Legislative amendments to the Pension Plan of the Judges of the Court of Québec and of Certain Municipal Courts (PPJCQM)
Changes to your public-sector pension plan
On 7 December 2017, the Act to implement certain
recommendations of the report of the committee on the remuneration
of judges for 2016‑2019 was assented to.
The legislative amendments mainly concern:
Name of the pension plan
The name of the plan is amended by replacing the Pension Plan of
the Judges of the Court of Québec and of Certain Municipal Courts (PPJCQM)
by the Pension Plan of Judges of the Court of Québec, Judges of
Certain Municipal Courts and Presiding Justices of the Peace.
In Retraite Québec's publications, it is referred to as the
Pension Plan of Certain Judges of Québec (PPCJQ) (Part V.1 of the Courts of Justice Act).
Participation of presiding justices of the peace in the pension plan
Since 1 January 2017, presiding justices of the peace have been
participating in the PPCJQ rather than the PPMP.
The contributory and pensionable salaries of a presiding justice
of the peace correspond to the annual salaries set by decree.
The additional salary received by justices responsible for
presiding justices of the peace is not considered a contributory or
pensionable salary.
Presiding justices of the peace who are granted a period of
absence without pay contribute on the salary they would have
received had they not been absent. In cases of sabbatical leaves
with deferred pay, they contribute on the salary they are actually paid.
Presiding justices of the peace are members of the supplemental
benefits plan (SBP) during the years they participate in the PPCJQ.
Transfer of years or parts of a year of service accrued under
the PPMP as presiding justices of the peace to the PPCJQ
Presiding justices of the peace who were contributing to the PPMP on 31 December 2016 can transfer years or parts of a year accrued
under the PPMP as presiding justices of the peace to the PPCJQ. The transfer gives
entitlement to credited service that can be recognized only under a
registered pension plan (RPP).
Only the years and parts of a year of service accrued under the PPMP after 29 June 2004 and during which a person contributed as a
presiding justice of the peace can be transferred on the actuarially
equivalent basis taking into account the applicable provisions of
the PPMP as at 31 December 2016.
The years and parts of a year of service that were not accrued
under the PPMP as a presiding justice of the peace cannot be transferred on the
actuarially equivalent basis.
Important
The application for a transfer must be received
by Retraite Québec no later than 1 September 2018.
The total number of years of service accrued
under the PPMP as a presiding justice of the peace, which includes years credited
for eligibility purposes and years that can be transferred to the PPCJQ,
is used to determine whether one of the following eligibility
requirements is met. The person must:
- have accrued 21.7 years of service;OR
- be age 55 or over and have accrued at least
5 years of service.
However, only half of those years of service are
used to determine whether the person meets the eligibility
requirement to "have reached the factor 80 (age + number of years of service)."
The years and parts of a year of service that are
transferred are not taken into account in the calculation of an
additional life annuity.
Rate for member contributions
On 30 June 2019, the rate will increase from 8% to 9%.