Need Help Making sense of your pension statement?
We're here for you.

Your marital status is important when determining your principal beneficiary for your survivor benefits. For more information about survivor benefits, please see question 26 in the Your Survivor Benefits section below.

If a plan member dies before retirement with at least five years of service:

• The principal beneficiary (spouse) can elect to receive:

a. a survivor pension benefit calculated at 60% of plan member’s benefit, or

b. the commuted value (lump sum payment) of the plan member’s benefit

If there is no eligible survivor (principal beneficiary), the estate will receive the lump sum (commuted value) of the plan member’s pension.

If plan member dies after retirement:

•  The principal beneficiary (spouse) will receive a survivor pension benefit calculated at 60% of plan member’s benefit. If there is no principal beneficiary, children up to age 18 (or age 24 if in full-time attendance at a recognized education institution) will receive a pension calculated at 60% of plan member’s benefit.
• There is an “estate provision” whereby if the total pension benefits paid is less than the value of the plan member’s contributions plus interest, the estate will receive the difference.

Indexing is an annual pension increase equal to 60% of the national Consumer Price Index (CPI), to a maximum annual increase of 1.2%.

One of the changes agreed to during pension reform was the suspension of the indexing provision in the Plan. The suspension meant that all service accrued in the Plan up to December 31, 2014, would be indexed and used to calculate the indexed portion of your pension when the indexing benefit is payable at age 65. All accrued service after 2014 will not be included in the calculation of your indexed pension.

If you were a member of the PSPP prior to April 1, 1996, your accrual rates may have been impacted. Below are the accrual rates applicable for each period:

• Service in the PSPP prior to April 1, 1993: accrual rate 2.0% per year
• April 1, 1993 to March 31, 1994: accrual rate 1.1%
• April 1, 1994 to March 31, 1995: accrual rate 1.8%
• April 1, 1995 to March 31, 1996: accrual rate 1.8%
• All years beyond March 31, 1996: accrual rate 2.0%

The rate of interest credited on member contributions is based on the average five-year personal fixed term, chartered bank deposit rates over the 12 months ending in October, as published by Statistics Canada.

The table outlines the number of months of service you worked and received credit for in the Plan during the year; the pensionable salary you earned during the year; and the amount of pension contributions you made to the plan during the year. These contributions do not include any contributions made to the Plan by your employer but may include purchases or transfers of service completed in 2018.

Yes. Your statement is an accumulation of all your accrued service while working for any PSPP participating employer. It is very important for you to review your employment history to ensure that your data, as recorded on your statement, is accurate.

We send statements on an annual basis. We chose December 31 as our cutoff date to ensure all plan members received their statements around the same time, based on the same end date.

This service is not currently available. However, this feature will be available on our website in future. For you to receive notification that benefit statements are available online, we require your personal email address. Your email address will be stored securely in our database and will be used solely to communicate directly with you.

The plan entry date reflects the effective date that you initially joined the PSPP. This date will not change even if you purchase service worked prior to the initial plan entry date. Usually this date will only change when it is determined that it is inaccurate.

It should be noted that plan members who resigned and received a refund of contributions or a commuted value, and subsequently re-joined the PSPP, will have a plan entry date that reflects the most recent date they joined.

This date reflects the earliest date you can retire and receive an immediate unreduced pension, if you continue to work and accrue service in the Plan up to that date. If you no longer contribute to the Plan and are not vested, you are not eligible for a pension. However, there are other options available to you regarding your contributions, plus interest, which can be found in the Your Contribution Summary section of your pension statement.

This date reflects the date on which you will turn 65 years old and will be eligible to retire with a regular pension, assuming you have been credited with a minimum of five years of pensionable service.

The estimate is based on service credited as of the end of the previous calendar year (i.e., if the statement was received in June 2018, the pension benefit is based on service credited as of December 31, 2017). The last six years (not necessarily the best six) are used to calculate the estimate reflected on the statement.

Plan members should keep in mind that the statement reflects an estimate and may be different once payroll data is validated and the pension is calculated at actual retirement.

Please forward a copy of your birth certificate to Provident¹⁰ via secure email transfer or post:

Email: [email protected].
Fax: 709.700.5842

Mail: Provident10
Suite 200, 15 International Place St. John’s, NL, A1A 0L4

The barcode is a security feature used during the production and mailing of statements to help ensure privacy of information.

The bridge benefit refers to a portion of your pension that is payable until age 65. It was originally designed to bridge the gap from when you start receiving your PSPP pension to normal retirement age of 65 when you will be eligible to receive an un-reduced Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefit. The PSPP bridge benefit is payable until age 65, regardless of when you elect to receive your CPP benefit.

For further clarification on the formula please email request to [email protected].

Your statement is a summary of service credited as of the end of the previous calendar year. Any service purchased/transferred since that date will be reflected on your statement next year.

Your pension statement shows your contributions, plus interest, that you have paid into the Plan. The commuted value represents the value of your pension, as of a specific date, and is based on several factors including: your age, pension entitlement, service, interest rates as determined by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, etc.

Plan members must be vested (i.e., have a minimum of five years credited service) to be eligible for a CV. Currently, the CV is calculated upon termination of employment and is subsequently presented as an option to plan members who are not eligible to receive an immediate, unreduced pension at the date of termination.