Transfers to the PSPP

Revised: May 2015 Print this page Email the link

When members terminate from the OPSEU Pension Trust, they may be eligible to transfer credit to their new pension plan. 

Special transfer arrangements exist for members who leave the OPSEU Pension Plan and become members of the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP), administered by the Ontario Pension Board (OPB).

Bargaining Unit Status and Membership in the PSPP

Members of the PSPP include management and excluded staff and employees represented by other non-OPSEU bargaining agents in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and certain provincial government agencies. 

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 OPSEU accepts a permanent non-bargaining unit position, he or she would cease to be a member of the OPSEU Pension Plan, and would be automatically enrolled in the PSPP.

 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.

Mandatory vs. Optional Transfers

Under the rules of both Plans, when a change in 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.

Mandatory Transfers to the PSPP

A mandatory transfer from the OPSEU Pension Plan to the PSPP may be required whenever an employee moves directly from a position in the OPSEU bargaining unit to a management, excluded or AMAPCEO position without terminating employment. 

Some employers, such as post-2012 receiving and authorized employers and the OPTrust employer, are excluded from the provision.

In this case, the member’s pension credit in the OPSEU Pension Plan is automatically transferred to the PSPP once OPTrust receives the completed Transfer of Membership Between the OPSEU Pension Plan and the Public Service Pension Plan (OPTrust 1040) form. 

 Important! The employer must complete a Transfer of Membership Between the OPSEU Pension Plan and the Public Service Pension Plan form (OPTrust 1040) whenever a member moves permanently from a position in the OPSEU bargaining unit to a management, excluded or AMAPCEO position.

Optional Transfers to the PSPP

If there is a break in service between the employee’s membership in the OPSEU Pension Plan and his or her enrolment in the PSPP, transferring credit from OPTrust to the OPB is optional. 

To complete an optional transfer to the PSPP, the employee must:

• have been a member of the OPSEU Pension Plan and subsequently terminated employment
• be entitled to a deferred pension benefit or a refund of contributions from the OPSEU Pension Plan
• not be receiving a pension from the OPSEU Pension Plan
• become a member of the PSPP
• complete and submit a request to the OPB and OPTrust to transfer this service.

 Important! Employers should remind members that there is a strict 24-month time limit for submitting an application to transfer credit from the OPSEU Pension Plan to the PSPP.