MC LegalManagement Limited Partnership* (MCLLP)
*MC LegalManagement Limited Partnership is the legal entity that employs the staff of McInnes Cooper.
your merged plan
March 28, 2022
The merger of the MC LegalManagement Limited Partnership (“MCLLP Pension Plan”) and the CAAT Pension Plan is a two-step process that is regulated by legislation.
On March 10, 2022, 94% of members of the MCLLP Pension Plan voted in favor of the merger with the CAAT Pension Plan.
All employees who were participating in the MCLLP Pension Plan started contributing to, and earning, a pension under CAAT’s DBplus Plan design effective March 28, 2022 (“effective date”).
All employees hired prior to the effective date who were not participating in MCLLP Pension Plan as of March 28, 2022, have the option to join on the effective date, and those employed on a full-time basis will be required to join after completing 2 years of employment.
All full-time employees hired on and after the effective date will be required to join DBplus on their date of hire.
Other than regular full-time employees hired on and after the effective date will have the option to join the Plan on and after their date of hire.
For the merger to proceed, the Nova Scotia Office of the Superintendent of Pensions (the “Nova Scotia Superintendent”) and other relevant regulators must approve the transfer of defined benefit assets. An application will be filed with the regulator in the coming months. Once approved, MCLLP Pension Plan members will be notified that their past pension benefits will be transferred to and replicated in the CAAT Pension Plan.
Beginning on March 28, 2022, employees of MC LegalManagement Limited Partnership (“MCLLP”) will make contributions to DBplus based on a percentage of eligible earnings indicated in the table below. MCLLP will match employee contributions.
Your DBplus pension will be based on the total contributions, subject to the maximum limits set out in the Income Tax Act (Canada).
MCLLP (McInnes Cooper) member services at the CAAT Pension Plan c/o Mercer | 120 Bremner Boulevard, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5J 3A9 Toll Free: 1-877-808-7622 Email: CAAT.MCLLP@mercer.com
If the Nova Scotia Superintendent and relevant regulators consent to the merger, active MCLLP Pension Plan members’ total combined retirement pension will be made up of two parts, as indicated in the table below.
Your total pension earned under the MCLLP Pension Plan is the amount you have earned under the MCLLP Pension Plan prior to March 28, 2022. It will be transferred and replicated under the CAAT Pension Plan once the assets are transferred following regulatory approval. This portion of your benefit will be payable to you based on the provisions of the MCLLP Pension Plan. Please refer to your “Notice of Proposed Merger” Package for more details about your MCLLP Pension Plan benefit and any applicable enhancements.
Your DBplus pension refers to the pension you are earning under the DBplus Plan design as of March 28, 2022.
While you work, your DBplus pension will receive conditional Average Industrial Wage (AIW) enhancements, subject to the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA). AIW enhancements are applied at the start of each year that you contribute. Enhancements are applied to the total DBplus pension you earned up until the end of the previous year and are subject to the CAAT Pension Plan Funding Policy.
AIW enhancements are based on the year-over-year percentage increase in Canada's AIW index, measured from July 1 to June 30. These enhancements are cumulative and are not applied in the year of retirement.
Inflation protection refers to increases made to pensions paid to retired members when the CAAT Pension Plan is over 100% funded. Such annual increases are 75% of the change in the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). They are capped at 8% with a carry forward provision (i.e., in years when inflation is high, any amount above 8% would be carried forward and applied to inflation protection in the following years). Conditional increases are effective each January 1, based on the CAAT Pension Plan’s funded status.
Any benefit you earn under DBplus will have annual conditional inflation protection increases applied at the beginning of each year that your pension is being paid to you. Increases will be at a rate of 75% of CPI, subject to the CAAT Pension Plan Funding Policy.