Your pension and your job

Learn what happens to your pension if you change jobs with the same employer, leave your job or are laid off.


What happens if you start a new job with the same employer

If you change jobs with the same employer without a break in service, you will continue to be an active member of BC’s Public Service Pension Plan. Your contributions (and your employer’s contributions) will be adjusted to reflect any changes to your salary.

Your employer will advise you whether your participation in the plan is mandatory or optional if you changed jobs and had a break in your service. If you are eligible to opt out of the plan and choose to do so, you will need to sign a waiver. Being able to opt out of the pension plan would depend on how long the break in service is between leaving your old position and starting your new one.

What counts as leaving your job

If you leave your job, you will no longer be an active member of the plan and you will stop making pension contributions. In most cases, you are considered to have left your job when you permanently stop working for an employer that participates in the plan.

Some special cases:

  • You are not considered to have left your job if you have:
    • an agreement with a plan employer to return to work
    • an established right to resume working for a plan employer
  • You are considered to have left your job if you are on a seniority or recall list but have not worked for your employer or contributed to the plan for one full year

What happens if you take a new job with another plan employer

Each employer participating in the plan is considered a separate employer. When your job ends with your current employer, you will stop contributing to the plan. If you are eligible, you may be able to immediately re-enrol in the plan when you start your new job with a plan employer.

What happens if you leave your job with a plan employer

If you leave your job and are no longer working for an employer participating in the plan, you will need to decide what to do with your pension benefit.

Your options depend on:

  • Your age
  • If you are retiring
  • If your new employer's pension plan has a transfer agreement with the College Pension Plan

Your options could include:

  • Deferring your pension (leaving your money in the plan and taking a monthly pension when you retire)
  • Transferring the commuted value of your pension to a locked-in retirement vehicle
  • Applying for your pension
  • Transferring your service in the College Pension Plan to your new employer's pension plan

What happens if you want to retire

Contact your employer(s) in writing to arrange your last day of paid employment. If you are working for multiple employers in the same plan, you must terminate all employment under the College Pension Plan in order to start receiving your pension.

Depending on your age when you leave your job, we will send you either a Termination selection statement form or a pension estimate outlining your options.