Earn secure income in retirement by building your pension while you work
If you work part time or on contract and your employer participates in the CAAT Plan, you have the choice to enrol in the CAAT Plan under the DBplus Plan design at any point during your employment (unless enrolment becomes mandatory in your jurisdiction of employment after a certain threshold). Once you enrol, you can’t opt out. Learn more about how to enrol in the Plan below. If you’ve already decided you want to enrol, jump to “How to enrol” to find the Enrolment form.
If you work full time and your employer participates in the CAAT Plan, you will be automatically enrolled in the Plan. This page does not apply to you.
If you work for an employer that does not yet participate in the CAAT Plan, but you are interested in having your employer join, visit the pension solutions page to learn more.
If you choose to enrol in DBplus, you will begin contributing and building valuable, secure retirement income. Your employer also contributes to your pension on your behalf. When you retire, you will start collecting a lifetime pension which includes additional features, such as:
You will contribute for as long as you are employed by a participating employer, on every pay. Your employer will also make contributions to the Plan on your behalf, increasing your overall pension.
While it’s never too early to start saving for retirement, it is important to consider if membership in DBplus fits into your budget and career plans. In deciding to enrol, you should think carefully about your own situation. Different factors will be relevant for each individual and only you can determine the action that is best for you.
Once you become a member of the Plan, you are required to contribute on the earnings you receive from all participating employers, and you cannot opt out and stop contributing.
See if enrolling is right for you
Once you've reviewed the resources and have decided to enrol in DBplus:
If you work in the Ontario College system
If you work for an employer that joined DBplus since 2019 or required a voting process
We've answered some of the most-asked questions about enrolling in DBplus, below. If your question isn't answered here, contact our member services team.
If you are no longer employed by a participating employer, and you are not yet eligible to retire, you remain a Plan member for 24 months, referred to as Extension of Membership (EOM) period. If you take a job at a new employer that participates in the CAAT Plan during those 24 months, you will resume contributing to the Plan and you will earn additional benefits. To learn about your transfer options on Extension of Membership, visit the page “Leaving your job.”
You will receive your options from the Plan shortly after your Extension of Membership period has passed. Your benefit is locked-in, which means even if you leave the Plan before retirement, it must be used for retirement income, and cannot be taken as a cash payout.
In that case, you will automatically start making contributions and earning a pension in DBprime and start making contributions and earning a pension at the DBprime rates. For every year you contributed to DBplus, you will get a full year of early retirement eligibility service recognized under DBprime. This will help you reach your earliest unreduced retirement date under DBprime sooner.
When you retire, your total pension would be the combined pension earned under both Plan designs.
If you begin working at an employer that only participates in DBplus, and move to full-time employment, you would continue earning a pension in DBplus.
You can choose to continue to receive your pension, or you can suspend pension payments, rejoin the Plan and contribute under the DBplus plan design. Members may contribute to the Plan up until November 30 of the year in which they turn 71, after which members must begin receiving their pension payments by law.
Only you can decide if enrolling in the CAAT Pension Plan is right for you. Once you’ve reviewed all the information you should be ready to decide if you want to enrol now and start building your retirement income in DBplus. You may have the option to enrol at any time during your employment, and begin building a pension from that point forward, but the sooner you enrol, the sooner you start building your future pension. Once you enrol, you can’t opt out.