Publications/resources

Q. We have more than 1 person that completes different portions of the form (e.g. HR portion and Payroll portion). If Person A starts the termination process, can Person B retrieve this form to complete their portion?

Yes, another person can access the form after it has been saved by a user by selecting the transaction in the “Transactions in Process” section. Person A can assign the form to Person B by selecting their name in the “Assign to” field. In a future phase of Pension Administration Link, Person B will receive an email advising them that a task has been assigned to them.

Q. When you assign a transaction to another employee, are they able to validate and then send to CAAT? If so, will the originating employee be able to download/print a copy of what was sent to CAAT?

Yes, when you assign a transaction to another user, they can complete, print, validate and submit it to CAAT by clicking on the process in the “Transactions in Process” section of the dashboard, or by searching for the appropriate member. You can complete a validation at any time, before or after assigning it to another user.

Q. Our process is for HR to start a smart form and complete the bio data and retirement date. Then we send to payroll for the earnings information. Are we able to "Assign" to payroll after the initial screens? It appears that you can't assign it to someone else until the very end of the process.

You can complete any required section(s), then assign the transaction to another user to complete the rest of the form. You do not need to complete the whole process before assigning it to another person, but you will need to save the transaction after you have assigned it.

Q. Why does the download/print function omit the previous year's earnings/contributions information? Can this be reversed so that we can have a more accurate record of what information was entered in the portal (and for our records as well)?

The form should have the previous year’s information if you have indicated that the DCT has not been submitted for the prior year. If you are not seeing this on the form, please contact your employer PA.

Q. When entering dates, can the system be changed so that it accepts all numbers (i.e. 25-03-1978) instead of 25-mar-1978?

No. Pension Administration Link requires a specific date format. The calendar widgets ensure the dates are correctly formatted.

Q. Do you have to “Save” before validating or can you just select “Validate” before submitting the transaction?

You do not have to “Save”. If you are ready to submit the transaction to the Plan, you can click “Validate” and then “Send to CAAT” if there are no errors. You do have to “Save” if you are assigning the transaction to another person, or if you will be returning to the transaction at another time to complete it.

Q. I understand that Employee ID numbers are required during DCT reporting. Can employers look up employees within the Pension Administration Link by Employee ID?

No. The employer's Employee ID is not stored in CAAT’s pension administration system. Pension Administration Link lets you search for members using SIN, Last Name, First Name or CAAT’s Member ID. The Member ID will be displayed to the member in the member portal (My Pension). We plan to include Employee ID in a future release of Pension Administration Link.

Q. If employers enter an updated mailing address for a member while reporting a termination or retirement, will the member’s record also be updated, and will the address the employer reports override what is already on record?

Yes, if the employer provides an address update while reporting a termination or retirement it will update the address for the member, and override the address on record.

Q. Can you confirm if the pensionable service figure is populated based on the employment period reported?

Pensionable service is not populated based on the employment period reported. You must enter the pensionable service amount. Similar to the Pension Adjustment, the pensionable service field currently shows an acceptable range once you start to populate the field. A future release of Pension Administration Link will display the pensionable service instead of a range.

Q. Can pension adjustment values be calculated based on earnings and service information entered, or do employers still need to use the Plan’s PA Calculators for this amount?

Pension Adjustment values will need to be calculated and entered into Pension Administration Link. It will calculate the Pension Adjustment based on the earnings and service information provided, and display a range that is considered acceptable once you start entering the PA amount. A future release of Pension Administration Link will display the calculated PA instead of a range.

Q. Do employers have the ability to enter notes when submitting a termination notification to explain special situations (e.g. salary continuance)?

If the last day worked is different than the retirement or termination date, there will be a section to add notes. This is the only section where employers will have the ability to add notes.

Q. How long will submitted forms be available for review and downloading? Will they expire or disappear at a later date?

The forms will not expire or be removed, and will be available to the employers to print or review.

