News & Events

The Plan’s focus during COVID-19

The CAAT Pension Plan continues to run as usual while we work remotely. As always, our top priority is to keep the Plan running smoothly, and to ensure pensions are paid on time. During this time, we remain dedicated to serving our members and employers, and supporting the ongoing health and safety of our staff and community.

We are continuing to process all member transactions, including pensions and lump sum payouts, benefit applications and service purchase requests. We have also made it easier for members and employers to send us information electronically.

Members can now securely submit forms and documents directly to the Plan using S-Doc, our Secure Document Online Courier.Please advise members that they can find the secure link on our websites:

• caatpension.on.ca – go to the member page and select the blue box that says “Securely transmit your documents to CAAT”
• dbplus.ca/members – go to “About your DBplus pension” and select the box that says “Securely transmit your documents to CAAT”

Your Pension Analysts will still be available to support you with all your questions and concerns. You can contact them by email, or call their work number.

Visit our website for more updates.

Changes to signature requirements while working remotely

The CAAT Pension Plan has made temporary adjustments so pension processes can continue while we all work remotely due to COVID-19. We have adjusted the way that employers can sign and send documents that require signatures during this time. Learn more about the adjustments on our website. For any questions, please contact your employer PA.

Treatment of leaves - questions during COVID-19

We have received a number of questions about the treatment of leaves and layoffs which are arising from the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The treatment of leaves remains the same as usual. Since we are receiving more questions about leaves and layoffs, we have updated the Employer Manual to include a summary of the treatment of statutory leaves, unpaid LOA, periods of reduced pay, layoff, paid sick leave / short term disability, and workers compensation. This document describes how the various types of leaves are administered by the Plan. We are in the process of preparing an FAQ on our website to assist with these processes. Contact your employer PA for assistance and answers to your questions.

Employer-initiated retirement incentives offered during COVID-19

If you are planning on offering retirement incentives, please let us know so we can be prepared to assist members who may have questions about their benefits from the Plan. If you would like us to provide you with a list of your members that are currently eligible to retire, please contact your PA.

Upcoming retirements – send applications three months in advance

We recommend you send retirement applications three months in advance so pensions can start on time. For June 30 retirements, we encourage you to submit your retirement applications as soon as possible. For college employers affected by the 2017 faculty strike If a retiring member wants to purchase a strike period, please make sure to let them know that they should have the payment completed at least two months before their retirement date to avoid their first pension payment being delayed.

Service/pension purchases and commuted value payments – Deadline extension

We have reviewed the deadline windows in place for purchases and commuted value transfers as members have encountered some difficulties with meeting these deadlines due to the current situation. We will be extending deadlines for all service/pension purchases and for commuted value transfers with an expiration date between March 1 to May 31. Under the new deadline extension, members will have until September 1, 2020 to complete their transaction. We will evaluate the situation in May to see if a further extension is required.

Member Annual Statements – on track for mailing by end of June

We are still on track to send Annual Statements by the end of June. If you think you may be unable to provide the Plan with information related to your data, please let your PA know. If you are unable to attend the live Annual Statement education session, a recording will be available online so you can watch it at a later date. 2019 Employer Attestations – Thank you for your submissions Thank you for submitting your 2019 Attestation forms. We appreciate your attention to complete this important initiative. We have received 40 attestations to date, with only a few outstanding due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19. We will review the attestations and contact any employers if we need to obtain further information or clarification on their attestations.

Webinars show members that their pension is secure

We have converted all member presentations into webinars for the upcoming months so members can learn more about their pension, and know that their future is secure. On April 8, nearly 50 people attended a webinar we held for one of our employers. Many members had the opportunity to have their important questions answered by our pension expert while they were tuned in.

Book a webinar for 2020

To arrange a webinar for your members, contact presentations@caatpension.on.ca with your preferred date, so that we can secure it for you.

Upcoming Events

Be sure to take note of the following dates, and register for and attend upcoming sessions:

April 21 – Employer update

April 23 – Employer Education Session – Annual Statements for DBplus-only employers

May 12 – All-member webinar – Annual review with Derek W. Dobson

May 14 – Employer Education Session – In-Year Reporting – Terminations, Retirements and Deaths

Invitations for the webinars will be sent out approximately 2 weeks in advance.