Buying past service

Learn about buying service for eligible periods of employment that occurred before you or your employer joined the pension plan

  1. Eligibility for past service
  2. Cost and payment for past service
  3. Applying for past service
  4. Estimate the increase to your pension

What you need to know

In this guide, past service refers to eligible periods of employment that occurred before you or your employer joined the College Pension Plan. Buying past service is an effective way to increase your pension and strengthen your long-term retirement security.

There are three types of past service you can buy:

  1. Time you worked in Canada and participated in a registered pension plan (former RPP)
    • Example: A former faculty member from Athabasca University who participated in the Universities Academic Pension Plan (UAPP) and later joins the College Pension Plan may apply to purchase past service using their funds from UAPP.
  2. Time you worked for a College Pension Plan employer before the employer joined the College Pension Plan
    • Example: A sessional instructor from Simon Fraser University (SFU) who joined the College Pension Plan and did not participate in any SFU pension plan may purchase periods of employment with SFU that occurred before SFU joined the College Pension Plan.
  3. Time you worked for a College Pension Plan employer but chose not to participate in the plan
    • Example: A part-time employee who opted out of joining the plan may later purchase this period once they become a member.

The cost to buy past service is typically higher than other types of service, like general or parental leaves, and is calculated based on factors that include age and salary.

Use the charts below to get a quick estimate based on your age and salary. It’s important that you understand the potential cost before starting the more detailed application process.

Cost to buy one year of past service from January 2016 to present ($)

  Member's current age (years)
Current
salary ($)		 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
70,000 11,100 11,500 12,300 13,600 15,300 19,000 21,400 23,000 20,400
90,000 14,300 14,700 15,800 17,500 19,700 24,400 27,500 29,600 26,300
110,000 17,500 18,000 19,300 21,400 24,100 29,800 33,700 36,100 32,100
130,000 20,700 21,300 22,900 25,300 28,500 35,200 39,800 42,700 38,000
150,000 23,900 24,600 26,400 29,200 32,900 40,700 45,900 49,300 43,800
170,000 27,100 27,900 29,900 33,100 37,300 46,100 52,000 55,800 49,700
190,000 30,300 31,100 33,400 37,000 41,700 51,500 58,200 62,400 55,500
250,000 39,800 41,000 44,000 48,700 54,900 67,800 76,500 82,100 73,000
300,000 47,800 49,200 52,800 58,400 65,800 81,300 91,800 98,500 87,700

 

Cost to buy one year of past service from before January 2016 ($)

  Member's current age (years)
Current
salary ($)		 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
70,000 12,600 12,800 13,600 15,100 17,000 21,000 22,400 19,500 17,400
90,000 16,400 16,800 17,900 19,700 22,200 27,600 29,500 26,000 23,200
110,000 20,300 20,700 22,200 24,500 27,500 34,200 36,700 32,600 29,000
130,000 24,200 24,700 26,400 29,200 32,900 40,800 44,000 39,200 34,800
150,000 28,000 28,700 30,700 33,900 38,200 47,400 51,100 45,800 40,700
170,000 31,900 32,700 35,000 38,700 43,500 53,900 58,300 52,300 46,500
190,000 35,800 36,700 39,300 43,400 48,900 60,500 65,500 58,900 52,400
250,000 47,400 48,600 52,100 57,600 64,800 80,300 87,100 78,600 69,900
300,000 57,100 58,600 62,800 69,500 78,200 96,800 105,100 95,000 84,500

Taking advantage of this opportunity involves a few important steps. We strongly recommend reviewing the full guide before applying. We encourage you to speak to an independent financial advisor to see if buying past service is the best choice for you.