Actuarial Cost Estimator

If you've ever worked for an employer with a registered pension plan or worked for a CAAT Pension Plan employer BEFORE you became a member of the Plan, or had breaks of service, you may be able to purchase the service, and increase your total service in the CAAT Pension Plan.

Use the Actuarial Cost Estimator to get an estimate of the cost of your 100% member paid service purchase.

Who should use the ACE Tool?

The ACE Tool is for members of the CAAT Pension Plan who are earning a pension in DBprime. 

Before using this estimator, please read the Terms of Use.

Terms of Use

This Actuarial Cost Estimator was developed to provide basic service purchase estimates only. Results are based on information provided by you, and are neither reviewed nor verified by the CAAT Pension Plan. The estimates provided by the Actuarial Cost Estimator apply only to full-time members, who are earning a pension under DBprime.

The Actuarial Cost Estimator uses the data you enter to estimate the cost of a service purchase.

For estimate purposes, the results provided assume that all service purchased is fully indexed. Depending on the years when the service occurred and on the provisions of the CAAT Pension Plan, your service may or may not be fully indexed.

The final cost of any service purchase can only be calculated by the CAAT Pension Plan at the time of the official request. It will be calculated based on the information provided by you and either your former non-CAAT employer's pension plan or the CAAT Plan participating employer with which you worked prior to joining the Plan, as well as assumptions in effect on the date of request.

Service purchases and transfers into the CAAT Pension Plan are capped at the maximum registered pension plan benefit allowable under the ITA in effect at the time you retire or terminate employment. Purchases and transfers above the ITA maximum would need to be made into the CAAT Retirement Compensation Arrangement (CAAT RCA) if your employer participates in this plan. They are separate transactions from those under the CAAT Plan and are costed on a different basis. Service purchased under the CAAT Pension Plan will therefore not be reflected in any benefit to which you may become entitled under the CAAT RCA.

If you are a participant in the CAAT RCA and are interested in exploring the possibility of making a purchase or a transfer above the ITA maximum into the CAAT RCA, please have your HR department contact the CAAT Pension Plan for a quote. Your employer, who must pay for at least half of the purchase cost under income tax law (with you paying the balance), must agree to the purchase. If you have accrued benefits in respect of a previous employers retirement compensation arrangement, it may be possible to have such credits and assets transferred into the CAAT RCA directly.

IMPORTANT

The result of this estimate does not constitute an official quote of the cost of a service purchase. To make a purchase of service, you will need to request a formal quote from the CAAT Pension Plan. This quote will be calculated based on data supplied to you by your previous non-CAAT employer or your CAAT employer, in the case of pre-enrolment service.

To receive the quote, download the “Service Purchase Application” form that will only be available once you have completed your estimate. You and your former non-CAAT employer's pension plan or CAAT employer with which you worked prior to joining the Plan will have to complete the form and submit it to the CAAT Pension Plan in order to start the buyback process and receive a formal quote.

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Start your estimate

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Select your options

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What type of purchase are you making?
Select a cost method:

Enter data into one of the following two fields.

Enter a number between 1 and 50.

Please enter an amount.

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Your Actuarial Cost Estimate

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The estimated cost range of purchasing with your previous (non-CAAT Plan) employer is between and .

The estimated cost range of purchasing is between and .

The estimated cost range of purchasing is between and .

The estimated cost of range purchasing is between and .

The amount you entered of is not enough to purchase 1 year of service. One year of service would cost between and .

With you can purchase between and of service in the CAAT Pension Plan.

With you can purchase approximately of service in the CAAT Pension Plan (at a cost of approximately ).

Please note, you cannot purchase more service in the CAAT Pension Plan than you had with your former non-CAAT employer's pension plan or worked with your CAAT employer prior to joining the Plan.

With you can purchase approximately of service in the CAAT Pension Plan.

Please note, you cannot purchase more service in the CAAT Pension Plan than you had with your former non-CAAT employer's pension plan or worked with your CAAT employer prior to joining the Plan.

This estimate is based on the following information provided by you:

Your data
Age:
Service:
Earnings:
Type of service:

Do you wish to proceed with the purchase?

If so, complete the following steps to collect information from your former (non-CAAT Plan) and your current (CAAT Plan participating) employers, and submit it to the CAAT Plan to request a formal quote of the official purchase cost. This process may take some time.

Complete the application form

Download the Service Purchase Application – Transfer from a former employer's pension plan form. Use the Timeline on page 5/6 to help guide you through the steps of the process. You will need Adobe Reader to view the forms.

  1. Complete Section A (your information).
  2. Ask your previous (non-CAAT Plan) employer to complete Sections B, C and D and return the form to you. *
  3. Ask your current (CAAT Plan participating) employer to complete Section E and return the form to you. For confidentiality reasons you may wish to give them page 3 only.
  4. Send the completed form to the CAAT Pension Plan by mail or fax.

*Important: The CAAT Plan requires accurate data from your former (non-CAAT Plan) employer. If these records are incomplete or no longer available, or if you are unable to provide proof of eligibility and employment history, we will not be able to proceed with the service purchase process. Your current CAAT Plan employer cannot assist you in collecting the information needed to complete the purchase costing. Only your former employer has the information pertaining to your previous employment that is required to start the service purchase process.