Q. Can revised termination/retirement applications be submitted through Pension Administration Link?

Yes, revised forms can be submitted via Pension Administration Link.

Q. For email field do you enter personal e-mail or work e-mail?

The email field in the “Member contact information” section is not a mandatory field. If you wish to update or enter an email address, use the most up to date address available to you. All member termination related documents will be sent via mail to the member directly. Members will also have the opportunity to update their contact information on the member portal (My Pension) if they wish to receive any electronic communications sent by the CAAT Plan.

Q. We need to also provide proof of age with a Pension Application. How do we do that now?

You can still provide this via S-Doc, and you will be able to provide via Pension Administration Link in a future release.

Q. If you miss the download/print button, can you go back into the activity and download again, and can you print the form at any other time than after submission?

Yes, you can open the transaction and print it at a later time.

Q. I use the PDF version of the termination and pension applications and attach the service and contribution worksheets. Will I have to send the service and contribution worksheets to CAAT when using the online submission process?

If the amounts you have reported are within the ranges shown in Pension Administration Link, you do not need to send the worksheets. If the amounts are outside of the ranges you should send the worksheets as backup.

Q. Will all people see that the form was submitted on their dashboard or only the one who submitted it?

All users will see the activity processed in Pension Administration Link in the “Transactions in Process” and “Transactions Sent to CAAT” sections. The “Recent Activity” section will only show the user’s specific activity in Pension Administration Link.

Q. When you assign to another user, can you also send a message?

A message function will be available in a future release of Pension Administration Link.

Q. If all is working as expected, will Pension Administration Link highlight where the error is?

Yes, if there are any issues with the data provided in Pension Administration Link, the page will highlight where the errors are.

Q Are the “Sent to CAAT” forms by administrator login or by employer

The “Sent to CAAT” forms are identified as sent by the specific user.

Q. Are the different user groups created by CAAT or we have control over that?

We asked employers to identify the users and departments when advising us who should have access to Pension Administration Link. If you need to add or revise any departments for your users, contact your Employer PA.

Q. Will Pension Administration Link include some of the features of the current smart forms? (E.g. The smart form automatically calculates the PA, service and total contributions)

We will be adding the smart form functionality in a future release of Pension Administration Link.

Q. Will the smart form remain available/be updated annually, to be used to calculate the values needed to enter into the Pension Application on Pension Administration Link?

We will determine later in the year if the smart forms will be maintained.

Q. What happens if the start of our payroll calendar year starts on December 21, 2019 and not on January 1, 2020? Will the portal give me an error when I save the form?

If the pay period starts in the prior year, indicate the “Start date of pay period for the first pay of the year” field. However, the “Current year” earnings section expects January 1 as the “from” date. All the earnings from the start of this pay period would be reported in the “Current year” section since they were paid in the current year. The “To” date field should be the last day worked.

Q. Can termination notices be submitted in all situations (e.g. for members on LTD, those with carryover earnings, etc.)?

No, for these situations, complete the forms found in the Employer Manual and submit them to the Plan vis S-Doc. We are reviewing these scenarios and will advise if these can be submitted via Pension Administration Link in a future release.

Q. Can retroactive payment breakdowns be shared through the portal?

Retroactive payments for the current year and prior year can be shared through Pension Administration Link, however you cannot specify which years the retroactive payment should be applied to. In these situations, we suggest you complete and submit the “Allocation of Retroactive Pay to Prior Years” form.

Q. It does not appear as though employer contributions are recorded on the resulting Termination Benefit Application or Pension Application forms for DBplus members. Will this field be added?

When you process Terminations and Retirements in Pension Administration Link, employer Contributions for DBplus members will be shown on the forms when they are printed.

Q. Can an employer note during the submission of a Pension Application form that a 71-year-old member is not actually retiring but only collecting their pension because of the age requirement?

No, we currently do not have a general note section on Pension Administration Link. We suggest that you complete a paper form in these scenarios.

Q. Will there be contextual online help to clarify the information required in some of the fields (i.e. by hovering over From Date or To Date, we'd see an explanation as to what dates these fields are referring to?

