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Basics of buying past service for Simon Fraser University (SFU) employees

Buying past service may increase your monthly pension payment when you retire. Learn about buying past service if you were employed by SFU when it joined the plan on July 1, 2021.


After you enrol in the College Pension Plan, you may be eligible to buy service for the years you participated in the SFU Academic Pension Plan before SFU joined the College Pension Plan. This is called buying past service.

Buying past service may increase the amount of your monthly pension payment when you retire.

Note for academic administrators

If you are an academic administrator and you choose to waive your enrolment in the College Pension Plan, you are not eligible to buy past service for the time you participated in the SFU Academic Pension Plan before SFU joined the College Pension Plan. This applies even if you join the College Pension Plan later.

How we calculate the cost to buy past service

The cost to buy past service is based on the amount the plan needs today to cover the future costs of your increased pension. This amount is determined by an actuary—a professional with specialized knowledge of finance, statistics and risk theory.

How to use the tables below

The two tables on the next page show an estimate of what it would cost to buy one year of service based on your current age and salary at the time you apply to buy the service. Look for the annual salary and age that are closest to your current situation to find the most relevant estimate. The values in the table are estimates only. The actual cost of buying service may be higher or lower depending on your individual circumstances.

You do not need to buy your entire period of service in the SFU Academic Pension Plan. However, if you choose to buy only a portion of your service, it must be the most recent portion.

For each year of service you plan to buy, choose the table that matches the correct time period. The cost to buy service worked after 2015 (the first table) is differ- ent from the cost to buy service worked in 2015 or earlier (the second table). That’s because we calculate your lifetime pension using two pension formulas: one for service earned up to and including December 31, 2015, and one for service earned on and after January 1, 2016.

Example: Maryam is 49 and earns $112,000 annually. The cost for her to buy one year of past service worked 2016 or later would be approximately $23,396.

Cost to buy one year of service worked 2016 or after ($)

  Your current age
Your current
salary		 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
70,000 10,729 11,054 11,889 13,189 14,888 18,530 20,836 22,241 19,650
90,000 13,795 14,213 15,286 16,957 19,142 23,825 26,789 28,596 25,265
110,000 16,860 17,371 18,682 20,725 23,396 29,119 32,742 34,950 30,879
130,000 19,926 20,529 22,079 24,493 27,650 34,414 38,695 41,305 36,493
150,000 22,991 23,688 25,476 28,261 31,904 39,708 44,649 47,659 42,108
170,000 26,056 26,846 28,873 32,029 36,158 45,002 50,602 54,014 47,722
190,000 29,122 30,004 32,270 35,797 40,412 50,297 56,555 60,368 53,337
250,000 38,318 39,479 42,460 47,102 53,173 66,180 74,414 79,432 70,180
300,000 45,982 47,375 50,952 56,522 63,808 79,416 89,297 95,319 84,216

Cost to buy one year of service worked before 2016 ($)

  Your current age
Your current
salary		 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
70,000 12,260 12,531 13,400 14,811 16,681 20,905 22,227 19,443 17,179
90,000 15,982 16,366 17,525 19,387 21,847 27,334 29,231 25,798 22,793
110,000 19,705 20,201 21,649 23,962 27,012 33,763 36,234 32,153 28,407
130,000 23,427 24,036 25,774 28,538 32,178 40,192 43,238 38,507 34,022
150,000 27,149 27,871 29,899 33,113 37,343 46,621 50,242 44,862 39,636
170,000 30,872 31,706 34,024 37,689 42,508 53,049 57,246 51,216 45,250
190,000 34,594 35,541 38,148 42,265 47,674 59,478 64,249 57,571 50,865
250,000 45,761 47,047 50,522 55,991 63,170 78,765 85,260 76,635 67,708
300,000 55,067 56,635 60,834 67,430 76,083 94,837 102,770 92,521 81,744

Next steps

After you join the College Pension Plan, you’ll receive more information about how to buy past service—including important deadlines and your payment options.

When you apply to purchase past service, you will receive a statement of cost that will show how buying past service could affect your future pension.

You can use the money from your SFU Academic Pension Plan, or other sources like RRSP or cash, but in all cases you must end your membership in the SFU Academic Pension Plan to be eligible to buy service.

We recommend you seek independent financial and tax advice before making a decision about buying your past service.

Important information if you are leaving your job

If you are planning to retire or leave your job at SFU this year and you want to buy past service, talk to your employer as soon as possible. You must apply to buy service within 30 days of ending your employment.