Act respecting mainly the implementation of recommendations of the pension committee of certain public sector pension plans (S.Q. 2015, chapter 27)

Changes to Your Pension Plan

The Act respecting mainly the implementation of recommendations of the pension committee of certain public sector pension plans was assented to on November 20, 2015 (S.Q. 2015, chapter 27).

The principal amendments are presented below.

Amendment to the redemption (buy-back) of service performed in a body before it became subject to the pension plan

Pension plans concerned: RREGOP, PPMP, RPSO and PPCT

Effective: November 20, 2015

Since November 20, 2015, if you are employed by a body that became subject to one of these plans following an act that came into force after June 30, 2011, you may redeem the service performed in that body before it became subject to the plan, subject to certain conditions.

In addition, if you were employed by a body not subject to a plan, which ceased to exist after June 30, 2011, and you were integrated into a body whose employees already participated in one of those plans, you may redeem the service performed in the former before your integration, subject to certain conditions.

Addition of the possibility of a PPMP or RPSO pensioner redeeming years of service

Pension plans concerned: PPMP and RPSO

Effective: November 20, 2015

Since November 20, 2015, if you are a PPMP or RPSO pensioner, you may buy-back credited service (years at 2%) if you meet the following two conditions:

• the service used for computing your basic pension was reduced further to a pension adjustment or correction;
• you were, on the date of your retirement or further to a correction made after you ceased participating in the plan, entitled to buy-back years of service that can be recognized to compute your pension.

The maximum that can be buy-back is the equivalent of the service that was reduced. You have 180 days from the date of the notice informing you of the number of years used to compute your reduced pension to submit your application for buy‑back.

If the service used to compute your pension was reduced in 2015, you may apply for this buy-back, provided we receive your application before July 1, 2016.

Amendments to the situations for which the time limit for adjusting a pension downward does not apply

Pension plans concerned: All plans

Effective: November 3, 2015

Since November 3, 2015, if overpayments made or benefits granted result from one of the following three cases that could reasonably have been noticed by you, your pension may be adjusted downward, even if the time limit prescribed has expired:

• an administrative error;
• an error in the data provided by the employer;

• a change made to the projected data for the period from the date of the pension application until the date of the end of participation. That data must have been used to compute overpayments.

  Note that we project participation data when we have not yet received the annual report for that period and we must process a pension application.

Amendment to the criteria for debt remission

Pension plans concerned: All plans

Effective: November 3, 2015

Automatic debt remission applies to debts established after November 3, 2015, regardless of when we noted that amounts were overpaid. Those debts must be in relation to:

• pension amounts overpaid;
• pension credit amounts overpaid;
• excess reimbursement of contributions;
• excess reimbursement of the actuarial value of the pension.

Debt remission because of low income applies to any sum owing to us and for which we were not able to apply automatic debt remission.

Debt remission does not apply, despite low income, when overpayments or benefits granted result from one of the following three cases that could reasonably have been noticed by you:

• an administrative error;
• an error in the data provided by the employer;
• a change made to the projected data for the period from the date of the pension application until the date of the end of participation. That data must have been used to compute overpayments or grant benefits.

Amendment to the start date for the computation of penalty interest

Pension plans concerned: All plans

Effective: November 20, 2015

Since November 20, 2015, computation of penalty interest may begin on December 31 of the year during which the maximum age for membership provided for in each plan has been reached.