TBU RETIREMENT INFO
RETIREMENT WORKSHOPS
The TBU traditionally offers two retirement workshops each year: a pension workshop presented by OSSTF in the fall, and a retirement workshop presented by OTIP and EFG in the spring.
"Walk into Retirement with a Plan"
This retirement workshop is put on by OTIP and EFG, and will be offered both spring and fall. If you are thinking of retiring in the next five years, you should consider attending this workshop.
This retirement workshop is put on by OTIP and EFG, and will be offered both spring and fall. If you are thinking of retiring in the next five years, you should consider attending this workshop.
- Open to all teachers and education employees in an OTIP plan.
- Learn about retirement benefits and discover why OTIP is now the leading choice for plan flexibility regarding retirement health, dental, and travel benefits
- Important info about your Pension – OTPP and/or OMERS
- Discover other sources of retirement revenue, including CPP and OAS
- A light meal will be provided to those who register in advance. Please note dietary restrictions when you register.
|
Fall 2024 OTIP/EFG Retirement Workshop
This is the poster for last year's workshop and is here as an example only.
|
Spring 2025 OTIP/EFG Retirement Workshop
This is the poster for last year's workshop and is here as an example only.
|
OTIP Webinars
The Ontario Teachers' Insurance Plan (OTIP) is offering their “Walk into Retirement with a Plan” workshop as a webinar. These free online sessions will allow you to learn more about retirement planning and your health, dental, and travel insurance options. Each webinar is approximately 90 minutes long. Please visit www.otip.com/Retirement-Workshops to register.
EFG Webinars
Educators Financial Group (EFG) provides pension webinars which focus specifically on pension planning and retirement. Whether members are 15 years from retirement or a few months away, they will discover common-sense financial strategies and retirement planning ideas. The webinars are approximately 75 minutes long and provide opportunities for members to ask questions of the presenters. Please visit https://www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/webinars/ to register.
The Ontario Teachers' Insurance Plan (OTIP) is offering their “Walk into Retirement with a Plan” workshop as a webinar. These free online sessions will allow you to learn more about retirement planning and your health, dental, and travel insurance options. Each webinar is approximately 90 minutes long. Please visit www.otip.com/Retirement-Workshops to register.
EFG Webinars
Educators Financial Group (EFG) provides pension webinars which focus specifically on pension planning and retirement. Whether members are 15 years from retirement or a few months away, they will discover common-sense financial strategies and retirement planning ideas. The webinars are approximately 75 minutes long and provide opportunities for members to ask questions of the presenters. Please visit https://www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/webinars/ to register.
ADVISORY: POTENTIAL IMPACT OF SUPPLY TEACHING ON PENSION
There is a possibility that any occasional work that a teacher does in their last 5 / best 5 years before retirement may negatively impact their pension.
As you are probably aware, the TBU has a Letter of Agreement with the Board that allows TBU members to pick up last-minute supply teaching on their prep periods if the job is not picked up by an occasional teacher.
Everyone’s situation is different, so the TBU encourages members to call the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan before you accept supply work in your last five years before retirement to ensure that your pension will not be negatively impacted — or else your LAST FIVE years may not be your BEST FIVE years.
The following excerpt from the OTPP website states this may be the case for a part-time teacher:
Occasional teaching can sometimes lower your pension
If you're close to retirement and teaching on a part-time contract, supplementing your income with an occasional teaching assignment may reduce your pension. In some instances, this can result in hundreds of dollars less in pension per year.
The rate of pay for occasional teaching can be significantly less than the rate for part-time contract work. Both rates are used when determining your annual rate during a school year in which you work both occasionally and on contract. This blending of your rate of pay could lower your average best-five years’ salary, which would result in a smaller pension.
If you're nearing retirement, contact us [OTPP] before accepting any occasional teaching job to see how it could affect your pension.
From https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/members/life-events/learning-about-the-plan/working-less-than-full-time/
When we referred this question to provincial OSSTF for advice, we received the following opinion:
“If you are part-time, additional supply teaching can negatively impact your best five. If you are full-time, it should not impact your best five. Part-time teachers who pick up fractions of supply teaching days in their last / best five years would impact their annualized salary used in the calculation of their best five. (There would be an averaging of the two streams of income for these individuals.)”
Provincial OSSTF also encourages all members nearing retirement to call OTPP before accepting additional supply teaching work to ensure that your pension will not be negatively impacted.
For contact info for OTPP, please scroll further down the page.
