Buying past service

Learn about buying service for eligible periods of employment that occurred before you or your employer joined the College Pension Plan


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 10,774 11,105 11,948 13,260 14,976 18,545 20,865 22,287 19,705
90,000 13,852 14,278 15,362 17,049 19,255 23,844 26,826 28,655 25,336
110,000 16,931 17,451 18,776 20,837 23,533 29,143 32,788 34,023 30,966
130,000 20,009 20,624 22,190 24,626 27,812 34,441 38,749 41,390 36,596
150,000 23,087 23,796 25,604 28,415 32,091 39,740 44,711 47,758 42,226
170,000 26,165 26,969 29,018 32,203 36,370 45,039 50,672 54,126 47,856
190,000 29,244 30,142 32,432 35,992 40,648 50,337 56,634 60,494 53,486
250,000 38,478 39,661 42,673 47,358 53,485 66,233 74,518 79,597 70,377
300,000 46,174 47,593 51,208 56,829 64,182 79,4180 89,422 95,516 84,452

 

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 12,227 12,490 13,353 14,759 16,642 20,705 22,949 19,106 16,893
90,000 15,965 16,343 17,499 19,390 21,821 27,139 28,962 25,474 22,523
110,000 19,703 20,196 21,644 23,960 27,017 33,574 35,976 31,842 28,154
130,000 23,441 24,049 25,790 28,561 32,212 40,008 42,989 38,210 33,784
150,000 27,179 27,901 29,935 33,161 37,408 46,442 50,003 44,577 39,414
170,000 30,916 31,754 34,080 37,761 42,604 52,876 57,016 50,945 45,044
190,000 34,654 35,607 38,226 42,362 47,799 59,310 64,029 57,313 50,674
250,000 45,868 47,165 50,662 56,163 63,686 78,612 85,070 76,416 67,565
300,000 55,213 56,797 61,025 67,664 76,375 94,697 102,604 92,335 81,640

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.