CAAT Pension Plan Members from St. John Ambulance

your merged plan

Merger Update

November 20, 2023

CAAT Pension Plan Members from Pension Plan for Employees of The Priory of Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.


The asset transfer is complete

The assets have transferred from the Pension Plan for Employees of The Priory of Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (Registration Number 0299289) (the “SJA Pension Plan”) to the CAAT Pension Plan. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) provided consent to the transfer of assets from the SJA Pension Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan. The assets, totalling approximately $15 million, were transferred to CAAT on November 15, 2023.

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

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


How we got here

On March 22, 2021, an overwhelming 92% of plan members of the DB component of the SJA Pension Plan voted in favor of merging with the CAAT Pension Plan.

Effective April 1, 2021, all eligible employees started contributing to, and earning, a pension under CAAT’s DBplus plan design. This included full-time employees (whether in a SJA Pension Plan, DB or defined contribution (DC) plan, or not at the time) and other than regular full-time employees who were existing members of the SJA DB Pension Plan. Other than regular full-time employees who were existing members of the SJA DC Pension Plan have the option to join.

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

On October 3, 2023, FSRA provided consent to transfer the DB assets from the SJA Pension Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan and DB members of the SJA 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?

St. John Ambulance members will make contributions to DBplus beginning on April 1, 2021 based on a percentage of eligible earnings indicated in the table below under ‘Employee Contributions’.

Effective date Employee Contributions Employer Contributions
April 1, 2021  5.0%  5.0%

Your DBplus pension will be based on the contributions you and St. John Ambulance make to DBplus, subject to the maximum limits set out in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA).


Details about your new CAAT pension

If FSRA consents to the merger, active St. John Ambulance members’ total combined retirement pension will be made up of two parts:

The St. John Ambulance DB pension + DBplus pension = Total annual pension payable from the CAAT Pension Plan

Your total defined benefit (DB) pension earned under the SJA Pension Plan is the amount you have earned under the SJA Pension Plan* prior to December 31, 2014 (when the DB component of the SJA Pension Plan was frozen), that will be transferred and replicated under the CAAT Pension Plan if the merger is completed. This portion of your benefit will be payable to you according to the provisions of the SJA Pension Plan.

The total pension earned under DBplus is the benefit you will earn after the effective date (April 1, 2021) under the CAAT Pension Plan if the merger is approved by members.

*For members with a province of employment in Alberta and Manitoba who have not terminated employment, this amount will continue to grow with your earnings, as required by applicable legislation.


Enhancements

Inflation protection in retirement

After FSRA consents to the merger, beginning the later of January 1, 2022, or the January 1 after you commence your pension, your SJA Pension Plan DB pension will receive the greater of the conditional indexing adjustment under the CAAT Pension Plan subject to the CAAT Pension Plan Funding Policy (75% of the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)), and the indexation formula under the SJA Pension Plan (75% of change in CPI minus 1%, to a maximum of 11%), compared on a cumulative basis.

Any benefit you earn under DBplus will also have annual conditional inflation protection increases applied at the beginning of each year your pension is in pay at a rate of 75% of the change in CPI, subject to the CAAT Pension Plan Funding Policy.

Other enhancements while you're working

While you work, you will receive conditional Average Industrial Wage (AIW) enhancements on your DBplus pension, subject to the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA). AIW enhancements are applied at the start of each year you contribute to the CAAT Pension Plan to the total DBplus pension you earned up until the end of the previous year and is 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.


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

St. John Ambulance Member Services at the CAAT Pension Plan

Toll Free: 1.855.369.9479