Depending on their age and credit in the OPSEU Pension Plan, OPTrust members may be eligible to retire before age 65 with an immediate unreduced pension under one of the following provisions.
Factor 90 – Allows members to retire with an immediate unreduced pension if their age plus pensionable credit total at least 90 years.
60/20 – Allows members to retire with an immediate unreduced pension if they are at least 60 years old, and have 20 or more years of pensionable credit in the Plan.
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 Note! In order to qualify for this unreduced pension, the retiree must attain the age of 60 and 20 years of credit while still a member of the Plan.
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Bridging to an Unreduced Pension – Members who receive a notice of layoff may also be able to “bridge” to an unreduced pension. This requires special provisions within their collective agreement allowing the use of leaves of absence, the surplus notice period, and the period represented by severance payments to reach the date on which the member would be eligible for an unreduced retirement option. Bridging is currently available to:
- members who are declared surplus and are covered by the Central Collective Agreement between OPSEU and Management Board of Cabinet.
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 Important! Members who are receiving LTIP benefits and are considering taking an early retirement option should be advised to contact OPTrust directly to ensure that they are informed of all available options and the potential consequences associated with each alternative.
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Surplus Factor 80 is an early retirement provision that is available to eligible plan members who are permanently laid off. The provision allows affected members to qualify for an unreduced OPTrust pension if their age plus their credit in the Plan total 80 years or more when they leave their employment.
Where the necessary agreements are in place, bridging can also be used to qualify for a pension under Surplus Factor 80. In this case, the member must meet the eligibility criteria for Surplus Factor 80 in effect for their bargaining units.
Surplus Factor 80 – OPS
The Surplus Factor 80 provision has been amended to reflect negotiated changes to the OPS Central Collective Agreement that were ratified by OPSEU and the Government of Ontario effective February 26, 2009.
Under the amended Surplus Factor 80, plan members in the OPS may qualify for an unreduced pension if:
- they are laid off under the Central Collective Agreement before January 1, 2013
- their age plus their credit in the Plan total at least 80 years before January 1, 2013, and
- their age plus credit total at least 80 years on the date their employment ends.
Important: Under the amended Surplus Factor 80 provision for the OPS, the employer’s designated representative(s) must provide OPTrust with written confirmation that the member applying for a pension under Surplus Factor 80 has been laid off pursuant to the job security provisions of the Central Collective Agreement.* This confirmation can be provided using the OPTrust Employer Checklist for Retirements (OPTrust 1072). See procedures for more information.
*Note: OPTrust is not responsible for administering the Central Collective Agreement. The application of the job security provisions under this agreement is a matter between the OPS bargaining units and the employer.
Surplus Factor 80 – non-OPS employers
For members of other bargaining units outside the Ontario Public Service, employers and bargaining agents may negotiate agreements to provide for retirement for eligible members under the Surplus Factor 80 provision.
In these cases, the parties must jointly notify OPTrust and both sponsors of the terms of any such agreement.
As in the OPS, such agreements must specify that eligibility for a pension under Surplus Factor 80 is limited to members who are laid off after exhausting all other job security provisions provided for in their collective agreements. We recommend that employers contact OPTrust’s Policy Unit in advance to verify that a proposed Surplus Factor 80 agreement meets this criterion.
Where the parties agree to eligibility criteria that differ from those in effect for the Surplus Factor 80 provision in the OPS, the employer will be required to pay the Plan for any additional actuarial cost.
Once such a provision is in effect, non-OPS employers should provide a signed copy of the OPTrust Employer Checklist for Retirements (OPTrust 1072) when submitting a Surplus Factor 80 retirement case. See procedures for more information.
Revised November 2009
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