Pension Plan of the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO)

A defined-contribution pension plan (also known as a money-purchase plan) for the benefit of APTPUO members was created on January 1^st, 1991.

The Plan is open to all members of the bargaining unit who have worked during the previous calendar year. Participation is optional. The decision to participate in the plan cannot be revoked for the duration of that session.

The contribution is set at 7% of the employee’s earnings for both the University of Ottawa and the member as of April 1, 2009 or as stipulated in the most recent APTPUO collective agreement. Because of the tax advantages of registered pension plan savings, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) limits how much you can contribute to this plan or to other registered plans each year. The maximum annual contribution you and your employer can contribute into your pension account is the lesser of 18% of your employment earnings and a dollar amount corresponding to the contribution ceiling.

You are always entitled to the contributions that you make to the plan.

The contributions made by the Plan Sponsor on your behalf are vested immediately.

Your contributions and the Sponsor’s contributions cannot be withdrawn until you terminate employment.

You are always entitled to the contributions that you make to the plan. You are entitled to 100% of employer contributions and this entitlement to employer contributions is called vesting.

Employees can elect to transfer contributions at any time, but must meet the eligibility requirements before they can re-enroll in the pension plan.

The Employer is the plan administrator and, for this purpose, may from time to time appoint agents to provide assistance.

A Pension Plan Committee oversees the plan, and the Committee is composed of an equal number of plan members and employer representatives.

The assets of the pension fund and the contributions made to the fund are invested only in securities and loans permitted by pension legislation.

You make the investment decisions for your contributions and your employer contributions. If you do not provide an investment direction or if you provide an unclear investment direction, your contributions will be invested in the ML Balanced Asset Allocation Fund (code 2003). This investment is the group default fund direction chosen by your employer.

The pension fund trustee is the insurance company, trust company or other entity that administers the pension fund. The custodian of a pension fund is the organization that actually holds the pension fund assets. Funding is by way of Group Deposit Administration Policy No. 34060, issued by Canada Life.

Your normal retirement age is 65. Your pension benefit is determined by a) the amount of the contributions plus investment earnings (or minus losses) in your account and b) the annuity rates in effect at the time of your retirement.

You may have several options available to you at retirement, such as an annuity, a life income fund (LIF), locked-in retirement account (LIRA), locked-in retirement income fund (LRIF). If you have a spouse when you retire, your retirement option is a joint life annuity, unless your spouse signs a waiver.

If you reach the normal retirement date and continue working, you may postpone receiving your retirement income until December 31 of the year in which you reach age 71.

You have a role to play by ensuring that your personal information maintained by the University is correct and up to date. When you do this, you help the University ensure prompt, accurate and efficient administration of your plan. Up-to-date personal information protects you and the University from errors and allows the University to accurately perform the tasks required by the pension regulators. All pension plan members should report any relevant changes in their personal information to the University.