George Hull Centre for Children and Families unifies under one pension plan
Mental health agency successfully brings diverse workforce under one pension plan, to address equity concerns, enhance benefits, and ensure financial stability for employees in retirement.
Industry: Non-profit
Employer size: <300 employees
Objective: DB merger and group RRSP upgrade
About George Hull Centre for Children and Families
The George Hull Centre is a leading children’s mental health centre in Toronto, helping infants, children, youth, and their families achieve mental wellness. Its mission is to reduce suffering, provide hope, and enhance the quality of life of young people through clinical excellence and a continuum of mental health services. Affiliated with the University of Toronto as a teaching hub, the Centre operates as a non-profit organization governed by a board of directors.
The challenge
Seeking balance with employee pension plan
The George Hull Centre for Children and Families was faced with a pension plan predicament. Its employees were divided into two distinct groups: those hired after 2010 who were enrolled in a group RRSP, while more senior employees were part of a closed defined benefit (DB) pension plan. This was not an ideal situation for the Centre, which aspired to equity and balance throughout its operations.
Additionally, the George Hull Centre wanted to remain competitive in a challenging job market by offering prospective and current employees DB benefits without the costs and unpredictability associated with a single-employer DB plan. The organization aimed to find a cost-effective, low-risk solution beneficial for both the Centre and its employees.
The solution
DBplus: Innovative solution addresses multiple challenges
The George Hull Centre had the daunting task of uniting its workforce under one pension plan and ensuring the plan had valuable benefits while also dedicating its resources responsibly and remaining focused on providing mental health services for young people. The solution would need to be flexible, dynamic, and cost-effective to check off all the boxes.
CAAT is a jointly sponsored DB pension plan that combines the cost-certainly that employers want with the predictable monthly retirement income employees demand. DBplus provides flexible contribution rates, mitigates balance sheet liabilities, and reduces pension administration costs. Furthermore, CAAT makes it easy to streamline multiple pension plans (like a group RRSP and closed DB pension plans) into one innovative solution.
The results
Secure retirement income leads to healthy and productive workforce
With DBplus, the George Hull Centre streamlined its pension offering with CAAT, unifying its 114 employees, including 45 who contributed to the group RRSP, under one pension plan. This not only addressed concerns over equity among its staff members but also extended highly coveted benefits to all current and prospective employees, aiding in attracting and retaining top talent.
Along with providing a life-long monthly retirement income to all its employees, the mental health provider was also able to keep its costs in check. With DBplus, the non-profit enjoyed fixed contribution rates and reduced administrative costs and responsibilities.
“We are thrilled to be merging with CAAT’s pension program. By joining the DBplus plan, not only will our staff have access to a sustainable defined benefits plan, but we will also be able to direct resources to where it is most needed – the children and families we serve.”
Susan Chamberlain
Executive Director,
George Hull Centre
Financial security and mental wellness
When it comes to attracting and retaining talent for smaller employers or non-profits, DBplus helps organizations:
- Enhance total rewards packages
- Remain competitive with the public sector and larger organizations currently offering the coveted and in-demand benefit of a DB pension
- Demonstrate a long-term commitment to employee wellness
- Emerge as employers of choice for top talent
DBplus enables organizations across Canada to offer a world-class pension, giving employees what they want and need—at affordable contribution levels.
Let’s build financial security together
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