|
|
 |
When completing the Membership Enrolment form (OPTrust 1005), employers
must provide the employee’s continuous employment date and his or her plan
membership date.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: OPTrust does not use the continuous service date for pension
administration purposes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The continuous employment date is the first day of the employee’s most recent
period of unbroken employment – whether in a permanent/classified,
contract/unclassified, or seasonal position. Employers must provide this date
when completing the OPTrust Membership Enrolment form.
The continuous employment date is separate from the plan membership date, which
is the date when a member joins the Plan. The continuous employment date is also
separate from the continuous service date, which may be adjusted to reflect
periods of prior service that pre-date the continuous employment date.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Important! The continuous employment date is used by OPTrust to determine
whether the enrolling member is eligible to buyback a period of prior
non-contributory service. The employer must enter the correct continuous
employment date on the Membership Enrolment form (OPTrust1005) so that OPTrust
can provide the member with an automatic buyback quote at enrolment. Please see
Buybacks at Enrolment for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employers use the continuous service date to calculate seniority, entitlement to
severance payments and entitlement to benefits such as vacation for
permanent/classified employees. The continuous service date is not directly
linked to the member’s credit in the OPSEU Pension Plan, which can vary as a
result of contract/unclassified service, leaves of absence, buybacks, transfers,
part-time work and other factors.
An adjustment to the continuous service date does not affect the member’s
eligibility to purchase credit for periods of past service under the Pension
Plan. Upon enrolment, a member may apply to buy back any prior service,
including non-credited government service. Strict application timelines must be
met.
The plan membership date is the first day of the employee’s most recent period
of unbroken membership in the Plan. This may be different from an employee’s
continuous service date and/or continuous employment date. The plan membership
date is not directly linked to credit earned in the Plan, which may vary due to
unpaid leaves of absence, part-time work, buybacks, transfers and other factors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples: Continuous Employment and Plan Membership Dates
The relationship between the continuous employment date and the plan membership
date may vary depending on the employee’s circumstances.
Example 1: Sunil starts working in a classified position with the Ministry of
Transportation on July 1, 2003 with no prior service. July 1, 2003 is therefore
his continuous employment date. Because enrolment in the Plan is mandatory for
permanent employees, July 1, 2003 is also Sunil’s plan membership date.
Example 2: Barbara joins the Ministry of Natural Resources as an unclassified
employee on May 1, 2002. Barbara later decides to enrol in the plan voluntarily,
starting September 1, 2003. Barbara’s continuous employment date is therefore
May 1, 2002, while her plan membership date is September 1, 2003.
When OPTrust receives Barbara’s Membership Enrolment form from her employer, we
use both dates to determine how much non-contributory service Barbara is
eligible to buy back. In this case, we would mail her a cost quote for
purchasing credit for her 16 months of service between May 1, 2002 and August
31, 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: OPTrust no longer uses the “pension credit date” in calculating a members’
credit or entitlement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revised March 2010
|
|
|
