SECRETARY-TREASURER’S MESSAGE
I
don’t think that the number of changes we have seen over the past two years is quantifiable. One of the easiest things to lose sight of is the Executive Board change-over that we went through in July of last year. With the change-over always comes a change of roles for new and existing members of the Board. With Frank Ramagnano’s departure, I was tasked with taking over the role of Pension Liaison for the Benefits Committee. I spent time with Frank before his departure to discuss the position. It was abundantly clear that it would take me many years of education to know what he knew. Some members allowed me to sit in on their meetings with Frank to gain experience. I am fortunate that the IAFF employs Frank and he is still available to me, and by extension, all of you, as a resource. There are many similarities in the members’ questions and yet specific differences. We have not held a retirement seminar in person for quite some time. As restrictions lift, we are actively working on planning for the next one. We do have the luxury of recorded versions on our website. They are a resource that I regularly point our members towards. If you go to the website and click on the resource tab, you will find the link to our committees. Click on the Benefits Committee and then scroll down on the opening page. That’s where you will find these videos. There are two different yet equally important presentations. The City of Toronto Staff provides you with the information you need regarding the process for retirement. They provide you with information on the sick time gratuity, whether you want to take it in cash or in time, your vacation and lieu day buyouts, information on life insurance, post-65 benefits, and help to walk you through the process of retiring. Anyone looking to retire should reach out to Team Central at 416-338-0016 to start the process. The OMERS section of the video will provide you with information on how the pension is calculated. You will see
where OMERS invests your money to fulfill the pension promise. It also explains the bridge payment, something that is often overlooked when deciding when to retire. The bridge is a benefit that you pay into throughout your career. As the name suggests, it provides a bridge until you reach 65 years of age. The bridge is finite, and it ends at 65 regardless of whether you retire at 50 or 64 years of age. You are eligible to start collecting CPP at age 60, yet you receive the bridge until age 65. It is something to look at when determining when to retire. The OMERS presentation also provides all you need to know about survivor benefits, which is what happens to your pension if you pass away. Finally, AVC’s (Additional Voluntary Contributions) concept is discussed. AVCs allow you to invest your own money in the pension plan, like investing in a mutual fund. Most of the information found in these videos will be completely relevant today. The outlier is the limitation on service years. At the time of recording, the maximum service years were 35 years. Since recording the videos, OMERS has changed the rules to remove the 35-year limitation to allow 50 years for a 100% pension. This change forces members to make decisions on retirement based on needs and not on arbitrary dates thrown around at kitchen tables. As I started with, we are working on another retirement seminar. We have also done one-on-ones with OMERS representatives at our office. We hope to be able to do this again as well. If your retirement plan can’t wait, I suggest you visit omers.com/virtual-one-on-ones if you would like to book a virtual meeting with an OMERS rep. There is an incredible amount of information available on the omers.com website. Members at all stages of their careers should spend some time on the site. “It is NEVER too early to start planning for your retirement,” is something that Frank always told our recruits. It holds today. The issue of NRA 60 vs 65 has been
prevalent again recently. As a brief explanation. We are currently NRA 60. This allows you to retire early at age 50, and if you have 30 years of service or if your age and years of service equal 85, that pension is “unreduced,” meaning that there is no penalty for retiring early. Under NRA 65, your normal retirement age is 65, and you can retire at 55, and if you have 30 years of service or your age and years of service are equal to 90, you can retire with an “unreduced” pension. Because you can leave earlier under NRA 60, it is more expensive for you and the employer. The concern that is often raised is that the number of members able to utilize the benefits of NRA 60 is low. Therefore, we are paying for a benefit that most do not use. There have been many discussions around switching from NRA 60 to NRA 65. At a recent Sponsors Forum, the OPFFA requested that OMERS address the plan changes that the OPFFA has submitted. OPFFA asked OMERS to investigate establishing a transition class for those wanting to convert from NRA 60 to NRA 65, thus removing one of the barriers to converting, which is a legal liability to the locals. If this transition class was in place, members who did not want to convert to NRA 65 could remain. It would act like the grandfathering clauses that we are familiar with. I hope I have provided you with some insight. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
James Reed, Secretary-Treasurer Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association I.A.F.F. Local 3888
Vo l u m e 1 5 | I s s u e 4 | F I R E WAT CH
7
