The nominating committees for this year's Election of Board Representatives are now accepting nominations. Eligible members have until Friday, June 29, 2012 to submit candidates information to their respective nominating committee.

Click here to view the Notice of Invitation for the Government and Agencies election.

The actuarial valuations that estimate whether contributions made to the pension plan are sufficient to pay for future benefits have indicated a growing trend for more than a decade that the contributions paid by employees may not be sufficient to pay for roughly half of future pensions. Based on the assumptions approved by the Board, the actuary has recommended that contributions be increased over a four year period until the contribution rates are 2% higher than today.

Please note that the increased contributions are not intended to provide increased pension benefits, but are considered necessary to fund existing benefits in the future.If assumptions are too conservative, benefits may be increased in future. If assumptions are not conservative enough, contributions may need to increase further, future benefits may need to be reduced, or some combination of the two.

An employee contributes to the pension plan at one rate on salary up to his or her Canada pensionable earnings, and at a different rate on salary over his or her Canada pensionable earnings, subject to Income Tax Act limits.

Canada pensionable earnings is the salary an employee receives in a year that does not exceed the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings under the Canada Pension Plan. The Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings for 2012 is $50,100.

On the joint recommendation of the Advisory Committee and the Liaison Committee and if supported by an actuarial report confirming the viability of the recommendation, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations providing a percentage for contribution rates. The following chart shows future contribution rates set by regulation.

Salary
Contributions to the pension plan are deducted from salary.

Salary includes salary, wages and remuneration, including:

• living expenses or allowances received in cash and any meals, food, living quarters, garage space, fuel, light, domestic or telephone service or similar emolument supplied, but only where they form part of the remuneration of the employee;
• vacation pay and any amount paid on termination of employment in respect of accrued vacations;
• and any other remuneration designated as salary by a regulation made by the board and approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Salary, wages, and remuneration exclude:

• any fees or allowance or payment for overtime;
• any other extra allowance or gratuity;
• severance pay;
• any amount paid instead of vacations to an employee who is not terminating his or her employment;
• the employer’s contributions to any Manitoba Health Services Insurance Plan or group insurance premium;
• any retroactive salary paid to an employee who has resigned, died or been dismissed unless
  the employee is entitled to an allowance under this Act,
  the employee’s spouse or common-law partner is entitled to an allowance or annuity under this Act, or
  the employee has resigned and remains a deferred member or has transferred funds under a reciprocal agreement;
  or any other remuneration designated not to be salary by a regulation made by the board and approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
  

An employee who is a member of the Canadian Forces Reserves, has been employed by the same employer in civilian employment for at least seven consecutive months, and is required to be absent from work for active duty or training in the Reserves, can purchase service for the unpaid leave by applying to the Board within six months after the end of the leave.

The employee would contribute the amount that would have been his or her total contribution for the period based on his or her annual salary rate immediately before the leave.

The employee can pay for this service by lump sum or installments. Interest would also be payable on installment payments.

The employee would also be required to provide the Board with reasonable verification that the leave was necessary to accommodate the active duty or training, including a certificate from an official with the Reserves stating that the employee is a member of the Reserves and is required for service, and the start and end dates for the period of service.

Purchase of service for past period of reservist leave

If a past period of unpaid leave for active duty or training in the Reserves has not yet been purchased, an employee can apply to the Board before January 1, 2014, to purchase that service. The cost and payment options would be determined in the same way as for future leaves.

Refund or credit for past period of leave

An employee who purchased service for unpaid leave for active duty or training in the Reserves before December 19, 2011 can apply to the Board before January 1, 2014 for a refund of the difference between the amount that was paid and the amount that would have been his or her total contribution for the period based on his or her annual salary rate immediately before the leave.

To view or print the application form, click here.

Our 2012 Pre-Retirement and One-on-One Seminars are now listed in our Seminars section.

The Actuarial Report on The Civil Service Superannuation Fund as at December 31, 2010 is now available for viewing in the Publications section.

The CSSB is pleased to announce that we have upgraded our Online Services.

The upgrades include:

• a message centre to retrieve communications from the CSSB,
• a more user-friendly and interactive Pension Estimate process,
• the ability to run and save Termination Estimates along with the accompanying information letter, and
• the ability to view recent Benefits Statements.

We welcome your feedback at askus@cssb.mb.ca.

As posted on July 19, 2011, significant changes to the method of calculating transfer values will come into effect on January 1, 2012.

These changes are described in a special newsletter that is currently being distributed to Civil Service Superannuation Fund membership. It is also available online by clicking here.

For eligible pension recipients, the July 2011 pension payment will include a 1.57% Cost-of-Living increase.

Eligible pensioners and beneficiaries receive an annual increase to a maximum of 2/3 of the increase in the Canadian Consumer Price Index.

Bill 44 – The Civil Service Superannuation Amendment Act, was passed in the legislature on June 16, 2011. This Act enacted changes to the pension plan to reflect changes made to the Pension Benefits Act in 2010, as well as changes that were recommended by the Advisory and Liaison Committees, and some administrative housekeeping changes.

One of the key changes included in this Act is the delay of significant changes to the method of calculating transfer values, as required under the Pension Benefits Act, until January 1, 2012.

These changes are described in the June 2011 issue of CSSB Connection, available online by clicking here.