your merged plan
July 15, 2022
The asset transfer is complete
The assets have transferred from The Globe and Mail Employees Retirement Plan (Registration Number 1075704) (the “Globe Plan”) to the CAAT Pension Plan. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”) provided consent to the transfer of assets from the Globe Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan. The assets, totaling approximately $174M, were transferred to CAAT on July 7, 2022.
With the transfer of assets, the CAAT Pension Plan assumes responsibility for all defined benefit (“DB”) pension accrued while in the Globe Plan and all pension payments to current retired members of the Globe Plan.
Former members of the DB component of the Globe Plan should have received a communication with further details about their pension now that the assets have transferred. Should you have any questions, please email info@dbplus.ca.
August 1, 2021
The merger of the Pension Plan for Employees of the Globe and Mail and the CAAT Pension Plan is a two-step process that is regulated by legislation.
Effective May 1, 2021, all eligible employees started contributing to, and earning, a pension under CAAT’s DBplus plan design. This included full-time employees (whether in a Globe Plan (DB or DC) or not at the time) and other-than-regular-full-time employees who were existing members of the Globe Plan. Other-than-regular-full-time employees who were not existing members of the Globe Plan had the option to join.
On July 31, 2021, an overwhelming 95.33% of the unionized and non-unionized plan members of the DB component of the Globe Plan voted in favor of merging with the CAAT Pension Plan.
CAAT filed applications with FSRA for its consent to the transfer of DB assets from the Globe Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan.
On May 11, 2022, FSRA provided consent to transfer the DB assets from the Globe Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan and DB members of the Globe Plan were notified that their past pension benefits will be transferred to and replicated in the CAAT Pension Plan .
The Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (“FSRA”) must approve the transfer of pension plan assets and liabilities. An application will be filed with FSRA in the coming months. Once approved by FSRA, members of the DB component of the Globe Plan will be notified that their past pension benefits will be transferred and replicated in the CAAT Pension Plan.
The pension earned under DBplus is directly linked to the total contributions made to the CAAT Pension Plan by the member and the employer: the more you contribute, the higher the pension.
Beginning on May 1, 2021, employees of the Globe and Mail will make contributions to DBplus based on a percentage of eligible earnings indicated in the table below. Over the first 12 months, your contributions will be phased in. Globe will initially contribute a higher amount to allow members a smoother transition to the new contribution rate under DBplus. The pension you earn in DBplus will be based on a combined total contribution rate of 10%.
Your DBplus pension will be based on the contributions you and Globe make to DBplus, subject to the maximum limits set out in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA).
The Globe and Mail member services at the CAAT Pension Plan c/o Buck 201 City Centre Drive, Suite 1000 Mississauga, ON L5B 4E4
Toll Free: 1-866-642-9632 Email: globemail.emailbox@buck.com
If FSRA consents to the merger, the total combined retirement pension for active members in the DB component of the Globe Plan will be made up of two parts:
Globe Plan DB pension + DBplus pension = Total annual pension payable from the CAAT Pension Plan
If you are a non-DB member who was participating in the DC Plan, or a regular full-time staff member at the Globe and Mail, you have been enrolled in DBplus as of May 1, 2021.
Those who are part-time or contract employees and who are not members of the Globe Plan will have the option to join DBplus as of May 1, 2021.
Inflation protection refers to increases made to pensions paid to retired members when the CAAT Pension Plan is over 100% funded. This is called conditional inflation protection. Such annual increases are 75% of the change in the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) and are capped at 8% with a carry-forward provision (i.e., in years when inflation is high, any amount above 8% would be carried forward and applied to inflation protection in the following years). Conditional increases are effective each January 1 based on the CAAT Pension Plan’s funded status.
However, after the completion of the merger, if you begin receiving your pension by January 1, 2031, the CAAT Pension Plan inflation protection on the replicated Globe Plan DB pension in pay during the period beginning January 1, 2023 and ending January 1, 2031 will not be dependent on the CAAT Pension Plan’s funded position and will be automatically granted. After this period expires (with the last adjustment applied on January 1, 2031 to pensions in pay at that time), annual cost-of-living increases will be conditional on the funded status of the CAAT Pension Plan. This temporary period of guaranteed indexing is being funded out of excess assets being transferred from the Globe Plan to the CAAT Plan that are not needed to fund the replicated Globe Plan DB pension.
While you work, your DBplus pension will receive conditional Average Industrial Wage (AIW) enhancements, subject to the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA). AIW enhancements are applied at the start of each year that you contribute. Enhancements are applied to the total DBplus pension you earned up until the end of the previous year and are subject to the CAAT Pension Plan Funding Policy.
AIW enhancements are based on the year-over-year percentage increase in Canada's AIW index, measured from July 1 to June 30. These enhancements are cumulative and are not applied in the year of retirement.
In addition to AIW enhancements on your DBplus pension, effective January 1, 2023, an enhancement will be applied annually to your replicated Globe Plan DB pension earned prior to May 1, 2021, for so long as you continue to be employed by The Globe. This enhancement will be the lesser of 1% and the applicable AIW. In any year that the AIW is less than 1%, the difference between the increase and 1% will be carried forward to the next year or any subsequent year when it will be permitted under applicable laws such as the ITA. This AIW enhancement is being funded out of excess assets being transferred from the Globe Plan to the CAAT Pension Plan that are not needed to fund the replicated Globe Plan DB pension.