YOUR PENSION SECURING YOUR FUTURE
ANSWERS TO YOUR PENSION QUESTIONS IF YOU’VE BEEN WORKING IN BC’S PUBLIC HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL SERVICES system (health authorities and affiliates, and community social service agencies) chances are you’re part of the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP) or the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP). Even if retirement is the furthest thing from your mind, it’s a good idea to have an understanding of how your pension plan works, and make sure you are getting the most of this important benefit. Here are the answers to some of our members’ most frequently asked questions about the MPP and PSPP, the two plans to which most BCNU members belong.
How is my retirement benefit calculated and how do I know how much I will receive when I retire?
Your actual pension benefit at retirement is not based on contributions. It is based on a formula that takes into consideration your age and your spouse’s age (if any) at retirement, your highest average salary (HAS), your years of pensionable service and the pension option you choose at retirement. Section 3 of your Member Benefit Statement provides an estimate of your monthly pension benefit at retirement. The plan will give you a lifetime pension, starting when you retire. After your death, depending on what kind of pension option you chose, the plan may continue to pay pension benefits to your spouse (if you have one) for his or her lifetime or to
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another beneficiary for a set period, or it may pay a lump sum payment to your estate. To increase your pension, you can increase your salary and/or your pensionable service. Your member benefit statement also notes your pensionable earnings and your pensionable service for the previous calendar year (Section 4). If you want to review your pensionable service history or estimate what your pension might be based on your current personal information, you can access the “My Account” page on the BC Pension Corporation website and use the general pension estimator tool. Not all earnings are pensionable. For example, straight time earnings are pensionable, but overtime is not. If you’re a member of the MPP and the PSPP and work for more than one employer,
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you will contribute on all earnings but will not accrue more than 12 months of pensionable service in one year. However, the total salary will be used to calculate your fiveyear highest average salary. Why does my Member Benefit Statement show less than 12 months of pensionable service when I work full time and never take unpaid leaves?
If you work the full number of shifts assigned to you in a year, your pensionable service should be 12 months if you work full time. There are legitimate reasons why you may be short pensionable service such as: you took more hours off than what was in your bank (such as vacation or sick leave); you swapped shifts and didn’t complete the swap; you really did take an unpaid leave; you took an unpaid
leave and did not apply to purchase that pension time back; or you had a change in rotation mid-year and lost time. The fact that you are paid in January for shifts worked in the previous year should not result in a shortfall in service. If you feel that your pensionable service is not reported correctly, contact your employer. If you disagree with the report from your employer, contact your steward for assistance. I take time off without pay (Leaves of Absence – LOA) during the year. Can I contribute to my pension when I am on an LOA and is my employer required to contribute?
Article 37 of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association provincial collective agreement (Leave – General) states that members will not lose benefits for the first 20 days (150 hours) of an unpaid leave of absence each year. In order for your pension benefit to remain whole, you can buy the service for the time you were not contributing to the plan. To do so you must submit a purchase of service form to your employer’s human resources department when you return from the leave. You have five years to purchase back the service. However, your employer is only obligated to pay its share of the contribution for the year prior to the application for purchase of service. Note that you must apply prior to March 31 of the year following the year when the leave(s) was