This section provides background information on the process for purchasing – or “buying back” – past service credit in the OPSEU Pension Plan and describes the procedures and forms employers must provide to OPTrust when a member has applied to buyback past service.

A member may decide to buy back credit for eligible periods of past service for a variety of reasons. For example, completing a buyback:

• will increase the member’s pension when he/she retires
• may help the member to qualify for one of the Plan’s unreduced early retirement options, or may qualify the member sooner
• may allow the member to qualify for post-retirement health, dental and life insurance benefits provided by the Government of Ontario.

Depending on the circumstances, the employer may be required to:

• provide documentation as part of the buyback application process
• pay contributions to the OPSEU Pension Plan for a portion of the buyback cost
• remit the member’s payroll deductions and/or employer contributions to OPTrust.

			Important! There is a 24-month time limit for the member to submit his or her buyback application form to OPTrust. Applying for a buyback carries no obligation to purchase the service. Rather it opens up a 10-year window within which the member may complete the purchase. The member is not committed to the purchase until he or she signs the form Agreement to Purchase Credit (OPTrust 1017). The member may also request that OPTrust stop the buyback If the Plan's normal 24-month application window has expired, the member can apply to purchase the prior service through the Plan's open option buyback. For more information, please refer to the fact sheet Open Option Buyback.

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Information for members on the costs and benefits of buying back credit and the buyback process is available in OPTrust’s booklet Your Pension and Buying Back Credit.