Are you thinking about joining DBplus?

We’ve all heard the adage ‘it’s never too early to think about retirement’. And while it may be true that we do in fact think of it, the next critical step is doing something to secure income for your retirement. That’s where CAAT comes in.

CAAT is a modern, defined benefit pension plan that offers a secure and predictable retirement income. If you work part-time or on contract, you have the choice to enroll in the CAAT Pension Plan anytime during your employment via DBplus. Administered by pension and financial experts, DBplus takes the burden of retirement planning and saving off you, allowing you to rely on a monthly pension payment in retirement for as long as you live.

Interested? Know any peers or colleagues that might be? Feel free to share the information in this article with them!

It’s easy to enroll and start earning your pension

What exactly is a defined benefit pension and how does it work?

A defined benefit pension provides you with monthly income in retirement and is built during your working years as you and your employer contribute during each pay. As a member of the CAAT Pension Plan, you can rely on a lifetime pension based on earnings that removes the need to worry about complex investments, market downturns, or outliving your savings.

How does DBplus benefit me?

DBplus maximizes your lifetime pension and provides excellent value for your contributions, as well as offering the following benefits.

• Your pension grows while you work: conditional on the Plan’s funding level, your total pension receives an annual increase while you work based on the Average Industrial Wage (AIW) index, a measurement of wage increases across Canada.
• Employer matching contributions: you contribute a fixed percentage rate on your annual earnings, and your employer matches contributions on your behalf, increasing your pension total.
• Protection for your loved ones: If you die before or after you retire and have a surviving eligible spouse, they receive a lifetime pension, leaving you free of worry about their stream of income.
• Your pension moves with you: If you change jobs and begin working for another participating employer, you continue to seamlessly contribute and accrue a pension with CAAT. If you move to permanent full-time employment at a college, you’ll seamlessly move into DBprime.
• Conditional inflation protection increases when you are collecting your pension help maintain the purchasing power of your pension throughout your retirement.
• Retire when the time is right for you: With a range of retirement dates starting as early as age 50, you can retire with confidence, knowing your pension will be paid for the rest of your life.

What can I do now?

Deciding to contribute to a pension is a personal choice and one that requires research to ensure it’s the best financial planning decision for you. Some things you can do to further explore this option are:

• Visit the DBplus FAQs to get answers to some of the most popular questions
• Watch the DBplus introduction video and learn about Plan features 
• Watch our video “The value of a CAAT pension” comparing the value of a CAAT pension to saving for retirement on your own

Read the DBplus member handbook and understand provisions of the Plan

Complete a pension estimate:
Use the DBplus evaluation tool if you work part-time or on contract for an Ontario College or related employer, you're not yet a member, and you're considering joining.

Only you can decide if enrolling in the CAAT Pension Plan is right for you. Once you’ve reviewed all the information you should be ready to decide if you want to enrol now and start building your retirement income in DBplus. You may have the option to enrol at any time during your employment, and begin building a pension from that point forward, but the sooner you enrol, the sooner you start building your future pension. Once you enrol, you can’t opt out.