Making a purchase in DBplus

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What is a pension purchase?

As a member of the CAAT Pension Plan, you have the option to transfer some or all of your prior benefit into DBplus. This is called a “pension purchase”, and it will let you get a bigger pension from one of Canada’s most sustainable and fastest-growing pension plans.

The amount of pension you purchase using your funds from the prior plan will become part of your total DBplus pension. While you’re working, your total pension will grow with conditional Average Industrial Wage (AIW) increases, and when you retire, it will continue to grow with conditional inflation protection. Your total pension – the portion you’re earning and the portion you purchase – will be paid to you when you retire for as long as you live.

If you choose to make the purchase

When you’ve decided to make your purchase, the first thing to do is to notify the CAAT Pension Plan.

  • Complete the form included in your package from the CAAT Pension Plan by checking the box to choose your option. Be sure to sign and date the form. We recommend making a copy for yourself.
  • Send the completed form right away, to notify the CAAT Plan that you are moving ahead with the purchase.

Why make a purchase in DBplus?

Your pension will be paid to you every month when you retire, for the rest of your life. Making a purchase will enhance the DBplus pension you’re earning.

Here are five more reasons a DBplus pension purchase might be right for you:

  1. A bigger pension: The amount of pension you purchase will be added to the pension you’re earning in DBplus, increasing your lifetime pension.
  2. A simpler retirement: Consolidating your retirement savings into will spare you the time, effort and stress associated with managing your own investments.
  3. No commission; no additional fees: Your pension is securely managed by CAAT’s pension and investment professionals.
  4. Retire when the time is right for you: Choose your retirement date without worrying about market performance or outliving your savings. You may even be able to retire sooner than you originally planned.
  5. Valuable benefits included: Your pension includes conditional inflation protection increases after you retire and a survivor pension at no additional cost to you or your spouse.

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve answered your most-asked questions about purchases. If you have further questions about how a purchase can add value to your CAAT pension, email our purchase experts at purchase@caatpension.ca.

There are Income Tax Act maximums that apply to the amount you can contribute for your purchase, which may vary depending on the type of purchase you make. Your purchase amount is limited to the lesser of:

  • 18% of your T4 earnings for the period you are purchasing, or
  • the amount of funds in your registered retirement savings accounts.

You can choose an amount lower than the maximum amount shown in your purchase package. A partial purchase will result in an annual lifetime pension that is lower than the one provided in your purchase package. CAAT will calculate the amount of pension when your payment is received, and will notify you of that amount in writing within 30 days.

You can make a purchase at any time during your membership, but the sooner you make the purchase, the more valuable it is. For each year that you are over age 40 when you make the purchase, the amount of pension your purchase will buy will be reduced by 1.4%.

You must be enrolled in DBplus, and eligible under applicable pension and tax law. In general, to be eligible:

  • the purchase must be tied to eligible periods of employment after 1990 with your current employer or during which you participated in a previous employer’s Canadian registered pension plan;
  • the funds must come from a registered retirement vehicle (e.g., LIRA, RRSP, or defined contribution (DC) pension plan; and
  • the amount you can transfer for a purchase is limited by the Income Tax Act to 18% of cumulative T4 earnings (excluding taxable benefits) for a pre-enrolment period being purchased.