In this edition
What’s new at CAAT
We’re still growing
CAAT added 43 new employers and 3,233 new members in the first half of 2023, including Lakehead University and Candu Energy. This continued growth helps make the Plan secure and sustainable, contributing to better retirement security for more Canadians.
Recruiting? A new and improved toolkit coming soon!
We are redesigning the Talent Recruitment Toolkit for an improved user experience and a brand-new look.
The new Toolkit will launch on Monday, August 28. Look out for our email early next week to check it out.
CAAT gets social
At CAAT, we’re embracing social media as a powerful tool for helping you and your employees learn about the benefits of having a secure, sustainable pension. We recently launched on Instagram—Canada’s most-downloaded app—so we can reach more members on their social media platform of choice, with engaging posts that promote pension and financial literacy.
Instagram is also a great way to engage CAAT’s Plan Ambassadors and give them more opportunities to socialize and spread the word about our mission to bring pensions to more people. Learn more about how you and your employees can become Plan Ambassadors. And be sure to connect with CAAT on Instagram @caatpensionplan or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Employer attestations are ending
Since 2015, CAAT has operated an administrative compliance attestation program for all participating employers.
After a detailed assessment, CAAT has decided that employer attestations will no longer be required starting in 2024. This change aligns with an important strategic goal to simplify CAAT’s processes.
We thank all employers for participating in the attestation program to date, as it was an important part of CAAT's strategy to reduce and manage risk in the Plan’s operations. Given our strong relationships with employers as well as advancements in our data management, we no longer require this element of our risk management strategy.
Member learning sessions
CAAT offers monthly member learning sessions called A future you can count on: Your CAAT Pension.
These presentations give your employees the opportunity to ask questions and learn about their CAAT pension. They’re perfect for new members who have been in the Plan for five years or less, and a great refresher for every member who wants to know why their pension is a big deal.
Share this link with members who are looking to learn more about their pension.
Register now
Book a customized session for your members today!
We continue to receive requests from employers and are booking customized sessions covering the following topics:
- A future you can count on: Your CAAT Pension
- Retirement planning
- DBprime pension purchases
- DBplus pension purchases
Members can always learn more about what their CAAT pension provides — the more they know, the more they’ll value their defined benefit pension!
Book a customized learning session for your employees today by emailing your request to:
Presentations
“All-member” Fall webinar series
We will kick off our popular "all-member" Fall webinar series on Wednesday, September 20! These sessions will be delivered by pension experts, where members will have the opportunity to ask questions, learn more about the Plan, receive retirement planning insights and so much more.
The series runs until late October and members can sign up on the CAAT Pension Plan website in the coming weeks for a particular webinar. Stay tuned for more.
Your Q&A corner
Welcome to your Q&A corner, where we’ll answer your questions about CAAT. To help keep you informed, we aim to feature one or two employer questions in each issue. Contact your employer Pension Analyst to submit your questions.
Q: The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) enhancement phase 2 starts in 2024. Will there be any impact on the 2024 CAAT contribution formula for DBprime? What about DBplus?
A: Currently CPP incorporates an earnings ceiling called the year's maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE). On January 1, 2024, CPP will introduce a second earnings ceiling known as the year's additional maximum pensionable earnings (YAMPE). Employees who have income above the first earnings ceiling will contribute to CPP an additional percentage of their employment income above the first earnings ceiling up to the second earnings ceiling. This additional CPP contribution is part of the CPP enhancement known as "second CPP contributions."
The CPP changes will not impact the CAAT Pension Plan contribution formula for DBprime. The formula will continue to use the first earnings ceiling, the YMPE. You can find the YMPE on the Canada Revenue Agency's website.
DBplus does not use the YMPE to determine contributions, so contributions to DBplus will continue to be based on eligible earnings as defined by the Plan, subject to any Participation Agreement, Memorandum of Agreement and/or merger agreement that a participating employer has with the Plan.
