipal Pension Plan employer is considered a separate employer. That means your contributions to the Municipal Pension Plan will end as soon as you leave your current employer, even if you are simply moving to another Municipal Pension Plan employer. However, if your break in service is 30 days or less, you must start contributing again as soon as you begin with your new employer. This also applies if you start working at a second employer in the pension plan while continuing to work and contribute to the Municipal Pension Plan with your previous employer. You should inform your new employer if this is your situation.

Service and Breaks in Service

What is service?

Pensionable service is your actual working time—the number of years (full-time equivalent) you spend working as a member of the Municipal Pension Plan.

Contributory service is the number of years you (and/or your employer) made contributions to the Municipal Pension Plan. It is used to determine if you are eligible for a pension, and whether your pension will be reduced (and by how much) should you decide to retire before age 60 (55) or 65 (60). You earn one month of contributory service when you earn any pay that month, and you and/or your employer make the required contribution for that time. You are vested (eligible for a pension) after two years of contributory service.

What happens to my pension if I take a break from my job?

This depends on a number of factors, including whether the leave is paid, partially paid or unpaid. For more information, see the leaves/breaks section of your Guide for Plan Members. You may also want to read the Purchasing leaves of absence PensionFacts.

If you take time off work to raise a child, you may be able to count that time away as part of your contributory service. For more information, see the information on child-rearing breaks in your Guide for Plan Members.

Transferring Pension Credits

Can I move my pension time to, or from, another pension plan?

It may be possible if there is a reciprocal transfer agreement with that plan and you didn't take a refund or a commuted value transfer when you left that prior plan. Transfer agreements exist with other public sector pension plans in BC and elsewhere across Canada, including the federal public service pension plan. There are no agreements with pension plans outside of Canada.

If there is a reciprocal transfer agreement in place and there is a pension value shortfall, you can transfer your full service by paying the shortfall amount. A shortfall is the amount of money required to pay for the difference between the full service in your prior plan and the service credited to your new plan under the transfer agreement. A shortfall occurs for a number of reasons, including different pension benefit formulas in each plan and salary differences between your old and new position.

For more information please refer to the Transferring service PensionFacts.

What's All This Paper I Keep Getting?

Every year I get a Member's Benefit Statement. What do I do with it?

The corporation will send you a personalized Member’s Benefit Statement once a year while you are contributing to the Municipal Pension Plan. This annual statement will list your:

• earliest retirement date,
• earliest retirement date with an unreduced pension,
• years of contributory service,
• years of pensionable service,
• contributions over the past year, and
• total contributions to date.

Your statement will also show pension estimates into the future. You should check the personal information carefully, and report any errors or omissions to your plan right away.

Why do I get a Pension Adjustment Statement? And what do I do with it?

You may be able to contribute to RRSPs while you are contributing to the Municipal Pension Plan. However, since you are already contributing to a pension plan, which is also a tax-deferred retirement benefit, your RRSP contribution limit will be affected.

Every year, the corporation will send you a Pension Adjustment (PA) statement containing details provided by your employer about your salary and service in the previous year through your payroll office sometime before the last day in February. You must include the statement with your yearly income tax return. You will be advised by Canada Revenue Agency on your Notice of Assessment how much RRSP contribution room you will have for the current year.

For more information see the Your pension and your RRSP room PensionFacts.

Why do I get a Report to Members each year?

Your Pension Plan is legally required to send each member an accounting of the previous year's financial activities within six months of the end of the fiscal year. The Report to Members tells you the financial state of your plan, details assets and liabilities, provides membership information, and provides plan updates. Your Board of Trustees contributes a message to the membership, highlighting important activities and looking ahead to the next year. Your Plan also publishes a full annual report, available online.

You'll find more information on how your plan is managed, including annual reports and investment information, on the About the Plan section of this website.