Regulatory amendments to the provisions of certain public-sector pension plans
Changes to your public-sector pension plan
On 17 July 2018, a number of regulatory amendments took effect, enacting certain provisions of the Act respecting the implementation of recommendations of the pension committee of certain public sector pension plans and amending various legislative provisions, which was assented to on 21 March 2018.
The legislative amendments mainly concern:
Absences without pay that do not require employer authorization
Pension plans affected: RREGOP, PPMP, TPP, CSSP, PPCT, RPSO
Effective date: 14 June 2002
On 21 March 2018, amendments to the Act respecting the implementation of recommendations of the pension committee of certain public sector pension plans and amending various legislative provisions took effect. The amendments provide that absences without pay must be authorized by the employer, retroactive to 14 June 2002, and that the government may establish by regulation that other types of absence can be considered absences without pay.
Pursuant to the regulatory amendments enacted on 17 July 2018, employer authorization is not required in order for certain periods of absence to be recognized as absences without pay. Those periods are absences resulting from:
- a strike
- a lockoutOR
- a disciplinary suspension during which the member does not receive any remuneration.
Periods of absence resulting from an agreement to restore employment ties with an employer
Pension plans affected: RREGOP, PPMP, TPP, CSSP, PPCT, RPSO
Effective date: 17 July 2018
A period of absence resulting from an agreement to restore employment ties for the purposes of a pension plan does not correspond to an absence without pay as defined under the Act. However, the regulatory amendments allow for that type of absence to be considered an absence without pay under certain conditions, depending on the date on which the agreement is signed.
Agreements signed between 7 May 2016 and 16 July 2018
A period of absence without pay following the date of dismissal can be recognized as an absence without pay provided it is considered as such under the agreement.
If the agreement so provides, the person may continue to contribute to the pension plan during the period in question.
Out-of-court settlements [1] or agreements [2] ending a dispute over a dismissal, signed on or after 17 July 2018
- To be recognized as an absence without pay, a period of absence must:
- be within 36 months of the date of dismissal, if it resulted from a disability;OR
- be within 24 months of the date of dismissal, if it did not result from a disability.
- The period of absence must end on the earliest of the dates on which the person would become eligible for an immediate pension.
A person in that situation can neither continue to contribute to the pension plan nor be exempt from contributions after the date of dismissal.
Cost of a buy-back of service accrued and recognized following a change in employment status or employer
Pension plan affected: RREGOP, PPMP, RPSO
Effective date: 21 March 2018
The cost of a buy-back of service accrued and recognized following a change in employment status or employer varies according to the period.
For periods of service accrued in the 3 years preceding the date on which the application for a buy-back is received, the cost is equal to the contributions that the person would have paid under the working conditions that should have applied as a member of the pension plan in question.
The date of receipt of an application is determined based on the type of decision rendered:
| Type of decision | Date of receipt of the application for a buy‑back |
|---|
| Decision rendered further to a petition to the Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT) | Date on which the petition was filed |
| Decision rendered by the TAT further to an investigation | Date of the decision in question |
| Decision rendered by Revenu Québec or the Canada Revenue Agency | Date of the decision in question |
| Decision rendered by the RREGOP/PPMP arbitration tribunal | Date of receipt of the application for a buy‑back concerned by the decision |
In cases where employer contributions are required, the employer must pay an amount equal to the employee contributions required for the 3 years of service preceding the date on which the application for a buy-back is received.
The cost of a buy-back for service that was not accrued in the 3 years preceding the date of receipt of the application is determined using the applicable tariff schedule:
The rates vary according to the pensionable salary on the date on which the application for a buy-back is received. If the person is not contributing to the plan on that date, the pensionable salary corresponds to the salary that he or she would have received or to which he or she would have been entitled under the working conditions that should have applied as a member of the pension plan in question.
- Note 1Under the RREGOP, the TPP, the CSSP and the PPCT, the absence will be credited only if the out-of-court settlement stipulates that both parties came to an agreement to that effect. Absences provided for in other types of agreements under which employment ties are restored solely for the purposes of a pension plan will not be credited. Back to reference
- Note 2Under the PPMP and the RPSO, the absence will be credited if it is stipulated that both parties agreed to it under any type of agreement ending the dispute. Back to reference