Upcoming events
Mark your calendar for these events. We send invitations straight to your inbox two weeks prior to the event and registration is available on our website.
Quarterly Employer Update — September 28
This webinar will update you on the growth of the Plan, plan news, upcoming events, reminders and more.
Employer education sessions — Leaves and pension purchases — October 5
- For employers with both DBprime and DBplus — 10 a.m.
- For employers with DBplus only — 2 p.m.
This session will demonstrate the process for reporting the various types of leaves of absence and explain how members can make pension purchases for leaves and other applicable periods of employment.
Employer education sessions — November 2
- Pensionable earnings, service, contributions and pension adjustments (DBprime and DBplus) — 10 a.m.
- Pensionable earnings, contributions and pension adjustments (DBplus only) — 2 p.m.
These sessions will focus on contributions as they are deducted from members and remitted to the Plan according to the appropriate rates and calculation guidelines. They will also provide an overview of pension adjustment (PA) calculations.
Updates and reminders
Thank you for participating in CAAT surveys
Thank you to all who participated in CAAT’s 2023 member and employer surveys in June and July. We appreciate your insights and feedback and we look forward to sharing the results with you.
Reminder to review your 2022 contribution reconciliations
Ensuring that all members’ pensions are correct requires accurate and up-to-date contribution records.
To help CAAT meet this important goal, it is crucial that you review your final 2022 annual contribution summary report(s) which will be sent to you by the end of August. Please send any funds outstanding or take any credits owing promptly, so we can close your 2022 contribution account. If you notice an error in the report(s) or have any questions, contact your employer Pension Analyst.
Annual review of members on LTD and WSIB by August 31
Read this if… you are an Ontario college employer
Once a year, CAAT asks you to review the list of your members on long-term disability (LTD) and WSIB leaves of absence. Your employer Pension Analyst sent the list to you via a secure message in early August. Please ensure that the list is current and, if you have changes, provide any forms to update a member’s status with the Plan. We want to ensure that LTD and WSIB leave data is accurate and up to date. Contact your employer Pension Analyst if you have any questions.
Enhancement to My Pension
At the end of June, in response to a member’s suggestion, we launched a new address verification feature in the member portal and on the request to enrol page. When a member chooses to update their address information, they will see auto-completion suggestions and be able to select from the list. You have probably seen this feature before on online shopping sites.
Not only will this save time for members but will also improve the overall accuracy of address data in CAAT records. Address verification applies to Canadian addresses only.
We invite you to encourage members to register for My Pension if they are not already using it. It’s a convenient way for them to update their contact information with the Plan, access their annual statements, update their beneficiary designations and/or get an estimate of their pension at a future date.
CAAT is certified secure
CAAT is now ISO/IEC 27001 certified. CAAT completed this certification to prove we are committed and able to manage information securely and safely, and to provide an additional layer of confidence for our stakeholders.
ISO/IEC 27001 is the world’s best-known standard for information security management systems, designed to manage risks related to the security of data owned or handled by the organization.
What’s new in PAL
Read this if… you are an employer who works directly with CAAT and who uses PAL
Address verification coming to PAL in September
PAL will launch a new address verification feature in mid-September. It will work in the same way as the feature recently added to the member portal, My Pension.
Any time you enter a Canadian address, PAL will access the same database used by Canada Post to provide auto-completion suggestions. This feature is designed to save you time and also improve the overall accuracy of addresses in CAAT’s data.
Planned outages for PAL in 2023
PAL will be unavailable from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the below dates while we undergo planned maintenance:
Wednesday September 13
Wednesday October 11
Wednesday November 8
Wednesday December 6
We want to hear from you
Have a question, comment or suggestion for us about PAL? Let us know. Your feedback is important to us. Over the course of the next year, we’re planning on adding more exciting features to improve PAL functionality. It’s an innovative platform that continues to expand and put information into a single, unified experience for you. Reach out to your employer Pension Analyst to share your thoughts at any time.
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