Toronto, August 5, 2021 – The George Hull Centre for Children & Families, a non-profit organization committed to helping children and their families achieve mental wellness, is the latest to join the CAAT Pension Plan under DBplus.
Employees of the George Hull Centre dedicate themselves to working with families to help create better childhoods and brighter futures. By making the decision to join DBplus, the Centre has ensured that those employees’ futures include the financial security of predictable lifetime retirement income. The George Hull Centre previously sponsored a closed defined benefit pension plan and, for employees hired after 2010, a group registered retirement savings plan. Now, employees have enthusiastically voted with 100% support to merge their defined benefit plan into CAAT and upgrade from the RRSP to DBplus. George Hull Centre employees, including those represented by OPSEU, will enjoy a single pension design with benefits such as early retirement provisions, inflation protection and survivor benefits.
DBplus is an innovative pension plan design, first launched by CAAT in 2019 as a response to growing and evolving needs of both employees and employers. Not only do employees enjoy its unique benefits, this fixed-cost design eliminates fiduciary and balance sheet risks for participating employers, along with the complexities of running a pension plan, making it equally attractive to employers.
The ability to adapt and evolve as a pension plan is why CAAT has been one of the fastest growing pension plans in Canada, and why employers of all sizes across Canada in 10 industries have joined DBplus. The George Hull Centre joins other notable non-profits who’ve recently joined DBplus, such as the Ontario Dental Association, the Vancouver Foundation, St. John Ambulance and United Way of Greater Toronto. These, along with the more than 80 other employers that have joined since 2019, enjoy the high-value, low-risk solution offered by DBplus.
Quotes:
“We’re excited and encouraged by the enthusiasm with which the George Hull Centre has joined the CAAT Pension Plan. The predictable lifetime retirement income offered by DBplus helps reduce stress about financial security, allowing these dedicated employees to focus on the well-being and mental health of children and their families.”
Derek W. Dobson, CEO, CAAT Pension Plan
“We are thrilled to be merging with CAAT’s pension program. By joining the DBplus plan, not only will our staff have access to a sustainable defined benefits plan, but we will also be able to direct resources to where it is most needed – the children and families we serve.”
Susan Chamberlain, Executive Director, George Hull Centre
“Every worker needs and deserves a reliable pension. As the union of choice for 180,000 Ontario workers, a top priority is ensuring our members can all look forward to a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work.”
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President, OPSEU/SEFPO
“Bottom line, the more employers you have got contributing to a pension plan, the more secure workers’ pensions are. So, more employers coming onboard is great news for every CAAT Pension Plan member. But you know, I will not be satisfied until every single OPSEU/SEFPO member enjoys a pension. The way I look at it, that’s just a fundamental right.”
Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida, OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer
About CAAT Pension Plan:
Established in 1967, the CAAT Pension Plan is an independent, jointly governed plan that offers two designs of a defined benefit pension. CAAT's award-winning DBplus plan is leading an extraordinary pace of growth for the Plan. Originally created to support the Ontario college system, the CAAT Plan now proudly serves more than 125 participating employers from various sectors including the for-profit, nonprofit, and broader public sectors. Currently, it has over 70,000 active and retired members. The CAAT Plan is respected for its pension and investment management expertise and focus on stability and benefit security. At January 1, 2021, the Plan was 119% funded on a going-concern basis. Learn more at: www.caatpension.ca.
About the George Hull Centre for Children & Families
The George Hull Centre is a leading children’s mental health centre in Toronto helping infants, children, youth and their families achieve mental wellness, through a continuum of innovative, evidence-based and evidence-informed mental health services from prevention and early intervention programs to clinical outpatient services and intensive treatment programming. With an unwavering commitment to clinical excellence across assessment, treatment, prevention and education, their multidisciplinary team of experts provide help and support to children whose lives are impacted by mental health issues, many in very complex ways. The George Hull Centre is highly regarded as a centre of clinical excellence in children’s mental health, and are proud to be a Teaching Centre for the University of Toronto.
About OPSEU/SEFPO
OPSEU/SEFPO represents approximately 180,000 members across Ontario. They are full- and part-time workers, young and old. They trace their ancestry to all parts of the globe – as diverse a group as you could imagine. OPSEU members work for the Ontario government, inside community colleges, for the LCBO, in the health care sector, and they are employed in a wide range of community agencies within the broader public sector.
For more information:
Media Relations
CAAT Pension Plan
media@caatpension.ca