Next steps

Once we have received the completed form from you, we will check your eligibility and calculate the exact cost of your purchase. If you are eligible, we will mail a formal quote for the cost of your service purchase to you at your home address. Refer to the Timeline on page 5/6 of the form as a guide through the steps of the process, deadlines and timeframes.

Do you wish to proceed with the purchase?

If so, complete the following steps to collect information from the CAAT Plan participating employer with which you worked prior to joining the Plan, then submit it to the CAAT Pension Plan to request a formal quote of the official purchase cost. This process may take some time.

First, download the Service Purchase Application – Other Than Regular Full Time Prior to Enrolment form. Use the Timeline on page 3 to help guide you through the steps of the process. You will need Adobe Reader to view the forms.

  1. Complete Section A of the form (your information).
  2. Ask the CAAT Plan employer for which you worked as a part time or contract employee to complete Sections B, C, D (and E if this is also your current employer) and return the form to you. *
  3. If your current employer is different than the employer where the purchasable service was earned, ask your current CAAT Pension Plan employer to complete Section E and return the form to you.
  4. Send the completed form to the CAAT Pension Plan by mail or fax.

*Important: If the CAAT employer with which you worked prior to joining the Plan is different than your current CAAT Plan participating employer, note that your current employer cannot assist you in collecting the information needed to complete the purchase costing. Only your former employer has the information pertaining to your previous employment that is required to start the service purchase process. It is your responsibility to verify the service you had with your previous CAAT Plan employer. If you are not able to verify the amount of service you had with the CAAT employer, you will be permitted to purchase no more than the service outlined in, for instance, your employment contracts.

Next steps

Once we have received the completed form from you, we will check your eligibility and calculate the exact cost of your purchase. If you are eligible, we will mail a formal quote for the cost of your service purchase to you at your home address. Refer to the Timeline on page 3 of the form as a guide through the steps of the process, deadlines and timeframes.

Do you wish to proceed with the purchase?

If so, complete the following steps to collect information from your CAAT Plan participating employer and submit it to the CAAT Pension Plan to request a formal quote of the official purchase cost. This process may take some time.

First, download the Request to Purchase Service form. Use the Timeline on page 3 to help guide you through the steps of the process. You will need Adobe Reader to view the forms.

  1. Complete Sections A & B of the form (your information).
  2. Ask your current CAAT Plan employer to complete Sections C, D and E.
  3. Send the completed form to the CAAT Pension Plan by mail or fax.

Next steps

Once we've received the completed form, we will check your eligibility and calculate the exact cost of your purchase. If you are eligible, we will mail a formal quote for the cost of your service purchase to you at your home address. Refer to the Timeline on page 3 of the form as a guide through the steps of the process, deadlines and timeframes.

Do you wish to proceed with the purchase?

If so, complete the following steps to collect information from your CAAT Plan participating employer and submit it to the CAAT Pension Plan to request a formal quote of the official purchase cost. This process may take some time.

First, download the Request to Purchase service form. Use the Timeline on page 3 to help guide you through the steps of the process. You will need Adobe Reader to view the forms.

  1. Complete Sections A & B of the form (your information).
  2. Ask your current CAAT Plan employer to complete Sections C and E.
  3. Send the completed form to the CAAT Pension Plan by mail or fax.

Next steps

Once we've received the completed form, we will check your eligibility and calculate the exact cost of your purchase. If you are eligible, we will mail a formal quote for the cost of your service purchase to you at your home address. Refer to the Timeline on page 3 of the form as a guide through the steps of the process, deadlines and timeframes.

CAAT RCA

If you are a participant in the CAAT RCA and are interested in exploring the possibility of making a purchase or a transfer above the ITA maximum into the CAAT RCA, please have your current HR department contact the CAAT Pension Plan for a quote. Your employer, who must pay for at least half of the purchase cost under income tax law (with you paying the balance), must agree to the purchase. If you have accrued benefits in respect of a previous employer's retirement compensation arrangement, it may be possible to have such credits and assets transferred into the CAAT RCA directly.

DISCLAIMER

Results are based on information provided by you, and are neither reviewed nor verified by the CAAT Pension Plan. These estimates are not binding on the CAAT Pension Plan. The final cost of any service purchase can only be calculated by the CAAT Plan at the time of the official request. It will be calculated based on the information provided by you, your former non-CAAT employer's pension plan or the CAAT employer with which you worked prior to joining the Plan and your current employer as of the date of request.

Important information for members who work part-time or on contract: Effective January 1, 2019, all members who work part-time or on contract earn a pension in DBplus. DBplus has different contribution rates and a different pension formula than DBprime. As a result, the cost of purchases made after that date, by members earning a pension in DBplus, may be different than that shown by this tool.

If you are earning a pension in DBplus, and you started a service purchase before January 1, 2019, the purchase will be completed and applied to your pension under DBprime. If you started your purchase on or after January 1, 2019, the purchase will be applied to your pension from DBplus. In either case, your ultimate pension will include your total pension from DBprime, plus the pension you earn in DBplus, plus AIW enhancements.

Visit the DBplus Purchase Tool to estimate the cost of a pension purchase.

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