Your questions and feedback help to determine areas where we can further develop Pension Administration Link. We will add this to our list of suggestions. In the meantime, if you need clarification, please reach out to your pension analyst.

Q. Both the Termination and Pension Application forms have a "Purchases in process" section. They state "report any leaves of absence AND/OR purchases..." Is the section asking if there a previous Leave, or if there a purchase in process?

This section will notify the Plan if there is a purchase in process. If you check “Yes” to the “The member has a purchase currently in process” Pension Administration Link will ask for details of the purchase that is in process. If you check “No”, there would be no details to report and you can move to the next section.

Q. If I start a termination transaction, and the member is eligible for a pension option (DBplus member over 50), will it advise me complete a pension application or can I continue with the termination form?

You will receive a message from Pension Administration Link that the member is retirement eligible and that a pension application should be completed for this member. If you ignore the initial message and try to process a retirement using the termination transaction process, the transaction will fail.

Q. What will be the impact of a member electing to retire on a date other than the end of the month e.g. February 10 2021?

There is no impact, if the last day worked is before the retirement date, you can enter that date, but the retirement date will need to be the last day of the month.

Q. The processing of Termination forms is shared between HR and Payroll. When you assign the form to another users and the form is not yet complete, do you get a notification that the record has been passed on? And can you download a copy as a record of your part of the process?

The notifications to advise other users of assigned tasks are not yet functional but will be in a future release. You can download and print the form that you have worked on once you have saved the process in Pension Administration Link.

Q. Is there or will there be a comment field added? Sometimes comments about the member's employment accompanies the term form/pension application.

We are reviewing this feature and will advise if this will be available in a future release.

Will My Pension be the tool for members to send/receive option documents?

Currently, option documents will continue to be mailed to members by regular mail. Members will have the option to return signed documents to the Plan by regular mail, or to sign, scan and send them via the Message Centre in My Pension.

In a future release, Members who choose to receive their communication electronically will be able to receive their option documents in My Pension.

The spouse information is currently on the pension application form. Will it be removed from the pension applications?

The employer is not required to enter the spousal information in Pension Administration Link. The online pension application does not include fields for spousal information, and the PDF form that is generated after submitting the transaction does not contain spousal information.

Members will have the opportunity to review their spousal information on their option document and, if necessary, report a change to the Plan. As My Pension evolves, we will rely on members to provide this information before they retire. They will be able to initiate pension applications themselves within My Pension (e.g. they provide the date when they wish to retire, update their address, etc.) and the employer would approve the retirement date and then complete the transaction with employment related information.

If you are using the paper application form, the process remains unchanged – the Plan still needs the completed and signed form.

If a member updates their information (e.g. their name, spouse) using My Pension, how will the employer be informed?

After a member completes the update, they are advised to provide the same updated information to their employer. This is consistent with the current process: if a member calls the Plan, they are advised to notify their employer as well, if they have not already done so. The Plan will not advise employers of changes that members make to their information in My Pension.

The spousal data is not provided on Pension Administration Link. However, it is provided on the annual statements, which employers will have access to.

If the employee updates CAAT of a spousal change and not the employer, how can the employer be sure they are sending the death application to the correct spouse?

Employers should contact their Employer PA to review the spousal information on file with the Plan to confirm they have the correct information for the death application.

If a member does not update their employer of their spousal information change, how will the employer know who to contact in the case of a member's death?

The Plan processes a low number of pre-retirement death transactions each year. If this situation arises, contact your employer PA, who will work with you through the situation.

What about changes made by members that may have an impact on the DCT (e.g. if a member updates their name with the Plan but not with their employer, there could be issues when completing DCT reporting.)?

My Pension will ask the member to update their employer with any changes that they make. This is consistent with the current process, as a member can update this information with the Plan directly and unless they update the employer as well, the employer would not know about the change. In the DCT, Employers can identify members by SIN and some employers, the Employee number as well. If there is a discrepancy in conjunction with using these other identifiers, contact your employer PA for assistance.

