Pension Plan for Employees of The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)

your merged plan

Merger Update

May 31, 2024

CAAT Pension Plan Members from Pension Plan for Employees of the College of Family Physicians of Canada

The following section is applicable for all current employees of the employers listed below (“Employer”):

  • The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)
  • Nova Scotia College of Family Physicians (NSCFP)
  • The Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians (SCFP)
  • BC College of Family Physicians (BCCFP)
  • The New Brunswick College of Family Physicians (NBCFP)

The asset transfer is complete

The assets have transferred from the Pension Plan for Employees of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (Registration Number 236000) (the “CFPC Pension Plan”) to the CAAT Pension Plan. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”) provided consent to the transfer of assets from the CFPC Pension Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan. The assets, totaling approximately $18.5M, were transferred to CAAT on May 30, 2024.

With the transfer of assets, the CAAT Pension Plan assumes responsibility for all defined benefit (“DB”) pension accrued while in the CFPC Pension Plan and all pension payments to current retired members of the CFPC Pension Plan.

Former members of the DB component of the CFPC Pension Plan should have received a communication with further details about their pension now that the assets have transferred. Should you have any questions, please email info@dbplus.ca.


How we got here

Effective August 1, 2022, all eligible employees started contributing to, and earning, a pension under CAAT’s DBplus plan design. This included full-time employees (whether in a CFPC Pension Plan, DB or DC, or not at the time) and other-than-regular-full-time employees who were existing members of the CFPC Pension Plan. Other-than-regular-full-time employees who were not existing members of the CFPC Pension Plan had the option to join.

On July 31, 2022, an overwhelming 96% of members of the CFPC Pension Plan participating in the Defined Benefit (DB) provision voted in favor of the merger with the CAAT Pension Plan.

CAAT filed applications with FSRA for its consent to the transfer of DB assets from the CFPC Pension Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan.

On March 28, 2024, FSRA provided consent to transfer the DB assets from the CFPC Pension Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan and DB members of the CFPC Pension Plan were notified that their past pension benefits will be transferred to and replicated in the CAAT Pension Plan.


What is my DBplus contribution rate?

Beginning on August 1, 2022, employees who were participating in the CFPC Pension Plan DB provision will make contributions to DBplus based on a percentage of eligible earnings indicated in the tables below. The Employer will match employee contributions.

For active members with a previous DB entitlement from the CFPC Pension Plan:

Effective
Employee Contributions
Employer contributions
Total Contributions
August 1, 2022 and there after
9.0%
9.0%
18.0%

For active members of the CFPC Pension Plan with a previous Defined Contribution (DC) Plan entitlement and active employees who were not participating in any employer sponsored pension arrangement:

Effective
Employee Contributions
Employer Contributions
Total Contributions
August 1, 2022 and thereafter
5.0%
5.0%
10.0%

Your DBplus pension will be based on the total contributions, subject to the maximum limits set out in the Income Tax Act (Canada).

The DBplus definition of Annual Earnings includes base pay as well as bonuses, commissions, overtime and other special remunerations as applicable.


Who do I contact if I have questions about my DBplus pension?

The College of Family Physicians member services at the CAAT Pension Plan

c/o Mercer | 120 Bremner Boulevard, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5J 0A8

Toll-free: 1-833-625-7222

Email: caat.cfpc@mercer.com


Details about your CAAT Pension

If the FSRA and relevant regulators consent to the merger, active CFPC Pension Plan member’s total combined retirement pension will be made up of two parts, as indicated in the table below.

Total Pension Benefit at Retirement
Total pension earned under the CFPC Pension Plan + Total pension earned under DBplus

Total pension earned under the CFPC Pension Plan

Your total pension earned under the CFPC Pension Plan is the amount you have earned under the CFPC Pension Plan DB provision prior to August 1, 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 DB provisions of the CFPC Pension Plan. Please refer to your “Notice of Proposed Merger” Package for more details about your CFPC Pension Plan benefit and any applicable enhancements.

Total pension earned under DBplus

Your DBplus pension refers to the pension you are earning under the DBplus Plan design as of August 1, 2022.


Enhancements

DBplus enhancements while you're working

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. See your Notice of Merger package for more information about the enhancements available to you.


Conditional inflation protection in retirement

If the merger is successful, once your pension commences, it will continue to grow with annual conditional inflation protection increases at a rate of 75% of the percent change in the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) (up to a maximum increase of 8% with a carry forward provision for any amount above 8% in a given year), beginning January 1, 2024. These increases will allow your pension to continue growing with the economy, maintaining your spending power in retirement. Inflation protection increases are conditional on the CAAT Pension Plan Funding Policy. If the merger is successful:

  • Any benefit you earn under DBplus will have annual conditional inflation protection increases applied at the beginning of each year your pension is being paid.

  • Beginning the January 1 of the year you start your pension (but not before January 1, 2024), the CAAT Pension Plan’s conditional inflation protection increases will be applied to the CFPC Pension Plan DB portion of your pension once in pay. However, after the completion of the merger, if you begin receiving your pension by January 1, 2039, the CAAT Pension Plan inflation protection on the replicated CFPC Pension Plan DB benefits in pay during the period beginning January 1, 2024 and ending January 1, 2039 will not be dependent on the CAAT Pension Plan’s funded position and will be automatically granted. After this period expires (with the last adjustment applied on January 1, 2039 to pensions in pay at that time), annual cost-of-living increases will be conditional on the funded status of the CAAT Pension Plan.