In this edition
Annual pension statements, simplified!
We’re making retirement planning easier for members. This year, active members will see a fresh look to their 2024 annual pension statements. The streamlined new design is easier to read and displays the information members really want to know at a glance.
For now, only active members who work for employers directly administered by CAAT will receive the new-look pension statement. Retired members, deferred members, and those within the extension of membership period will see changes to their statements in the years to come.
In the coming months, members who have activated My Pension and opted for electronic communications will receive an email when their online statement and statement companion become available.
Members participating in GROWTHplus who made a deposit by the end of 2024 will receive a separate GROWTHplus Investment Account annual statement later in the year.
Preparing statements – Using the DCT
CAAT asks all employers using the Data Collection Tool (DCT) to meet the March 7 deadline to correct any errors, review all warnings and send their final DCT data to CAAT. The link for the DCT was made available on January 20.
Please ensure that member data for 2024 is correct and complete, including pension adjustment reporting, so we can meet the June 30 legislative deadline for providing member annual pension statements. While you are confirming your 2024 data, if you encounter any errors you cannot resolve, reach out to your employer Pension Analyst for assistance.
Contribution remittance: New table of deadlines
Read this if: you are an employer that uses payroll-based reporting (PBR)
Contribution remittances are due on the 30th day following the end of the month to which the contributions relate. This applies whether an employer’s payroll is weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.
The Employer Manual now features a table of deadlines for contribution remittances, taking into account all Canadian statutory holidays. Remitting before the deadline is always permitted, but a late payment charge applies for remittances received after the deadline.
It is essential to provide your contribution remittance information using the employer portal, PAL, to create a contribution remittance summary (except for employers receiving automated invoices). CAAT uses this summary to ensure contributions received are applied to members’ pension records correctly and promptly.
Updates and reminders
Pension adjustments for LTD members
Read this if: you are an employer with DBprime members who received long-term disability (LTD) benefits in 2024
CAAT processes pension adjustments for members on LTD leave and will mail T4A forms for these members by February 28, 2025. If your members on LTD leave have questions or have not received their T4A, please direct them to the Members Services Team at 1-866-350-2228.
Reminder of 2025 rates and parameters
Key rates and parameters for 2025 are available to reference on our Rates at a glance webpage.
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.
February 25: Quarterly Employer Update, 1 p.m.
This webinar will update you about Plan news, upcoming events, reminders and more.
Employer education sessions (for employers working directly with CAAT)
Annual Statement Overview
- For employers with DBprime and DBplus – March 6, 10 a.m. EST
- For employers with DBplus only – March 6, 1 p.m. EST
This session is a walk-through of the annual pension statement and upcoming changes. It will be useful for human resources staff, so they can understand what information is provided to members.
Terminations, Retirements, and Pre-retirement Deaths
- For employers with DBprime and DBplus – April 3, 10 a.m. EDT
- For employers with DBplus only – April 3, 1 p.m. EDT
This session covers the employer role in data reporting for members who terminate, retire, or die in active service, have a change of employment or start a long-term disability leave. We will review the Plan's in-year reporting requirements for these scenarios.
Your Q&A corner
Q: Is vacation pay pensionable?
A: The answer varies by plan design:
DBprime: Full-time members are subject to the following conditions:
- Pensionable vacation pay:
- If a member takes paid vacation time prior to termination or retirement, the payment received would be pensionable and the member would accrue service in respect of this time.
- If a member receives a payment in lieu of vacation time accrued in the benefit year of termination or retirement, the member can choose to have this payment included in pensionable earnings and make contributions on such amount.
- Non-pensionable vacation pay:
- If a member receives a payment in lieu of unused vacation time accrued in the previous year, this pay is not pensionable and contributions are not deducted.
- If a member dies and has accrued vacation pay owing, this pay is not pensionable and contributions are not deducted.
DBplus: Vacation pay is considered pensionable earnings. Contributions should be deducted unless your Participation Agreement explicitly excludes it. We encourage all DBplus employers to review their Participation Agreement or contact their Pension Analyst if they have any questions.
Portal corner
Multi-factor authentication is coming to My Pension
Starting this spring, My Pension users will enjoy enhanced security with multi-factor authentication (MFA). Similar to PAL users, My Pension users will need to verify their accounts before accessing their pension information, giving them an extra layer of security.
Most members are already familiar with MFA from other online accounts. We are providing them with advanced notice and instruction, so we expect this transition to be a smooth one.
MFA on both PAL and My Pension reflects our ongoing commitment to safeguarding the personal and financial information of our members.
Checking leave statuses in PAL
Read this if: you are an employer who uses payroll-based reporting (PBR)
Unsure if you might have missed reporting a leave of absence for one of your employees? There’s a quick way to check one member’s status by using PAL.
- In PAL, select Find a member from the left-hand menu, then search for the member using their name, social insurance number (SIN) or CAAT Member ID.
- Once the member is located, open the member’s record and look for the Other information section near the bottom of the page. Expand the Employment History sub-section to see a list of all the statuses CAAT has on record for the member. If you notice that a status change is missing for your employee, go to Report a leave in the left menu to begin the process to bring the member’s data up to date.
- To check statuses for several members, visit Employer reports in PAL and run an Employment Status Report. This will contain employment statuses for every member within the date range you specify. If you require any assistance with this process, please contact your Pension Analyst.
Planned outages
PAL will be unavailable for maintenance from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the following days:
- February 26
- March 26
- April 23
- May 21
- June 18
- July 16
The remaining 2025 dates will be shared when available.
We want to hear from you
Your feedback is important to us. Have a question, comment or suggestion for us about PAL? Reach out to your Pension Analyst to share your thoughts at any time.
Celebrate Pension Awareness Day
Looking to better highlight the great pension benefits you offer? February 20 is Pension Awareness Day! This year’s theme is “discover the value of a pension.” It’s an excellent opportunity to encourage learning about the CAAT Pension Plan and its goal to provide more Canadian workers with access to a secure, sustainable pension.
By registering for one of our monthly education sessions with our pension experts, you and your employees can hear more about the benefits of a CAAT pension, resources for retirement planning, and new offerings we’re working on to serve you better.
Our monthly sessions cover a range of topics, including:
- Service purchases (DBprime)
- Pension purchases (DBplus)
- Retirement planning
- The benefits of a CAAT pension
- GROWTHplus
Members can attend a live session or use the recordings to catch up or revisit key points, providing convenient access and enhancing their awareness of the Plan. CAAT also conducts customized sessions for employers with tailored information that can be shared with members on the specifics of Plan offerings.
Share the Member Presentations page with your members today, and learn more about boosting employee engagement with our new fact sheet on remote learning. Email employer@caatpension.ca or contact your Pension Analyst to share ways we can help you support employee awareness initiatives.
Industry outlook
Take a closer look at the latest trends, research and insights across the industry. Share with your employees and network!
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