Strong and secure – with more for members.
At CAAT we’re focused on providing secure pensions to our members, paid for life. CAAT is also a “profit for members” organization. That means when the Plan does well – and it has been! – members and employers see more value for their contribution dollar.
Thanks to its prudent, long-term approach to managing funding, CAAT remains in a strong position at 124% funded and has moved into Level 5 of the Funding Policy, as at January 1, 2023. This means that conditional benefits such as inflation protection increases have been granted through to 2026. And the Plan’s Governors have also approved valuable changes to both DBprime and DBplus, starting January 1, 2025.
Your DBprime contribution rate will go down by 1% starting January 1, 2025. You build the same great pension, but with lower contributions!
Starting in 2025, you will contribute 10.2% on your earnings below the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) and 13.8% on your earnings above the YMPE. This is a 1% decrease to both member and employer contributions.
Learn more about your contributions.
The new rates reflect a 2% decrease to the stability contribution rates and a 1% increase to the basic contribution rates, resulting in a net 1% decrease for you and your employer. The decrease in contribution rates is a strong indicator that shows how healthy the Plan is.
Basic contributions fund the expected cost of the pensions that members are earning. Stability contributions provide additional benefit security by helping to build reserves. Stability contributions are being reduced now that CAAT has moved into Funding Level 5. The increase to the basic contribution rate helps to ensure that your contributions (together with your employer’s contributions and investment returns) will cover the cost of your future pension and reflects the expected longer life spans of future retirees. As the Plan’s funding position continues to improve, an elimination of stability contributions can be considered by the Plan’s Governors. This would decrease contributions by another 1%.
Steady, predictable costs are good for the Plan, and good for members
We know you don’t want your contributions to go down only to go up again later. And neither do we. So, the Plan’s Governors will only allow a contribution rate reduction when they are confident that they won’t need to increase those rates for at least the next 5 years. Our detailed analysis shows that the Plan’s Funding Level is expected to remain sustainable even with lower contribution rates in DBprime.
Your DBplus pension formula includes an annual pension factor used to calculate your pension. For the pension you earn after January 1, 2025, the annual pension factor will be 9.5% of member and employer contributions (an increase from the current rate of 8.5%). This means your pension will grow over 10% faster, while your contributions stay the same!
The new DBplus annual pension factor will apply to the pension you earn on new contributions starting January 1, 2025.
DBplus purchases
The DBplus annual pension factor is also used to calculate the amount of pension you get from a purchase.
The Plan’s Governors are committed to delivering benefit security to members, and conditional benefits, including inflation protection, are their top priority. Conditional benefits have been granted to at least 2026.
CAAT is a jointly sponsored plan – that means members and employers are equally represented on its governing bodies. This shared responsibility focuses the Plan’s Governors on prudent, well-informed decisions that balance equity and benefit security. They do all this through CAAT’s Funding Policy.
If you are retired or a survivor receiving a pension, there will be no change: your pension continues to be paid every month for your life.
These Plan changes are consistent with our Funding Policy, which is built on a foundation of equity amongst members. The Funding Policy is designed to build reserves in the Plan and determine when additional benefit enhancements can be granted or what DBprime contribution rates may change.
Now that the Plan sits within Funding Level 5, stability contributions are being reduced for DBprime members, and DBplus members get an increase in their annual pension factor. This balance helps maintain equity between DBprime and DBplus members.
When the Plan reaches Level 6 of the Funding Policy, the Plan’s Governors will eliminate DBprime stability contribution rates and will consider improvements, such as granting inflation protection increases for pensions on service earned before 1992, reducing DBprime contribution rates further, or further enhancing the DBplus annual pension factor above 9.5%.
Learn about the strength and security of your CAAT pension.
A foundation of equity and benefit security that guides decision-making.