Buying past service: A guide for Simon Fraser University employees

Learn about buying service if you were employed by Simon Fraser University (SFU) when it joined the College Pension Plan on July 1, 2021.

The cost to buy past service depends on:

• Your current age.
• Your salary at the time you apply to buy the service (i.e., the current annual pensionable salary listed in Part B of your Purchase of Service Application).
• The amount the plan needs today to cover the future costs of your pension. This amount is determined by an actuary (a professional with specialized knowledge of finance, statistics and risk theory).

You do not need to buy your entire period of service in the SFU Academic Pension Plan, but if you buy a portion, they must be the most recent years first and in descending order. If you do buy any past service, you will need to end your membership with the SFU Academic Pension Plan.

If you decide to use only a portion of the money in your SFU Academic Pension Plan to pay for your past service, the remainder must be transferred to an RRSP or similar financial product. If your funds from the SFU Academic Pension Plan aren’t sufficient, you can pay any outstanding difference with cash (electronic funds transfer, draft, cheque, money order) or RRSP funds. A combination of different sources is allowed.

If you want to see how much it will cost to buy your past service, you must fill out the Purchase of Service Application and send it to SFU. The Personalized Purchase Cost Estimator in My Account is not available for past service estimates.

Tax implications

When you buy service the value of your pension increases. Tax implications will depend on the source of funds being used to pay for the service.

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) places limits on how much you can deduct for contributions made to RRSPs and registered pension plans. If you buy service that occurred in 1990 or later, the College Pension Plan will contact CRA for approval of past service pension adjustments and report any amended pension adjustments.

The most tax-efficient way to buy your service is by using the balance of your SFU Academic Pension Plan or funds from your RRSP.

We encourage you to get advice from a qualified financial advisor before buying your past service. More information is available on the CRA website.