After you enrol in the 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 My Pension account, visit the Login page and click on My Pension to learn more.
Making a purchase in DBplus
For members of Superior Greenstone Association for Community Living.
Learn if a purchase is right for you
As a member of the CAAT Pension Plan, have the option to transfer your account balance from your Group RRSP 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 Group RRSP funds 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.
Why make a purchase in DBplus?
Your pension will be paid to you every month when you retire, and for as long as you live. Making a purchase will enhance the pension you’re earning.
Here are five more reasons a DBplus pension purchase might be right for you:
- A bigger pension:The amount of pension you purchase will be added to the pension you’re earning in DBplus, increasing your lifetime pension.
- A simpler retirement:Consolidating your retirement savings into will spare you the time, effort and stress associated with managing your own investments.
- No commission; no additional fees:Your pension is securely managed by CAAT’s pension and investment professionals.
- 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.
- 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.
Get informed before making your purchase
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.
- Learn about your purchase options
- Understand how to Return your forms and documents
- See how a purchase lets you Earn additional pension
Before you make your purchase decision, we encourage you learn more about increasing your pension with a purchase on our website. You can also book a one on one session using the contact information below. These sessions are hosted by CAAT, and led by pension experts who can answer your questions about making a purchase.
Email: member@caatpension.ca
Phone: 416-673-9000/1-866-350-2228
Watch the recorded session:
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.