Member news: 7 October 2020

Ambulance Paramedics: understanding your earliest unreduced pension age on your 2020 Member’s Benefit Statement.

The plan rules for Ambulance Paramedics changed for service earned on and after April 1, 2020. Members have reached out to better understand how the new plan rules affect their member benefit statements. The following information is provided to explain how pension reductions are determined and how to read your 2020 Member’s Benefit Statement.

Your 2020 Member’s Benefit Statement provides a summary of the service you earned over the past year (April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020). It also shows up to four estimates of your lifetime monthly pension if you retire on the dates listed. These estimates assume you continue to earn the same salary and service as the previous year.

The service you earned up to March 31, 2020, remains under the plan rules in effect at the time you earned it. The new plan rules, effective April 1, 2020, apply to new service only—they do not retroactively apply to all of your service. If you worked the same amount of service as previous years, the earliest unreduced pension age listed in your 2020 Member’s Benefit Statement will be the same as previous years’ statements.

Retiring early: the plan rules about pension reductions

If you earned service before the plan rules changed on April 1, 2020, two sets of plan rules will determine any reductions to your future pension. If you decide to retire early, but do not meet the criteria for an unreduced pension, your pension will be reduced. The table below compares the retirement rules before and after the plan rule changes.

*The rule of 80 (age plus years of contributory service equals 80 points) applies to service earned up to March 31, 2020, for certain ambulance paramedics. There is no rule of 80 applied to service earned on and after April 1, 2020.

How to read your 2020 Member’s Benefit Statement

The Pension Benefit Standards Act requires the plan to report out the earliest unreduced pension age when a member is fully eligible for an unreduced pension on all service.

This example shows a member who is 50 years old and has 14 years of contributory service in 2020. Their earliest unreduced pension age is estimated using both sets of plan rules: the plan rules that apply to the service earned up to March 31, 2020, and the new plan rules that apply to service earned after April 1, 2020. The estimate presumes the member will continue to work full time at the same salary level until retirement.

In this example, with both sets of plan rules applying to these estimated retirement dates, this member is now eligible to retire with a reduced pension. Only the service earned after April 1, 2020, would be unreduced at age 55 (as they have more than 10 years of contributory service). To meet the requirements of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, this member’s statement shows the estimated retirement date they are eligible for an unreduced pension on all service. In this example, it is age 58 and two months.

Learn how different retirement ages affect your pension

My Account is available to most active members and provides secure 24-hour online access to your personal pension information. Once you sign in, you can enter different retirement dates to calculate monthly pension payments for various pension options. The Personalized Pension Estimator is an invaluable tool to help with your retirement planning.

TIP: when the estimator produces estimate details, scroll down and open “Important information about this estimate.” This section will break down each part of the calculation using your pension data.