Making a purchase in DBplus

For Employees of Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

What is a pension purchase?

As a member of the CAAT Pension Plan, you have the option to transfer some or all of your Sun Life defined contribution account balance 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 Sun Life 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.

Read your personalized purchase package

In late July, you will receive a purchase package in the mail which will contain a purchase quote and the documents you’ll need to complete your purchase. Read your package carefully to learn about your options and the steps you’ll need to take.

Plan to attend a webinar to learn more

Before you make your purchase decision, we encourage you to attend a pension purchase webinar. This interactive session is hosted by CAAT, and led by pension experts who can answer your questions about making a purchase.

Stay tuned for session dates and how to register.

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.

Where to find more information

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.

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.

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.

How to complete the T2151 form

Read this section if you are transferring money directly from your defined contribution account to make your pension purchase. On this form, a defined contribution account is referred to as an “RPP” which stands for “Registered Pension Plan”.

If you are using DPSP funds for your purchase and are not sure how to complete the T2151 Form, contact the CAAT Plan.

Terms you’ll see on the T2151 form

  • Applicant – that’s you, the owner of the account and CAAT Pension Plan member who is making the purchase.
  • Transferor – that’s the RPP administrator of your previous plan. They will transfer the money to the CAAT Pension Plan to complete your purchase.
  • Transferee – that’s the CAAT Pension Plan, which will receive the transfer for your purchase and add it to your pension.
  • RPP – that’s your defined contribution account. RPP stands for “registered pension plan”. The CAAT Pension Plan is also an RPP.

Section I – Applicant

There are five parts in Section I but you don’t have to complete them all. Because you will be transferring from your defined contribution plan, which is a registered pension plan (called an RPP), you only complete parts B, C, and D.

Member information

Enter your name, social insurance number, address, and telephone number.

Part A – Transfer from a DPSP

Skip this section. It does not apply to you.

Part B – Transfer from an RPP

In this section, the RPP administrator of your previous plan provides information about the plan.

The box “I am a member of the RPP” will be pre-selected. The RPP administrator of your previous plan will need to provide the other information on this form.

Part C – Description of amount to be transferred

  • The RPP administrator of your previous plan will compare the amount you want to use for your purchase, with the amount available in your account, and tick either “Transfer my whole entitlement under the plan identified in Part A or B” or “Transfer the amount of $__________ which represents my partial entitlement under the plan identified in Part A or B”.
  • If you are not transferring the whole amount in your account, you must also enter the amount you will be transferring on the solid line on the second option.

Part D – Identification of the RRSP, RRIF, RPP, SPSP, SPP, or PRPP to which the funds are being transferred

This refers to the CAAT Pension Plan, which your funds are being transferred into. This section of the form has been partially completed for you by the CAAT Pension Plan.

Tick the box “Transfer the RPP or DPSP single amount to my RPP”.

The CAAT Pension Plan has pre-filled these fields:

  • “RPP number and name”
  • “Canada Revenue Agency’s registration number of RPP or DPSP”
  • “Transferee’s address”

You, as the member, must sign and date Part D at the bottom.

Section II – Transferor’s certification

Remember, the Transferor is the RPP administrator of your previous plan.

The RPP administrator for your previous plan will complete this part of the form to confirm that the transfer meets all income tax requirements.

They will also sign and date this part of the form.

Section III – Transferee’s certification

Remember, the Transferee is the CAAT Pension Plan.

When the form is completed, and you have arranged to pay any fees, the RPP administrator for your previous plan will keep the form and process the transfer.

It’s up to you to keep an eye on your account to see if the transfer has been made. If the transfer isn’t completed in two weeks, it’s a good idea to call your financial institution to follow-up.