Is there a requirement for the name to be a legal name, or for proof of a name change?

The member can update their name via the portal. The plan will require a signed form and proof from the member if a member changes their date of birth, or their SIN.

How will an employer know if information has been updated if the Plan does not advise employers when changes are made?

When members update the Plan with information like address, marital status, spouse and beneficiaries, this information is not shared with employers. This is consistent with our current process when members provide these updates via paper forms. Employers will be able to view address information on the Employer portal. Spouse, marital status and beneficiaries can be viewed on the annual statement.

Is the “pension accrued to date” only current up to the end of the previous DCT reporting period?

This information is now shown with an effective date to ensure there is clarity. The member dashboard on My Pension shows “Annual pension earned as of [DD-MMM-YYYY]” with an effective date. The pension is current based on the data currently in CAAT’s pension system. For most members of employers who submit data annually, this will mean the previous DCT. However, if the member has made a purchase, or if the employer has submitted any earnings, service or contribution data since the last DCT submission, the pension accrued to date in My Pension will reflect this information.

Will the “notification” and “process list” sections also include any transactions that have been initiated by their employer on their behalf?

Members will not see transactions initiated by employers in My Pension. An Employer can submit a confidential pension estimate request or a termination application, and this will not be disclosed on My Pension.

In a future phase of the portals, if a member initiates a transaction (e.g. a retirement), they will be able to track the progress of their request as it moves through process with the employer and the Plan. The intention is not to show the progress of an employer-initiated transaction as the member may not be aware of the situation.

Can a member include vacation pay (payable upon retirement) when preparing a pension estimate?

Members will not be able to include vacation pay in an estimate on My Pension. This functionality will be offered in a future release. If a member is close to retirement, they may request a full-serve estimate and specify the vacation pay to be included.

Will members receive notification of a message via email?

If the member receives a message in the Message Centre, they will be notified by an email that they have a message waiting for their attention in My Pension.

Members are not aware of the DCT reporting timelines. The "pension accrued to date" gives the impression that the amount shown is accurate as of the date the member is accessing their account.

This information is now shown with the effective date to ensure there is clarity. The member dashboard on My Pension shows “Annual pension earned as of [DD-MMM-YYYY]” with an effective date.

Will the contributions section display both employer and member contributions?

Currently on My Pension, members will see just member contributions.

On Pension Administration Link, employers will see both member and employer contributions for DBplus members and just member contributions for DBprime members.

Will it be made clear to members that their spouse is automatically their primary beneficiary and that they do not also need to name their spouse as a designated beneficiary?

If a member has a spouse, the following message is displayed in the beneficiary update section of My Pension: "Your spouse is your primary beneficiary. In addition to your spouse, you have designated the following beneficiaries, in the event that your spouse pre-deceases you."

Will the need for spouse signature on the death benefit form be removed?

The death benefit application process remains unchanged. The spouse will still be required to sign the pre-retirement death application form; however due to COVID-19 we are temporarily accepting applications without the spouse’s signature. We still require proof of age and copy of the marriage certificate to process a benefit for the spouse. Due to the relatively low number of these transactions, we do not plan to automate this process.

Do we still have to ensure new members complete enrolment forms identifying beneficiaries?

No, the enrolment forms do not need to be completed with beneficiary information.

Is there a requirement for a signature if beneficiaries are changed on My Pension?

There is no requirement for a signature for online beneficiary designations for the majority of our members. The plan will reach out to collect signatures from any members with online designations where required.

Should administrators send an email to employees/members advising them to keep an eye out for the package coming to them? Will it be emailed or mailed?

Yes, we would like employers to send members the email provided by the Plan to encourage their employees to register. The Plan will be mailing portal registration letters to the members at their home address. This way the member receives the email from their employer and the registration letter at the same time. Your employer PA will advise when you should send the email.

