pension
plan

Termination of Employment Before Retirement

1. How does Plan Membership terminate and what happens when it does?
2. Are my Benefits portable?

Termination of Plan Membership

1. How does Plan Membership terminate and what happens when it does? 
For the purposes of the Plan your membership will be deemed to have terminated if during two consecutive Plan years, your Employers have remitted for less than a total of 350 hours. If this happens, then you will be entitled to receive your accumulated pension upon retirement if you are fully vested. 

If you terminate from the Plan with fully vested benefits, and return to work in the Plan jurisdiction for at least 175 hours in one year, you immediately begin earning additional service in the Plan on top of your previously vested benefits. 

If you terminated without full vesting, or if you transferred out the value of your earned pension in a lump sum (see “Portability”), then upon return to the Plan you will be treated as a new Plan member with no service in the Plan. 

If you terminate, you may still have Plan benefits. Be sure to notify the Plan of any address changes so that we may keep you informed.


2. Are my Benefits portable?
If you terminate your membership in the Plan, if you are fully vested (i.e.., have more than 2 years of membership in the Plan) and under age 55, you can request that the Trustees transfer the value of your vested pension benefit to your locked-in RRSP or Life Income Fund (LIF), or to purchase an annuity. 

Please note the critical words which are underlined in the above paragraph. A “locked-in” RRSP or LIF is a special plan that does not allow you to receive the money in a lump sum payment. It must be used to provide you with pension income upon retirement. Under BC pension legislation transfer amounts that qualify as a small pension do not have to be “locked-in”. The value of your pension benefit is not the same as the total contributions made on your behalf.