Plan amendment extends availability of Factor 80

Posted: May 22, 2002

Print this page Email the link

Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - An amendment to the OPSEU Pension Plan has extended the availability of the Plan’s voluntary Factor 80 early retirement option until October 31, 2002.

The amendment also extends the availability of the "Surplus Factor 80" provision for members who receive a notice of layoff. This provision is now available to eligible members until December 31, 2004.

Voluntary Factor 80

The voluntary Factor 80 is a time-limited provision that allows eligible members to retire early with an unreduced OPTrust pension. To be eligible, a member’s age plus his or her years of credit in the Plan must total exactly 80 on or before the October 31, 2002 deadline. OPTrust’s previous Factor 80 provision expired on March 31, 2002.

The new October 31, 2002 deadline applies to all members who reach their Factor 80-eligibility date after March 31.

In most cases, to qualify for the Factor 80 option, members who are purchasing (or "buying back") credit for periods of past service will need to complete any outstanding buyback payments before they retire. Members who did not work as a result of the recent OPSEU strike may also need to buy back credit for the strike period in order to qualify for Factor 80.

OPTrust will send a letter to every member whose OPTrust records indicate that he or she may qualify for the voluntary Factor 80 option by the October 31, 2002 deadline. These letters will be mailed in early June 2002. If you think you may qualify for Factor 80, please contact OPTrust as soon as possible to confirm your eligibility.

Important Time Limits

To retire under the voluntary Factor 80 option, eligible members must meet strict time limits:

• First, you must submit notice to your employer that you intend to retire under Factor 80. You must submit this notice in writing within 92 calendar days after the end of the month in which your age and credit total exactly 80. (Note: For members who reached their Factor 80-eligibility date during April 2002, the time limit for submitting the written notice has been extended by one month, to August 31, 2002.)
• Your notice must specify your resignation date. This must be no later than 92 calendar days after the latest date on which you could have submitted your notice.

For more information on the time limits for the voluntary Factor 80 option, please click here.

"Surplus" Factor 80

The recent plan amendment also extends the availability of the "Surplus Factor 80" provision for members who receive a notice of layoff from their employer. This provision (also known as "Factor 80 extension") allows members who receive a surplus notice, and who have reached Factor 80 or passed their Factor 80-eligibility window, to retire with an unreduced OPTrust pension.

With the recent Plan amendment, the Surplus Factor 80 applies to any member:

• who receives a notice of layoff before January 1, 2005, and
• whose age plus years of credit total 80 or more before January 1, 2005 and on the day they terminate their employment.

To qualify for a pension under the Surplus Factor 80, an eligible member

• Must notify the employer in writing that he or she will retire under the provision. This notice must be given within 92 days of the last day of the month in which the member receives his or her surplus notice.
• The member must leave his or her employment and retire no later than the layoff date in the surplus notice.

Who is Covered?

Both the voluntary Factor 80 and the Surplus Factor 80 are available to all qualifying members of the Plan. This includes OPTrust members who are covered by the Central Collective Agreement between OPSEU and the Government of Ontario, and members who are employed by other agencies, boards, commissions and organizations that participate in the OPSEU Pension Plan.

Both provisions are also available to divested members – or "special deferred pensioners" – who have the right to a deferred pension from the OPSEU Pension Plan.

Call OPTrust If You Think You Are Eligible

If you think you may qualify for Factor 80 by October 31, 2002 – or if you receive a notice of layoff and think you may qualify for the Surplus Factor 80 provision – please contact OPTrust as soon as possible. We will be happy to confirm your eligibility and provide you with more information.