Will the registration step by step instruction be detailed in the member letter being sent by CAAT?

Yes, the letter that members receive will include step-by-step instructions to register on My Pension.

Do you recommend members complete their owns forms and submit them through My Pension, or do you advise all submissions still be made directly through administrators?

We encourage members to use My Pension to update their information with the Plan. If members are unable to use My Pension, they can still provide the updates using the Member Change of Information form.

How will members who don't want to use My Pension make updates to their information?

Members who do not want to use My Pension can still provide updates to the Plan with forms or by calling the member services hotline.

Will Retired members, EOM members and members deferring pension be part of this initial wave for access.

No, not during the initial wave. Members who are retired, deferred or on an Extension of Membership will get access later this year. Stay tuned for further updates about this timing.

Can a member change their spouse so that they have a different spouse for pension from the spouse they have on record for group insurance?

Yes, members may change their spouse and it may be different from the spouse they provided for other benefit programs. The definition of eligible spouse for the pension plan may differ from that in various group insurance programs.

General questions about Pension Administration Link

Will the portal verification call work for employers that have a phone number with an extension?

No. Phone numbers with extensions are not currently supported. We recommend you use a cell phone number for two-factor authentication.

Can the code for two-factor authentication be emailed rather than SMS?

No. The codes can only be sent by SMS or phone call.

For the code, would it be left in voicemail?

No. There will be no code left on the voice mail.  If you choose the "call me" option the system relies on the user to pick up the phone and answer it.  Alternatively a text message can be sent to the users cell phone.

Will the access code be sent immediately, even if we're receiving it by phone?

Yes.

I haven't seen an email about who should have access. Should I contact my PA?

Yes. Please contact your Employer PA.

Will the portal be available in English only or also in French?

The employer portal will be in English only in phase one, but the member portal will launch in both official languages.

How do we send an “in-process” document to a co-worker to review/complete?

When a transaction process is ready to be shared, choose "assign to" and choose either the department from the drop down.

Does the portal replace S-DOC?

The portal will simplify transaction processes: there is no need to send forms for portal-enabled processes, and therefore no need to use S-Doc for them. Note that there are still processes that will still require S-Doc, so it will remain available.

Is the portal login different than our S-Doc login?

Yes. The sign-in information for the portal will be separate from S-Doc and the DCT.

Can I print documents related to transactions later, if I need to?

Yes. You can always access the form generated by the portal if you need it.

Will employers be able to view individual member earnings and service data?

Yes, employers will see their members' earnings, service and contribution information related to that employer.

When will a new member be prompted to register for a member portal account?

The membership packages sent to new members will include information about how to log in to the portal and explaining its benefits.

Will employees be able to see their pension accrual?

Yes, members will be able to see their pension accrual in the member portal.

Can you share documents within the portal so two employees can work on same document?

Yes, documents can be shared and assigned in the portal.

Can we find a member using name or SIN?

Yes. You can search on a member's first or last name or SIN.

If you assign a task or process to someone else, will you still see the document in your own dashboard and be able to save or print?

Yes, you can see any documents that you have created and saved in the portal.

 

Questions about the enrolment process

Can employers continue to submit member enrolment forms via S-Doc?

The portal eliminates the need for enrolment forms, and will be more efficient. However, S-Doc will continue to be available if you need to use it for any reason.

Why do you need to collect information on the member's gender?

Aggregate gender data is used for actuarial modelling, but CAAT does not require this information to be collected for benefit payment. If a member prefers not to report this information, they may choose "NB" in the enrolment form. Current members can also make a change request to remove or change previously reported gender information.

Plan members should be advised that due to present system limitations, where relevant, a blank or “NB” entry generates the term “UNKNOWN” under the sex/gender field in Plan communications.

If an employee does not advise that they are working at another participating employer or a member through employment with another participating employer, should an employer answer Yes or No to these questions?

If the employee does not advise the employer, respond with a NO to the questions.

If the employer has spouse information on record that differs from what the employee provides, which data should an employer report through the enrolment process?

