Leaves of Absence

Pensionable service is one key factor in determining how much of a pension you will receive upon retirement. You have the option of buying service from times while you were away from work and not being paid, such as maternity or parental leave. This buyback option lets you reduce or close that gap in your pensionable service, and increases the amount of your future pension.

You have the option to make the payments during your leave or wait until you return to work. You are also allowed to use funds from a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or other retirement savings tools to pay for your buyback.

You can purchase up to three years of maternity or parental leave, and up to a maximum of five years of any other kind of leave. Additional years of maternity or parental leave can be applied to this five year limit. 

For the first year of leave that you buy in PSPP, your employer pays the employer share of contributions with interest while you pay the employee share. Only the first year of leave in PSPP is cost-shared this way. For any additional leaves, you are responsible for paying both the member and employer share.

If you are considering buying back service from a leave, you can initiate the process by submitting a completed Service Record Contribution Based Cost Application through Secure Messaging in Your Pension Profile. Your employer's Human Resource or Payroll & Benefits area will assist by completing Section 2 of the application. Within 30 days of receiving the complete application, a Buyback Proposal will be sent to you. This proposal will tell you what you need to know about purchasing the gap in your service.

If you do not submit a Service Record Contribution Based Cost Application, your employer will report the Leave of Absence early in the year or when you leave your employment (whichever is sooner). As a result, the Buyback Proposal being calculated later, more interest may be applied to the contributions.* The longer the time between your return to work and when the leave is reported, the more interest is accrued.*

* - assuming no decrease in the annual interest rate

To purchase your leave of absence, your employer must let us know by the earlier of:

• 90 days from the date you are sent your Buyback Proposal; or
• December 31 of the year following the year in which your leave ended.

You can also talk with your employer about prepaying for your leave, or making payments while you are away.

The due dates shown on your Buyback Proposal will be set based on these timelines.

If you miss these timelines, you can still purchase the leave, but it will cost you more. This is because the costing will no longer be based on contributions with interest and will no longer be cost-shared with your employer.

How Can I Pay For My Buyback?

There are several payment options to suit members’ needs.

Payment(s) must be made according to the schedule shown on your Buyback Proposal; however, if you prefer to avoid paying interest, you can pay for the entire buyback in one payment. You can also transfer funds from an RRSP or Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) by using Canada Revenue Agency's T2033 form.

You can even take a break from making payments should you go on another period of leave.

Paying for Buybacks

Can I Pay for Less Than the Whole Amount?

If you have a set amount you wish to pay towards your buyback, or should your financial situation change before you are finished paying the full amount, only the service you paid for will be credited to you.

For example, if the cost of buying one year of service was $10,000 and you decided to stop making payments after paying $5,000, you would receive credit for about half a year of service.

If a CPS relationship is established when you move between PSPP and MEPP or UAPP (or vice versa), you will not be considered terminated under the first plan until you terminate from the second plan. Therefore, this movement between plans will not impact the timelines applicable to applying or electing to purchase a leave of absence or period of prior service.

If you were making payments towards a buyback under PSPP immediately before moving to MEPP or UAPP (or vice versa), you may continue to do so after moving to the second plan. An employer is responsible for making the employer-share of contributions towards the first year of leave of absence you purchase under each plan. This applies even where a CPS relationship has been established.