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When employees join OPTrust, they may be eligible to transfer credit
from a previous pension plan. As with a buyback, transferring credit increases
the amount of the member’s OPTrust pension at retirement and may allow him or
her to qualify for early retirement, or to qualify sooner.
Special transfer arrangements exist for employees who change membership from the
Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) to the OPSEU Pension Plan, or vice versa.
Members of the PSPP include management and excluded staff and employees
represented by other bargaining agents in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and
certain provincial government agencies. The PSPP is administered by the Ontario
Pension Board (OPB).
Bargaining unit status is a criteria used in determining whether an employee is
eligible for membership in the OPSEU Pension Plan or the PSPP. As a result, a
permanent change in an employee’s employment and/or bargaining unit status can
result in a change in plan membership. For example, if an OPS employee who is
represented by AMAPCEO accepts a permanent position that is part of the OPSEU
bargaining unit, he or she would cease to be a member of the PSPP and would be
automatically enrolled in the OPSEU Pension Plan.
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Note: An employee’s plan membership is not affected when he or she accepts a
temporary or acting assignment to a position that is covered by another pension
plan.
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Under the rules of both Plans, when a change to a member’s employment or
bargaining unit status results in a change of pension plan affiliation, the
transfer of their accumulated credit from the former to the new plan may be
either mandatory or optional. This depends on whether the employee moves to the
new position without terminating his or her employment.
A mandatory transfer from the PSPP to the OPSEU Pension Plan is required
whenever an employee moves directly from a management, excluded or AMAPCEO
position to a position in the OPSEU bargaining unit without terminating
employment.
If there is a break in service between the employee’s membership in the PSPP and
his or her enrolment in the OPSEU Pension Plan, transferring credit from the OPB
to OPTrust is optional. To transfer this credit, the employee must:
- have been a member of the PSPP and subsequently terminated employment
- be entitled to a deferred pension benefit or a refund of contributions from
the PSPP
- not be receiving a pension from the PSPP
- become a member of the OPSEU Pension Plan and complete the Membership Enrolment
form (OPTrust 1005), and
- complete and submit an Application for Past Service Credit form
(OPTrust 1036), and provide the details of his or her past service.
OPTrust will confirm that the member qualifies for a service transfer and
follow up with the member.
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Important! Employers should remind new OPTrust members that there is a strict
24-month time limit for submitting an application to transfer credit from the PSPP to the OPSEU Pension Plan.
Employees who are interested in transferring credit should submit their
Application for Past Service Credit form (OPTrust 1036) or contact OPTrust
directly as soon as possible after their enrolment.
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Revised October 12, 2004
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 For more information regarding transfers between the PSPP and the OPSEU Pension Plan, please see the OPTrust fact sheet,
OPB/OPTrust Transfers
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