Please refer to the ‘How To Retire‘ page for more information.

If you did not meet the membership and/or vesting requirements of the Pension Plan, you will not receive any pension benefit from the Plan.

If you did meet membership and/or vesting requirements, you are entitled to a pension benefit. At the time of termination, our office will send you a Termination Option Statement which will outline your pension options. If you are over age 53 when your Local 18 membership terminates, you are entitled to commence your pension at any time, in accordance with the early retirement provisions. If you are under age 53, you may have the option to have the commuted value of your pension transferred into another pension plan, into a Locked-In Retirement account, or purchase a life annuity.

If you have a pension with Local 18, it is important that you keep the Local 18 plans up to date with any changes of address and/or beneficiary information even after your membership is terminated.

If you are transferring to a Local with whom your Plan has a reciprocal agreement, you will have the option of joining your new plans right away or remaining with the Local 18 plans for a maximum of 12 months. The latter is for those who may not be sure of their move yet. Local 18 will send you an Election Form where you can make your choice.

If you join your new Local’s plan right away, we will coordinate your Welfare Plan coverage with your new plan, and will advise you of when your benefits terminate with the Local 18 plan. If you have a welfare hour bank, it will be sent to your new Welfare Plan.

Your pension will remain with Local 18, and you will begin with a new pension at your new Local. Service can be combined for vesting or eligibility purposes only, no hours will be transferred. Once your Local 18 pension becomes inactive (24 months after your last contribution) we will contact you and provide your termination options.

If you stay with the Local 18 plans for the 12 months allowed, any welfare hour bank remaining after that time will be sent to your new plan, and your pension options as indicated above, will be sent when the pension becomes inactive (see above).

Welfare Plan: The Local 18 Welfare Plan allows members to keep their ex-spouse listed as a covered spouse if they wish. Only one spouse can be covered under the plan. If you are required to provide health and dental coverage for your spouse as part of a divorce order, you may do so. Court orders are binding on the member, not on the Plan. If you remove your spouse and are required to provide coverage, the Local 18 welfare plan is not responsible.

Pension Plan: The Government of Ontario introduced changes to the family law provisions of the Pension Benefits Act that came into effect January 1, 2012. These changes established a new process for the valuation and division of pension assets following the breakdown of a spousal relationship. The family law pension valuation and division regime requires the Plan Administrator to calculate the value of the pension, provides for immediate division, and mandates the use of FSCO approved forms throughout the process. Your lawyer will have access to these forms, as does the Local 18 Benefits Office.

The appointment of life insurance and pension plan beneficiaries is always an important consideration. Although there is no spousal requirement for a life insurance beneficiary, pension is different. Your spouse may be entitled to half the pension earned during the time of the marriage. If you have a legal and/or eligible spouse, they may be entitled to pension benefits even if they are not your designated beneficiary. We recommend you discuss this with your lawyer.

Annual Pension Information statements are sent out to the members each February, indicating the hours earned during the previous years and showing the total pensionable hours earned to date. The statement also provides a base estimate of your annual pension at the retirement age of 63. A cash value of the pension at any time prior to retirement is not available, it is only calculated by the Plan’s actuary if you qualify for termination options.

The $6.95 per hour contributed is a one-time contribution made for that hour of pension credit earned, whereas the $0.80 paid out is per hour per year of retirement.

For example, if you earn 1,000 hours at $0.80, you will receive $800.00 per year pension payable for your lifetime. That 1,000 hours when contributed, cost the employer $6,950 (assuming a $6.95 contribution rate). If you received 20 years of pension (on average, members who reach age 63 are expected to live about 20 years thereafter to age 83), total pension payments for that 1,000 hours would have been $16,000 (1,000 hours x $0.80 per year x 20 years), or $16.00 for each credited hour.

Compared to the current contribution rate, this works out to 2.3 times the contribution. The growth from $6.95 contributed to $16.00 paid out during retirement, comes from investment earnings made by the Pension Fund on the contributions.

It should also be noted that all of this does not include any pension paid to your Spouse, who will also receive a continuing pension for her lifetime (at the level chosen at retirement) should you pre-decease her.

Any shortages in hours should be reported to the Local 18 Offices as soon as possible. Pay stubs must be kept as proof of hours earned/worked. Without them, we cannot collect any outstanding hours on your behalf.

If you are working out of the Hamilton-Niagara work jurisdiction, you will often notice a difference in pension hours worked and pension hours credited. This is caused by the difference in contribution rates between each Local. Your annual pension information statement will show both sets of hours, to help you determine any discrepancies.

Call the Local 18 Benefits Office and a CRA TD1 Form can be completed, indicating the amount you wish to have taken off in addition to the current tax deduction. We will complete the form and send it to you for signing, or you can come by the office and complete the form with us at any time. The change will be in effect once we receive the signed form from you.

After 24 months without a pension contribution, you are deemed to have had a Break in Service. At that time, your pension becomes inactive. If hours are remitted on your behalf at a later date, you will start a new pension. All pensions are accumulated for payment at termination or retirement. If you have a Break in Service, we will send you a Termination Option Statement outlining your pension options.

The Local 18 Pension Plan does not allow members to contribute. Contributions can only be received from an eligible employer, on the member’s behalf.

February

• T4A’s to pensioners for retirement income
• T4A’s to active welfare participants for life insurance premium

March

• Annual Pension Information statements for active pension plan members