If the employer has conflicting information, leave the information blank on the enrolment process. Members are responsible to provide this information to the Plan and to the employer.

Is an employee signature required for enrolments?

No. The member signature is not required.

Once the enrolment is completed, will the portal save the information on the employee record? Would another employer be able to download a PDF with the information?

The enrolment process generates a PDF version of the enrolment form which will be accessible by anyone at your organization with access to the employer portal. The employee will receive the membership certificate from CAAT after they are enrolled.

Can you confirm that if the enrolment form is sent via s-doc, the marital and beneficiary information will be entered as indicated and member would not be required to enter via member portal?

Yes. Any information provided on the form or through the transaction process on the portal will be updated on the member's record and they would not be required to enter it in the member portal. The member can review and update this information in the member portal at any time.

Will the employee's information be there or do we have to key the info into the portal?

If you are enrolling a new member, the information will have to be entered by you. If the employee is already a member, their information will be there. If you are starting a new transaction for an employee, the portal populates key member information for you, saving time and effort.

Is this a shared process where the employer completes the initial information and the employee is responsible to complete the remainder of the process.

Yes, there will be a shared process in a few months. In the interim, the employer needs to complete the enrolment on the Employer Portal.

If we do not enter marital status information does CAAT follow up to confirm directly with the new member?

The new member will receive a membership package with portal registration information. When the member registers on the portal, they will be walked through the screens to complete this information.

If an employer offers DBplus to all employees, will the portal indicate they are OTRFT/Contract, even if they are full-time?

No. For DBplus employers, the choices are Full-time or Part-time.

If we create an enrolment but the employee does not complete marital status, then dies, who validates if there is a survivor?

The Plan will confirm the survivor information with the member's estate.

When members belong to more than one employer, will they show on both employers search?

Yes, but each employer will only see the data the member has with that employer.

Does the member enrolment start in member portal and flow to employer portal to complete the employer sections?

Yes, there will be a shared process in a few months. In the interim, the employer needs to complete the enrolment on the Employer Portal.

Are enrolment forms required?

No. If you use the portal for enrolments, forms are not required.

During high hiring periods (for example in September), is there capability to provide an upload file in order to enrol more than one employee at a time?

Yes, please contact your Employer PA to arrange.

Will the death application change then? Currently a spouse has to sign the death application, if the employer does not have access to spousal information will the signature requirement be taken off the form?

There will be no change the pre-retirement death benefit application form and the spouse signature will still be required. The Plan will validate the spousal information when we receive the form. Alternatively, the employer may contact their employer PA.

Will we continue to use the enrolment form to gather information from the member?  If yes, do we have to keep the form on file?

You do not have to keep a form as all the information will be in the portal. You may choose to complete the enrolment process as you speak to the member.

When will CAAT contact the new member to obtain marital status and beneficiaries if they were not provided during the enrolment process?

The information we have on file will be sent to the member with the membership package, along with a change form. The member can update the form, or make the updates directly in the member portal.

For the SIN validation, will the system alert us if we are trying to enrol someone who is already a member (in either DBplus or DBprime)?

The enrolment process checks the SIN against members at your workplace. You will get a notification if the member is already enrolled. However, if the member is working at another employer, you will not be told of that.

When you are searching a member via name is there any risk that one employer could be accessing another employer's employee information?

No. Each employer only has access to information that applies to them.

If the employer is not required to enter the marital status or beneficiary information for the employee does this mean that it will be mandatory for the employee to enter this information in the member portal?

Yes. Members will be responsible for keeping their pension records up-to-date.

Why are marital status and beneficiary information no longer required?

CAAT still requires marital status and beneficiary information from each member, but the employer is not responsible for collecting it. The member is solely responsible for ensuring CAAT has this information. This will streamline processes. 

If the enrolment information is submitted via the portal, is there a legal requirement for the employer to keep the original form?

No. The online submission is recorded, and can be used for audit purposes.