The Plan is a Collectively Bargained Multi-Employer Plan (CBMEP) registered with the Employment Pension Plan Act & Regulations of Alberta and is registered as a Target Benefit Plan under provincial legislation.

The participating employers contribute an amount to the pension plan fund based on your employment with that participating employer on a cents per hour basis, as per the collective bargaining agreement. Effective January 1, 2024, for each $1.00 of contribution, 1.2121 cents of lifetime monthly pension are credited to you, the member.

Ex. Your employer(s) contributed $1000: $1000 × 0.012121 = $12.121 per month

No. It is important to realize the connection between the total contributions being paid to the plan fund and the total benefit offered. It is incorrect to view the contributions paid to the pension plan for your employment as a savings account because your benefit is based on a formula, not on the contributions being paid to the pension plan fund.

Although the contribution is remitted on your behalf, and is reflected as an employer contribution for your pension on your income tax T4 slip, that money is credited to the plan fund as a whole, rather than to you as an individual. It is the total contributions paid by all participating employers for all members that pay for the pension offered under the plan. Your individual benefit is only a part of the total benefit payable from the pension plan.

Every year that you are a member of the pension plan, you will be issued a Pension Adjustment (PA) for your income tax return. The PA will reduce the amount of eligible RRSP contributions you can make, however, this still does not mean you should view your pension plan as being similar to a savings account. As a member of a pension plan, you are issued a PA to reflect the fact that you are earning tax deferred retirement benefits.

A CV is a lump sum amount that represents how much money you would have to invest today to pay your future monthly pension. The CV is based on several actuarial assumptions including life expectancy and expected return on assets (discount rate). The CV can also be described as the expected value of the deferred lifetime pension in today’s dollars.

The CV is a complicated calculation that includes many factors and special tables. A breakdown of the calculation cannot be provided as the factors and tables used are far too lengthy to be made generally available. The calculation cannot be performed manually by you. The Plan Office will provide you with your CV upon receipt of a Termination Application Form.

You are eligible to apply for a termination benefit if you:
• Are under age 55; and
• Have not accrued a total of 350 Hours of Covered Employment in the previous 2 Plan Years

If you wish to apply for a Termination of your Pension you must fully complete a Termination Application Form

You will be provided with a statement presenting multiple options to you. You will always be given the option to leave your pension with the Plan until your retirement date, as early as age 55 with applicable reductions.

Yearly Maximum Pension Earnings (YMPE) amount for 2024 is $68,500 (20% of YMPE = $13,700)

The lump sum transfer options that will be available to you are dependent on the value of your CV. If the CV exceeds 20% of the Yearly Maximum Pension Earnings (YMPE) amount for the year you are terminating in, you will be given the option of a locked-in transfer to a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA).

If your pension amount is under 20% of the Yearly Maximum Pension Earnings (YMPE) amount for the year you are terminating in you will be given the option of a cash payment or an RRSP transfer.

As a Registered Pension Plan (RPP), the ACAW Pension Plan is unable to offer partial unlocking of pension funds under any circumstances. To unlock pension funds, they must first be transferred out of the ACAW Pension Plan, if eligible.

If you wish to apply for a Termination of your Pension you must fully complete a Termination Application Form

No. Your monthly pension is a fixed amount with no increases or decreases over time. As of January 1, 2022, if you continue to work while receiving your monthly pension, the pension contributions received by the Plan Office will be held in a Retirement Savings Account. Information will be relayed to you with your Annual Statement, including withdrawal privileges.

Effective January 1, 2024, the Plan was amended to grant a 2.0% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) on accrued pensions for all members with a benefit entitlement in the Plan on December 31, 2023. Regular COLA adjustments are not guaranteed and are only granted as per the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Yes. You will need to fill out a TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return form for the current year from the CRA website. Please submit this form to the ACAW Plan Office at any time.

Please contact the Plan Office via phone at 780-477-9131 Option #2, or toll free at 1-800-588-1037 Option #2, so that we may further assist you.

Your T4A and Affirmation of Pensioner forms will be mailed out by the end of February every year.

By the end of June each year, you will receive a statement showing the pension you earned from the Plan. However, they are normally mailed out mid to end of May.

This occurs once a year where self-payments are accepted to top off your Pension contributions made by your employer. Details regarding self-payments will be provided to you on your Annual Statement Notes; the deadline is generally mid-June.

The hourly rate for self-payments is determined each year by the actuary. The resulting combined contributions, including any self-payment contributions, shall not exceed $19,800 in any given Plan Year.

You are eligible to make a self-payment if you:
• have at least 5 Plan Years,
• earned some pension in the Plan Year, and
• were a Member of the Union (1325, 2103, 2010, 1598, 527, 1370, 1907, 1541 or 2499) or employed by a Participating Employer on December 31 of the Plan Year for which the self-payment is being made.
• You cannot make a self-payment in the year in which you retire or after you retire.

The Normal Retirement Date is the first day of the month after your 65th birthday. You can, however, retire as early as age 55 with applicable reductions. You must start your pension no later than December 1st of the year in which you turn age 71.

If you wish to apply for your Pension you must fully complete a Pension Application.

All pension options available from the ACAW Pension Plan are paid to the member for their lifetime. Options are available to have the pension continue to a spouse for their lifetime as well at either 100% or a reduced rate. The ACAW Pension Plan also allows for the pension to be guaranteed to be paid for at least 5, 10 or 15 years commencing from the start date of the pension, to a named beneficiary depending on the option chosen (refer to page 9-11 of the Pension Booklet)

You will receive your pension benefit as a lump sum if your pension benefit qualifies as a small benefit. If your pension amount is under 20% of the Yearly Maximum Pension Earnings (YMPE) amount for the year you are retiring in you will be given the option of a cash payment or a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)/Retirement Income Fund (RIF) transfer.

You will need to fully complete and sign a “Notice of Address Change” form.

If you are unable to print this form, please submit a signed and dated notice to the ACAW Plan Office via mail, email or fax.

Your monthly pension reductions will vary depending on your status with the Plan and your age at date of retirement. A detailed explanation of these reductions can be found in the Pension Booklet on page 8.

Due to the Privacy Act and Plan Office policy, only general information can be provided over the phone or through email. The Plan Office is prohibited from relaying any personal information over the phone or through email.