As a member of the CAAT Pension Plan, you have the option to transfer some or all of your benefit with Sunlife 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 your benefit with Sunlife 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.
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:
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:
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 while you are an active member, 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:
Your employer will send us your historical earnings for each year of your employment at Resolute Thunder Bay Sawmill. We will use these earnings to provide you with a quote for your transfer. These earnings may not be your entire employment history with Resolute Thunder Bay Sawmill as accessible earnings records may only go back a few years. Once you receive the package with the provided earnings, you can submit any missing years directly to CAAT. Historical T4 earnings up to last 10 years can be access through CRA’s online portal and to request T4 information beyond the last 10 years members need to contact CRA. Please see Individual tax inquiries line - Canada.ca for CRA’s contact information.
The transfer is estimated to be in December 2024/January 2025, provided your former Sun Life plan wound-up at that time. During this time, pension purchase packages will be mailed out to each member including a quote and instructions on how to transfer the benefit over to CAAT. CAAT is working to ensure you receive your pension purchase packages around the same time as your termination packages from Sun Life, allowing you to compare options.
The amount of money you will be able to transfer over to CAAT is limited by the Income Tax Act to 18% of your T4 earnings for each year employed at Resolute Thunder Bay Sawmill.
Sun Life will provide you a termination package once that prior pension plan wound-up. This package will include options for you to decide how you would like to use your account balance in that prior pension plan. You can use your account balance to increase your secure lifetime pension with CAAT through a pension purchase. We highly recommend you seek independent financial advice to determine the best option for you.
Purchases can be complex, but CAAT is making it easy by breaking down the purchase process into three stages – Learn, Return, Earn. Visit the DBplus purchases page for an overview, then access the following pages for details, videos and more.
After you enrol in DBplus, you’ll be able to activate My Pension, CAAT’s online pension portal, to get access to your pension information along with an interactive pension estimator. With a few clicks, you can estimate your pension, then see how a purchase can increase it. To activate your account, visit the “Login page” and click on “My Pension” to learn more.
If you haven’t enrolled in DBplus yet, you can still estimate the value of a purchase by visiting the DBplus Pension Estimator.
To get started, select your employer name from the available list of employers and agree to the terms of use. After you enter some key information such as your date of birth and your earnings, you’ll get an estimate of your pension at age 65. You’ll then have the option to “See the value of a purchase” to estimate how much your prior plan balance will purchase in DBplus, and the impact it will have on your overall pension.
Only you can decide if a purchase is a good idea for you, and if it’s a cost-effective way to increase your pension.
You may wish to seek independent financial advice.
Before you make your purchase decision, we encourage you to attend a pension purchase presentation. This interactive session is hosted by CAAT, and led by pension experts who can answer your questions about making a purchase.
In Person Presentations (3 time slots per day)
Dates:
December 3rd, 2024 @ 10am, 1pm, and 7pm
December 4th, 2024 @ 10am, 1pm, and 7pm
Address:
Valhalla Inn – 1 Valhalla Inn Road,
Thunder Bay, ON, P7E 6J1
*Presentations will be held in Boardroom #1 on the 2nd floor of the hotel*
Paper sign up sheets have been posted.