As you are probably aware, the TBU has a Letter of Agreement with the Board that allows TBU members to pick up last-minute supply teaching on their prep periods if the job is not picked up by an occasional teacher.
Everyone’s situation is different, so the TBU encourages members to call the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan before you accept supply work in your last five years before retirement to ensure that your pension will not be negatively impacted — or else your LAST FIVE years may not be your BEST FIVE years.
The following excerpt from the OTPP website states this may be the case for a part-time teacher:
Occasional teaching can sometimes lower your pension
If you're close to retirement and teaching on a part-time contract, supplementing your income with an occasional teaching assignment may reduce your pension. In some instances, this can result in hundreds of dollars less in pension per year.
The rate of pay for occasional teaching can be significantly less than the rate for part-time contract work. Both rates are used when determining your annual rate during a school year in which you work both occasionally and on contract. This blending of your rate of pay could lower your average best-five years’ salary, which would result in a smaller pension.
If you're nearing retirement, contact us [OTPP] before accepting any occasional teaching job to see how it could affect your pension.
From https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/members/life-events/learning-about-the-plan/working-less-than-full-time/
When we referred this question to provincial OSSTF for advice, we received the following opinion:
“If you are part-time, additional supply teaching can negatively impact your best five. If you are full-time, it should not impact your best five. Part-time teachers who pick up fractions of supply teaching days in their last / best five years would impact their annualized salary used in the calculation of their best five. (There would be an averaging of the two streams of income for these individuals.)”
Provincial OSSTF also encourages all members nearing retirement to call OTPP before accepting additional supply teaching work to ensure that your pension will not be negatively impacted.
For contact info for OTPP, please scroll further down the page.
RETIREMENT RESOURCES
How to Submit Your Intent to Retire to the BWDSB
You must submit your intent to retire through the Employee Information & Leaves Form (EIL), found at http://eil.bwdsb.on.ca . Step-by-step instructions for completing the EIL are below.
Even though there is a “sample retirement letter” provided here, you no longer have to submit a formal retirement letter to your Principal, your school's Superintendent, and the Director, although some members still wish to do so.
It is recommended that members retire on the last day of the month, for pension purposes. Retirees will receive their first pension payment at the end of the month following the month in which they retire, so retiring at the end of a month means the shortest gap between your last paycheque and your first pension cheque. For example,
- if you retire April 1, you will get your first pension payment at the end of May, and
- if you retire April 30, you will get your first pension payment at the end of May.
LTD TERMINATION
You may qualify to cancel your LTD coverage if you meet any one of the three criteria outlined in the following memo. If you meet the criteria, you are no longer eligible to collect LTD, and so you should consider cancelling LTD and saving the monthly cost of LTD premiums.
Please note that the completed LTD termination form (below) must be emailed to the TBU President. If a request for cancellation is received by the 15th of the month, coverage will be cancelled on the 1st of the following month. If a cancellation request is received after the 15th of the month, coverage will not be cancelled until the 1st of the second month.
LTD TERMINATION
You may qualify to cancel your LTD coverage if you meet any one of the three criteria outlined in the following memo. If you meet the criteria, you are no longer eligible to collect LTD, and so you should consider cancelling LTD and saving the monthly cost of LTD premiums.
Please note that the completed LTD termination form (below) must be emailed to the TBU President. If a request for cancellation is received by the 15th of the month, coverage will be cancelled on the 1st of the following month. If a cancellation request is received after the 15th of the month, coverage will not be cancelled until the 1st of the second month.
For the LTD booklet, please see the TBU Leaves page.
RETIREMENT GRATUITY
If you had 10+ years of employment with the board in 2012 when the gratuity was frozen, you may be able to collect a retirement gratuity (depending on how many sick days you had banked at the time). The formula can be found in Article 19 of the TBU Collective Agreement, which can be found in Sharepoint.
If this applies to you, and if you do not know the amount of your gratuity, you may contact Lindsay Greig in the Human Resources department at [email protected] and inquire about your gratuity calculation.
Splitting your Gratuity
If you are getting a gratuity, you can transfer the entire gratuity to RRSP (depending on your personal situation for contribution limits), or request your entire gratuity as a direct deposit to your bank account (subject to income tax deduction, or you can split it between RRSP and cash.
Deferring your Gratuity
If you had 10+ years of employment with the board in 2012 when the gratuity was frozen, you may be able to collect a retirement gratuity (depending on how many sick days you had banked at the time). The formula can be found in Article 19 of the TBU Collective Agreement, which can be found in Sharepoint.
