Your contributions to the Plan cease. You cannot accrue more than 35 years of pensionable service, even if you continue working beyond 35 years. However, your salary after you have accrued 35 years of service may be taken into account when calculating your highest average salary, subject to the salary cap.

The PSPP provides for yearly Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA), at 60 per cent of Alberta's increase in the consumer price index. If COLA is payable, it is applied to pension payments each January.

Further information:
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

Effective January 1, 2001, the re-employment rules were amended to allow pensioners greater flexibility to become re-employed by a PSPP employer while receiving a pension from PSPP. If you are currently receiving a pension you may now become re-employed by a PSPP employer and not have your pension suspended. Your pension continues to be paid; however, you are not allowed to contribute to PSPP during this new period of employment.

If you work with an employer that has a pension plan other than PSPP, you may be asked to contribute to their pension plan . When you leave that employment, you will be paid a benefit based on that plan's rules.

Further information:
Working as a Pensioner

Coordination is a feature of the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) offered to members who retire before age 65 that allows for flexible retirement income planning. It lets you increase your monthly payment temporarily from the time you retire until you turn 65. At age 65, the increase to your monthly payment stops and a reduction to your monthly payment begins. The reduction will continue as long as you live. This permanent reduction to your pension will continue regardless of changes to your federal benefits or your other retirement income sources.

Further Information:
Coordination

Your pension will be paid to you for as long as you live. The guarantee means the pension will be paid to your beneficiary if you die before the end of the guaranteed period. If you have a guaranteed term pension you may name as many people as you would like as your beneficiaries.

Your pension will continue to be paid no matter where you live. The tax rate for pensions paid to non-residents is 25 per cent. Some countries have tax treaties which will reduce the out of country tax from 25 per cent, to between 0 per cent to 25 per cent. Your pension will be paid in Canadian dollars. A cheque can be mailed to you or we can direct deposit it into a bank account in Canada for you. You will receive an NR4 from us instead of a T4A for tax purposes.

We only offer direct deposit to banks in Canada.

Yes, to increase the amount of tax deducted, please send a written request to our office.

You may also complete a TD1 form from Canada Revenue Agency and send it to us.

(a) APS finalizes the pension benefits once it receives all of the information from the member and employer. This process takes approxcimately 60 days to complete.

If your pension effective date happens before your pension is finalized, you will be set up on advance pension payments. Once your pension file is finalized, if applicable, we will send you a cheque for the difference between the advance pension payments and what you should have been paid.

Generally the first payment is made within 30 days of the pension commencement date.

(b) The deposit date is always the second last banking day before the end of the month, except for December. In December, the deposit date is before December 25.

Further information:
Pension Payment Dates

Banking Information and Name Change

By mail to:
PSPP c/o Alberta Pensions Services Corporation
5103 Windermere Blvd. SW
Edmonton, AB T6W 0S9

By fax at 780-415-8792

Banking information changes must be sent in writing. To change your name on our file, we need a copy of your name change document (such as a marriage certificate).

Please do no send personal information by e-mail. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting sensitive information (such as your member or pensioner ID, Social Insurance Number, birth date or address). To protect your privacy, any requests containing personal information should be made by telephone, fax, mail, or in person by appointment.

Address Change

Update your address by phone (as long as your payment is by direct deposit) at 1-877-422-4748

By mail to:
PSPP c/o Alberta Pensions Services Corporation
5103 Windermere Blvd. SW
Edmonton, AB T6W 0S5

By fax at 780-415-8792

Please do no send personal information by e-mail. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting sensitive information (such as your member or pensioner ID, Social Insurance Number, Birth Date or address). To protect your privacy, any requests containing personal information should be made by telephone, fax, mail, or in person by appointment.

Beneficiary

Fill out the Designation of Beneficiary Form or send in a written request.

By mail to:
PSPP c/o Alberta Pensions Services Corporation (APS)
5103 Windermere Blvd SW, Edmonton, AB T6W 0S9

By fax at 780-415-8792

Contact us to request a form

Please do no send personal information by e-mail. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting sensitive information (such as your member or pensioner ID, Social Insurance Number, Birth Date or address). To protect your privacy, any requests containing personal information should be made by telephone, fax, mail, or in person by appointment.

Please contact us regarding the deceased pensioner and we will give you details of the pension and any documents required to continue the pension if applicable.

If you were retired in the previous calendar year and have not received your T4A by March 15, please contact us so we can send you a duplicate.

In order to split pension payments between a pensioner and ex-spouse due to marital breakdown, we require a Matrimonial Property Order (MPO). Please contact us to discuss this in further detail or refer to Alberta Pensions Services Corporation's (APS) website.

To contact Pension Payroll:

Phone: 1-877-422-4748
Toll free outside of Canada: 1-800-661-8198
Fax: 780-415-8792
E-mail: pay@pspp.ca
Mail: PSPP c/o Alberta Pensions Services Corporation
5103 Windermere Boulevard SW
Edmonton, AB T6W 0S9

The Board appreciates receiving feedback/suggestions for potential plan improvements. To send your feedback/suggestions, email board@pspp.ca or write to us at the address on the contact us page.

Your employer may have requested that PSPP approve their long term disability insurance (LTDI) plan for pension purposes. If the LTDI plan was approved, you are not eligible to apply for a PSPP disability pension until you are no longer eligible to receive LTDI benefits. With an approved LTDI plan, you will continue to participate in PSPP as long as you receive LTDI benefits. Contributions to PSPP must continue as if you were still at work. When you retire, the time you received LTDI benefits will count towards your pensionable service.

If your employer's LTDI plan has not been approved by PSPP for pension purposes, you may be eligible to apply for a PSPP disability pension.

Contact your employer or PSPP's administrator, Alberta Pensions Services Corporation (APS), for information if you believe you may qualify for a disability pension.

Your pension will be paid to you for as long as you live.

When you retire, you will be asked to make a pension choice and that choice will determine how your pension will be paid after you die. If you have a pension partner when you retire, you will be asked to make a pension choice that ensures your pension partner is paid a pension for their lifetime if you die. Your pension partner can waive this right at the time the pension choice is made.

If you don't have a pension partner, or your pension partner has waived her or his right, you can select a pension that will pay you for your life, but includes a feature that ensures the pension is paid to your beneficiary(ies) for a set period.

While your pension is being paid, you will receive cost-of-living adjustments each year.

Further Information:
Member Handbook - What are Your Pension Options?
What are Your Pension Options?
Pension Partner Information Form (5)
Designation of Beneficiar(ies) Form (2)
Multiple Beneficiaries Form (2L)
I need a pension estimate