Below are the questions BC Target Benefit Pension Plan staff have received from Life Labs members, along with the responses provided.

        1. If I join the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan, can I transfer the balance in my current pension plan into the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan?

No. If you join the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan, contributions will stop being made to your current plan and will start being made to the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan. The benefit you have earned in your current pension plan will continue to be governed under the rules of that plan.

         2. The Waiver of Participation form includes this statement:

I understand that my decision to waive participation in the Plan means that I am also waiving the opportunity of receiving any contributions that may be payable by my employer under the provisions of the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan.

Does this mean that my employer will stop making any pension plan contributions on my behalf if I send a Waiver of Participation form to the Union and do not join the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan?

No. If you complete the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan Waiver of Participation and return it to the Union, contributions will continue to your current pension plan.

          3. On page 3 of the Plan Summary for the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan, the Contribution Example Calculation uses employee contributions of 6% of pay and employer contributions                  of 8% of pay. Does this mean that if I join the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan my contributions will increase to 6% employee and 8% employer?

No. Contribution rates for the current pension plan and the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan are the same and are set out in your collective agreement: Employee 5% and Employer 6% of pensionable earnings.

           4. The Plan Summary for the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan includes a chart on page 7 that lists Past Service Pension Benefits for balances as of June 30, 2016. Does this information                   apply to Life Labs members who join the BC Target Benefit Pension Plan?

No. The Past Service Pension Benefits data in the chart on page 7 of the Plan Summary applies only to members of the BC Target Benefit Pension plan on June 30, 2016 and therefore does not apply to any members at Life Labs.

In Solidarity,

Laura O'Neill

Staff Representative, Negotiations

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