If this applies to you, and if you do not know the amount of your gratuity, you may contact Lindsay Greig in the Human Resources department at [email protected] and inquire about your gratuity calculation.
Splitting your Gratuity
If you are getting a gratuity, you can transfer the entire gratuity to RRSP (depending on your personal situation for contribution limits), or request your entire gratuity as a direct deposit to your bank account (subject to income tax deduction, or you can split it between RRSP and cash.
Deferring your Gratuity
- The board will allow you to take the entire gratuity at the time of your retirement, or defer the entire gratuity to the January of the following year.
- You could also choose to defer either the entire RRSP portion or the entire cash portion to the next tax year. You can’t split the RRSP amount over two tax years, nor can you split the cash amount over two tax years.
- If you are deferring your gratuity, you still need to complete the RRSP and/or cash section of the disposition form, to indicate how you would like your gratuity to be paid in the next tax year.
- If you are retiring on December 31, there is no option to defer because the gratuity will be paid out in the following calendar year anyway. For example, if you retire on December 31, 2022, your gratuity is already scheduled to be paid in January or February of 2023.
Supply Teaching After Retirement
If you are interested in supply teaching after you retire, you need the recommendation of your principal. If you wish to be added to the secondary occasional teacher list, please send an email to Carlee Beitz in the Human Resources department at c[email protected] or [email protected] (probably at the time you fill out the EIL). You will receive an activation form to fill out and return, and a recommendation form will also be sent to your current principal to fill out and return to HR.
ONTARIO TEACHERS' PENSION PLAN
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has redesigned their member website to make it easier to navigate. The website address is www.otpp.com/members/my/ and if you have logged in before, the same login and password will still work.
The “Preparing to Retire” section is now at the top of the page, so you can get all the information you need to research, plan, and kick-start your retirement with one click. There is a brand-new Member Help Centre, so that you can take advantage of OTPP’s self-service options.
Can’t remember your OTPP login? There’s a member hotline at 1-800-668-0105, available 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, Monday to Friday, or you can email [email protected] .
Your OTPP account number can likely be found in your email -- OTPP sends out email notification each fall that your annual pension statement is available. Search your email account for "Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan" and your OTPP account number can be found in the top right corner of the email message, right below your name.
Thinking about your retirement? Here are some things you can do right away . . .
Check the Pension Calculator
You can log in to the Pension Calculator at www.otpp.com/members/my/ to see your projected retirement date and explore different retirement scenarios. You can also investigate buying back your pension if you took time off.
Download your Pension Statements
Check the Document Centre
To collect your pension, you need to provide OTPP with proof of identity, and if you are currently or have been married you need to show proof of this as well. You can visit the Document Centre and upload your birth certificate, driver’s license, or Canadian passport. If applicable, upload your marriage certificate, and spouse’s birth certificate, driver’s license, or Canadian passport. If you are divorced or separated, you will have to show proof of this as well. You can upload these documents at any time – you don’t have to wait until the year you retire!
Don’t have a copy of your birth or marriage certificate? If you were born or married in Ontario, please visit https://www.orgforms.gov.on.ca/eForms/start.do . (There is a cost to request these documents.) If you were born or married in another jurisdiction, check their website to learn how you can request the appropriate documents.
Find Answers to Your Pension Questions
The OTPP website has lots of excellent resources. Once you’re logged in, click on Tools & Resources > Resource Centre & Forms > Working Member Resources. There is also an FAQ section as well.
The “Preparing to Retire” section is now at the top of the page, so you can get all the information you need to research, plan, and kick-start your retirement with one click. There is a brand-new Member Help Centre, so that you can take advantage of OTPP’s self-service options.
Can’t remember your OTPP login? There’s a member hotline at 1-800-668-0105, available 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, Monday to Friday, or you can email [email protected] .
Your OTPP account number can likely be found in your email -- OTPP sends out email notification each fall that your annual pension statement is available. Search your email account for "Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan" and your OTPP account number can be found in the top right corner of the email message, right below your name.
Thinking about your retirement? Here are some things you can do right away . . .
Check the Pension Calculator
You can log in to the Pension Calculator at www.otpp.com/members/my/ to see your projected retirement date and explore different retirement scenarios. You can also investigate buying back your pension if you took time off.
- Log into www.otpp.com/members/my/ .
- Click on “Preparing to Retire.”
- Click on "Pension Calculator."
