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 take a new job (as a teacher or senior administrator) with the same employer, you will continue to be an active member of BC’s Teachers' Pension Plan. You and your employer will continue to contribute to the plan.

What happens if you take a job in another school district in BC

If you take a job in a different school district in BC, your contributions will remain with the plan. Your new employer will automatically re-enrol you in the plan, and you and your new employer will contribute to your pension.

What happens if you leave your job with a plan employer

If you leave your job and do not take a new job with a plan employer, you will no longer be an active member of the plan, and you will stop making pension contributions.

Note: If you are laid off and are on a seniority or recall list, you are considered to have left your job once you have not worked for your employer or contributed to the plan for one full year.

When you leave your job, you will need to decide what to do with your pension.

Your options depend on:

  • Your age
  • If you are retiring
  • If you are beginning a new job with an employer that has a transfer agreement with the Teachers' 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 Teachers' Pension Plan to your new employer’s pension plan

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.

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 Teachers' Pension Plan in order to start receiving your pension.