In this edition
2025 Valuation
CAAT has continued to build towards retirement security for members over the last year, maintaining a funding position of 124% as of January 1, 2025, on a going-concern basis. CAAT also remains in Level 5 of the Funding Policy.
The Plan saw substantial growth in 2024 with a 17.5% increase in new members. CAAT now supports over 700 participating employers and more than 111,000 members, providing valuable workplace solutions for a diverse range of organizations.
Learn more by visiting the Valuation webpage on the CAAT website.
Coming soon
CAAT’s Annual Member and Employer Surveys are great ways to share your experiences with the Plan. This year’s surveys are launching soon – stay tuned for more details!
At the Annual Performance Update, you’ll hear directly from CAAT leaders about our continued commitment to evolving the Plan and ensuring benefit security for our members. Keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation!
Annual statements: Progress report
We have started processing annual statements for 2024 and are aiming to distribute them well in advance of the June 30 legislative deadline. We appreciate employers’ efforts to submit their 2024 member data on time, making statement production smoother and easier.
For employers working with Administration Partners:
All statements will be distributed by May 31.
For employers that work directly with CAAT:
Target distribution dates :
- Retired members/surviving spouses: Statements will be sent out by the end of April.
- Active members and deferred members: Statements will be sent out by May 31.
- Extension of Membership (EOM) and any remaining statements: Statements will be sent out by June 30.
Active members will experience a new streamlined statement format, as seen in our most recent Employer Education Session (March 6, 2025).
If your employees have access to My Pension, encourage them to activate their accounts as soon as possible to receive online statements. Members that have not activated their accounts will receive their statement by mail to the address on file with CAAT.
Please encourage members to verify their mailing address and update it, if necessary, by calling CAAT:
Toll free: 1-866-350-2228
Local calls: 416-673-9000
Updates and reminders
Submit your non-contributing member data by May 31
Read this if: you are an Ontario college employer
Members who have not contributed to the Plan for a period of 12 months or more must be reported to the Plan as a terminated member. Please report any members who have not contributed since June 1, 2024.
If you have fewer than 25 non-contributing members, report them via PAL. If you have more than 25 non-contributing members, report them via this spreadsheet and use the Message Centre or S-Doc to submit it to the Plan.
June 30 retirement applications
With many members choosing to start their retirements in early summer, we encourage you to submit pension applications for any June 30 retirements as soon as possible.
Upcoming events
Invitations are sent straight to your inbox two weeks prior to the event. Missed the email? Registration is available on our website. For recordings of previous sessions, please visit our Employer Education Guide.
June 24: Quarterly Employer Update, 1:00 p.m.
This webinar will update you about Plan news, upcoming events, reminders and more.
Portal corner
Managing retirement options through Retire Online
Read this if: you are an employer who works directly with CAAT and your members have access to My Pension
Retire Online is a convenient and easy-to-use way for members to elect and manage their retirement options and related documents through My Pension. It also provides added visibility for employers tracking the retirement process.
Once a Pension Application has been submitted, members can track the progress of their application, view retirement option documents, make their elections, and submit supporting documents—all through My Pension. Employers can also track the progress of each online retirement application via the member’s information page.
In 2024, about one out of every three retirement option packages was submitted via My Pension using Retire Online. This year, Retire Online is being used for one out of every two packages. We’re happy to see members embracing this convenient option.
For more information, download the Retire Online fact sheet from CAAT’s Employer resources page.
Planned outages
PAL will be unavailable for maintenance from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the following days:
- April 23
- May 21
- June 18
- July 16
The remaining 2025 dates will be shared when available.
Your Q&A Corner
Got a question for CAAT? We’ve got you covered with information on a wide range of topics, from filing pension applications to managing unique member situations, in most issues of Employer News.
Contact your employer Pension Analyst to submit questions. Past Q&As can be found on the Employer Q&A Corner page on CAAT’s website.
Q: How should I report earnings on a Pension Application if it is being submitted two or three months in advance, since I don’t know the member’s final earnings?
A: CAAT strongly encourages employers to submit Pension Applications up to three months in advance, to ensure members receive their first pension payment on their desired pension start date. This gives CAAT enough time to review each application and process the calculation, especially for popular retirement dates (e.g., June 30). It also gives the member sufficient time to review their Retirement Option package and make an election .
Given the timing, we recognize that the member’s exact earnings will not be available up to their last day worked.
- Employers with DBprime and DBplus: Estimate the member’s earnings up to the retirement date. When the member’s actual final earnings are known, submit a revised Pension Application, checking the box “Data has been revised” and indicating the revision date.
- Employers with DBplus only: If you use payroll-based reporting, include the earnings up to the date that the application is submitted. When the final payroll data is processed after the retirement date, a final “true-up” calculation will be done to revise the member’s pension, if applicable.
Pension revisions have thresholds for recalculations:
- DBprime: The pension will be re-calculated only if the reported earnings have changed by more than $150 or if the service has changed by more than two working days.
- DBplus: The pension will be re-calculated only if the total of employer and member contributions combined has changed by $140 or more.
If you need assistance with a Pension Application, please contact your employer Pension Analyst.
Spring webinar series
We’re excited to share that our annual spring learning series for members has just started this week! This series of webinars runs until May 29, and it’s a great opportunity to get to know the CAAT Plan.
Members can discover the value of their defined benefit pension and learn more about the Plan’s features, tips for retirement planning, and pension purchases directly from our pension experts. Whether members are thinking about joining the Plan, considering retirement options, or just want to know more about CAAT—we’ve got sessions to answer every question.
Encourage your members to visit the CAAT website and register for a session today!
Register now
Industry outlook
Take a closer look at the latest trends, research and insights across the industry. Share with your members and network!