Download your Pension Statements
- Log into www.otpp.com/members/my/ .
- Click on “Your Account.”
- Click on “Access the Document Centre.”
- Click on “Documents” to download your annual pension statements.
Check the Document Centre
To collect your pension, you need to provide OTPP with proof of identity, and if you are currently or have been married you need to show proof of this as well. You can visit the Document Centre and upload your birth certificate, driver’s license, or Canadian passport. If applicable, upload your marriage certificate, and spouse’s birth certificate, driver’s license, or Canadian passport. If you are divorced or separated, you will have to show proof of this as well. You can upload these documents at any time – you don’t have to wait until the year you retire!
- Log into www.otpp.com/members/my/ .
- Click on “Your Account.”
- Click on “Access the Document Centre.”
- Click on “Documents” to download your annual pension statements.
- Click on “Required” to see which documents you need to provide.
- Click on “Upload” to upload files from your computer. (Scanned PDFs work well).
Don’t have a copy of your birth or marriage certificate? If you were born or married in Ontario, please visit https://www.orgforms.gov.on.ca/eForms/start.do . (There is a cost to request these documents.) If you were born or married in another jurisdiction, check their website to learn how you can request the appropriate documents.
Find Answers to Your Pension Questions
The OTPP website has lots of excellent resources. Once you’re logged in, click on Tools & Resources > Resource Centre & Forms > Working Member Resources. There is also an FAQ section as well.
CREDIT service vs. QUALIFYING years: What's the difference?
|
CREDITED service
|
QUALIFYING years
|
Have you taken a partial leave due to childcare or disability?
You may be able to buy back your pension.
If you take more than five consecutive days off, you don’t contribute to your pension while you’re not working. You can make up for the gap in your service and salary by paying for your time off – this is called a buyback.
Due to recent changes to the pension plan, you may be eligible to purchase credit if you reduced your normal hours of work because of childcare or disability. You must apply to have these types of arrangements recognized under the plan and meet all the requirements in the applicable category. For more information, please visit www.otpp.com/en-ca/members/life-events/time-off-work-and-how-it-affects-your-pension/ .
You may be able to buy back your pension.
If you take more than five consecutive days off, you don’t contribute to your pension while you’re not working. You can make up for the gap in your service and salary by paying for your time off – this is called a buyback.
Due to recent changes to the pension plan, you may be eligible to purchase credit if you reduced your normal hours of work because of childcare or disability. You must apply to have these types of arrangements recognized under the plan and meet all the requirements in the applicable category. For more information, please visit www.otpp.com/en-ca/members/life-events/time-off-work-and-how-it-affects-your-pension/ .
OTPP NEWS
• CPP and your pension: New enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) won’t affect your contributions to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
• Should you stay, or should you go? Understanding the difference between a reduced and unreduced pension is key in planning for your retirement.
• What’s the scoop on your leave? Get a quick tutorial on the impact of paying for a leave.
• Find out what’s new with OTPP.
• CPP and your pension: New enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) won’t affect your contributions to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
• Should you stay, or should you go? Understanding the difference between a reduced and unreduced pension is key in planning for your retirement.
• What’s the scoop on your leave? Get a quick tutorial on the impact of paying for a leave.
• Find out what’s new with OTPP.
Educators' Financial Group
Educators Financial Group is a member benefit fully-owned by OSSTF. They have been dedicated to serving the education community since 1975, empowering the community to make smart financial decisions through various financial literacy tools. They currently serve over 18,000 clients and manage over $1.1 billion in assets.
Educators Financial Group brings value in several ways including group learning sessions, financial literacy tools, on-site financial advice, and so much more.
Educators Financial Group: www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca
Educators Financial Group Electronic Newsletter: www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/enews/
Contact our financial specialists: https://educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/get-started
For more educator-specific financial advice, please call 1.800.263.9541.
Educators Financial Group brings value in several ways including group learning sessions, financial literacy tools, on-site financial advice, and so much more.
Educators Financial Group: www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca
Educators Financial Group Electronic Newsletter: www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/enews/
Contact our financial specialists: https://educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/get-started
For more educator-specific financial advice, please call 1.800.263.9541.
|
Shannon Lamont, RFRA®
Senior Financial Advisor [email protected] Educators Financial Group 2225 Sheppard Ave. East, Suite 1105 Toronto, Ontario, M2J5C2 Mobile: 647.999.3606 Office: 416.752.6843 or 1.800.263.9541 ext. 3553 www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca |
|