Your pension features
Highlights
The Plan is a defined benefit pension plan. That means your monthly pension is calculated using a formula that considers your best average earnings and pensionable service. The formula is not impacted by market fluctuations. The longer you work, the larger your pension will be. What’s nice is that you can predict what your monthly pension will be when you retire.
- government programs like the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS)
- your personal savings, like your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), and other assets
What's on this page
- The basics
- Survivor benefits
- Transferring into the Plan
- Purchasing pensionable service
- Early retirement options
- Pension index
- Keep reading: Pension 101
You can transfer your pension into the Plan
When you become a member of the Plan, you may be able to transfer the value of a pension you might have earned through a former employer’s pension plan into your pension with WISE Trust. Transferring your pension value into your WISE Trust pension will increase the amount of your pension benefit. There are deadlines and eligibility requirements that apply.
You can purchase pensionable service
If you have periods of employment that aren’t currently included in your pensionable service, such as temporary employment or an unpaid leave, you may be eligible to fill in those gaps by purchasing the time. That way you’ll have more pensionable service when it comes time to calculate your pension. The cost will depend on the type of pensionable service you want to purchase and when you are purchasing it. The longer you wait, the more expensive it may be.
You have early retirement options
Normal retirement is age 65. But you can choose to retire earlier, if you qualify under any one of the following rules:
- unreduced early retirement
- factor 85: the sum of your age and your years of membership or pensionable service equals 85
- 60/20 rule: you are 60 years old or older and have 20 or more years of continuous membership or pensionable service
- if you do not qualify for any of the above, you can opt for reduced early retirement from age 55. In this case, you would get a reduced pension benefit.
If you retire before age 65, you’ll receive a monthly bridge benefit in addition to your lifetime retirement pension. This bridge benefit acts as a top up and you would receive it until you reach age 65, or pass away, whichever occurs first. You wouldn’t receive it if you are receiving a disability pension from WISE Trust.
There are also postponed and disability retirement options available. Contact the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre for more information.
Your pension is indexed
Your pension is indexed based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and applied to your pension annually on January 1. This means your WISE Trust pension helps you keep up with rising prices.
There are survivor benefits
Survivor benefits can help protect your loved ones, should you pass away before or after retirement. The type of survivor benefits you have and the amount your loved ones could get depend on whether you have an eligible spouse and/or eligible children and whether you have started to receive a pension at the time of your passing.
You can find the beneficiary form on My Pension Resource. Remember to go there to keep your spousal and beneficiary information up to date. When you complete the spousal designation, send the original to the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre.