The 2010 Annual Employee Benefits Statements have now been distributed. In order to receive a benefits statement, you must have been a member of the Fund as at December 31, 2010. If you have any questions regarding your statement, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Canada Post reports that it has initiated the process to resume operations as a result of back to work legislation passed on June 26, 2011. As a result, they indicate that Canadian consumers and businesses can expect to start receiving mail on Tuesday, June 28, 2011.

The Board will resume sending letters and cheques by regular mail this week, including any mail that had been held by our office during the postal disruption.

For those pensioners receiving their monthly pension payments by cheque, June pension cheques will be mailed on June 29. Anyone receiving a pension cheque by mail is encouraged to consider direct deposit. A direct deposit form is available by clicking here. Completed forms can be mailed or faxed to our office.

Canada Post warns that it will take some time to return to normal delivery standards.

In response to a possible Canada Post Corporation labour disruption, the Manitoba Government agency we use for mail distribution has instructed our office that after Tuesday, May 17th, 2011, we should hold all mail until they advise us differently.

Mail, other than cheques, is available at the Board's office but if there is a high demand, we may not be able to avoid long wait times.

Pension cheques for May 2011 were sent on May 30, 2011 for delivery to the Manitoba Government's mail distribution points within Manitoba. More information is available by clicking here. As there may be a slight delay in getting pension cheques to the various distribution points, please call the Citizen Inquiry Line at 1-866-626-4862 or visit www.manitoba.ca before going to pick up your cheque and you will be provided with a number to call to ensure your cheque is ready.

Pension cheques for addresses outside of Manitoba will be held in our office and mailed once the postal issue is resolved.

Anyone receiving a pension cheque by mail is encouraged to consider direct deposit. A CSSB direct deposit form is available by clicking here and can be faxed to our office.

We expect to continue receiving mail through Canada Post unless there is an actual disruption in delivery. We accept most documents by fax and information that is not confidential can be emailed.

Effective May 31, 2010, there have been significant changes made to The Pension Benefits Act of Manitoba and Pension Benefits Regulation. Attached is a summary of the some of the major changes in legislation which affect the pension benefits of members under The Civil Service Superannuation Act. Click here for a summary of the changes.

The Actuarial Report on The Civil Service Superannuation Fund as at December 31, 2009 is now available for viewing in the Publications section.

The 2009 Report to Members is now being distributed to Plan members. The full version of the 2009 CSSB Annual Report is available in the Publications section.

2009 Annual Employee Benefits Statements are being distributed. If you’re a member of the Fund, you will receive it in the next week. If you have any questions regarding your statement, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

On October 8, changes to the Act received Royal Assent. The more significant changes to the Act included:

• Last survivor full pension is now a specified option
• Normal retirement age is 71 (previously age 69)
• Transfer of Indexing Reserve to Superannuation Adjustment Account
• Enabling legislation for enhanced Manitoba Hydro benefits

Further details will be forthcoming in the 2010 member and pensioner newsletters.

The election of employee representatives to the CSSB took place this past fall with ballots counted last week.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Ray Erb, Ms Monica Girouard, and Mr. Stephen Watson have been elected to three-year terms effective January 1, 2010.

In addition, Ms Denise Hickson has been elected as the Manitoba Hydro Group employee representative.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to outgoing representatives Mr. Chris Kowalski and Mr. Ryan Wiebe (Manitoba Hydro Group) for their efforts and contributions as Board and Committee members.

The deadline has now passed for the receipt of eligible ballots for the Election of Employee Representatives to the CSSB. Any ballots received after October 30, 2009 will not be verified and will remain unopened.

Eligible ballots will be opened and counted on November 30, 2009 with the results announced shortly after.

Eligible employees have now received their Elector Packages for the Election of Employee Representatives to the CSSB. To be eligible, employees must have been a member of the Fund on the last pay period in 2008 and still be an active member.

If you are an eligible employee and have not received your Elector Package, please contact the CSSB by phone at 1-204-946-3222 or email at askus@cssb.mb.ca.

The Board must receive completed ballots by the last work day in October 2009 in order to be counted.

July Pension Payments Include
2009 Cost-of-Living Increase

For eligible pension recipients, the July 2009 pension payment will include a 0.77% 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.

The 2008 Report to Members is now being distributed to Plan members. The full version of the 2008 CSSB Annual Report is available in the Publications section.

Don't forget that our most recent employee and pensioner newsletters can be found in our Publications section.

Our 2009 Pre-Retirement and One-on-One Seminars are now listed in our Services section.

July Pension Payments Include
2008 Cost-of-Living Increase

The 2007 Report to Members is now being distributed to Plan members. The full version of the 2007 CSSB Annual Report is available in the Publications section.

If you received a pension from us during 2007, you will be receiving a T4A for income tax purposes in the coming weeks through the mail. Registered users of our Online Services have the option to receive T4A's electronically.

To sign up for this service and receive future T4A's within Online Services, please login to your account and select the Register for online documents option on the left menu. This will ensure that all future T4A's will be distributed to you electronically.

If you have any questions regarding your T4A or Online Services, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We are pleased to announce the following pension plans have become party to the National Public Service Pension Transfer Agreement effective January 1, 2008:

• Alberta Local Authorities Pension Plan
• Alberta Management Employees Pension Plan
• Alberta Public Service Pension Plan

The Agreement contains various provision and time limits. A member's eligibility to transfer will be based on the terms of the agreement at the date a request to transfer funds is made. For further information please contact our office at 204-946-3200.

Plan members will soon receive their copy of the 2006 Report to Members. The full version of the 2006 CSSB Annual Report is available in the Publications section.

2006 Annual Employee Benefits Statements are being distributed. If you’re a member of the Fund, you will receive it in the next week. If you have any questions regarding your statement, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

On December 31, 2006, the Board’s General Manager, Mr. Bob Covernton retired.

Bob worked at the CSSB for 32 years, the last 10 as General Manager. He is looking forward to working on his golf game, oil painting, and traveling.

We would also like to announce that Mr. Bruce Schroeder has been named to replace Mr. Covernton as the Board’s General Manager. Bruce has worked at the CSSB since 1989, most recently as the Director of Client Services Administration.

Replacing Mr. Schroeder as the Director of Client Services Administration is Ms Dawn Prokopowich. Dawn has been with the CSSB since 1997.

The election of employee representatives to the CSSB took place this past fall.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Wayne Andon, Mr. Ray Erb (re-elected) and Ms. Monica Girouard have been elected to three-year terms effective January 1, 2007.

In addition, Ryan Wiebe has been elected as the Manitoba Hydro Group employee representative.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to outgoing representatives Mr. Dave Jurkowski, Ms. Susan Rusk, and Mr. Brent Reed (Manitoba Hydro Group) for their efforts and contributions as Board and Committee members.

Welcome to our new website!

There are a few major changes that you will notice right away, such as the search box and left-side menu on every page. These changes have not only improved the accessibility of the information found within our webpages but also made the navigation between sections of our website simpler.

If you have any comments or suggestions about our new design, please contact us. All ideas/comments are welcomed.