Subdivision
B
For Service After 1991
92 Interest allowance
93 Co‑ordination of certain pensions with C.P.P. and O.A.S.
94 Pension commencement
95 Commencement of guaranteed term of years
96 Requirement of evidence
97 Transfer of pensions under reciprocal agreements
99 Beneficiaries
100 Method of payment of pensions
101 Idem ‑ conversion following death
102 Prohibition of pension suspension
104 Continuation of existing pensions and pension rights
Part 6
Miscellaneous
105 Interest chargeable
106 Advance against pension
107 Actuarial formulas
108 Exercise of benefit choice
109 Prohibition against assignment, etc.
110 Overpayments and deficiencies
111 Return of money
112 Retentions for debt
Part 7
Transitional and Commencement Provisions
112.1 Pre-commencement indexing contributions
114 Transitional ‑ prior service provisions
115 Transitional ‑ spousal protection
116 Savings ‑ suspensions of pension
117 Commencement
Schedules
Application
and Interpretation
Application
1 This Regulation
constitutes the major part of the plan rules for the Special Forces Pension
Plan (in these plan rules referred to as “the Plan”).
Interpretation generally
2(1) In these
plan rules,
(a) “Act” means sections 1 to 12 of and Schedule
4 to the Public Sector Pension Plans Act;
(b) “Act Schedule” means the Schedule 4 referred
to in clause (a);
(c) “actuarial equivalent” means the equivalent
in actuarial present value, as calculated by the Plan’s actuary and approved in
writing by the Minister;
(d) “actuarial reserve” means the actuarial
present value of benefits payable in the future in respect of a period of
service already performed, including the portion of those benefits relating to
expected future salary increases, as determined by the Plan’s actuary and
approved by the Minister;
(e) “actuarial valuation report” means a report
prepared under section 5(1) of the Act Schedule;
(f) “actuary” means a Fellow of the Canadian
Institute of Actuaries;
(g) “additional contributions” means additional
contributions under section 9 of the Act Schedule;
(h) “benefit” means a retirement benefit, a
death benefit or a benefit on termination before pension eligibility, under
Part 5;
(i) “commencement”, except where it relates to a
benefit, means January 1, 1994;
(j) “commuted value” means the actuarial present
value of accrued benefits, determined using actuarial assumptions and methods
recommended by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries for the minimum transfer
values of deferred pensions as at the date provided for in this Plan, but
including any such value to be determined on a transfer under a new reciprocal
agreement;
(k) “continuous basis” means, in relation to
employment, a basis where no date or event, other than by reference to the
attainment of the mandatory retirement age, if any, fixed with reference to the
employment, has been established for the termination of the employment;
(l) “contributions” means contributions,
including additional contributions and post‑1991 COLA contributions,
under the Plan, and includes any payment referred to in section 20(1)(d),
before its repeal, or section 20(1.1)(d) and contributions under the former Act
that are of a nature corresponding to those in question;
(m) “current service contributions” means a
participant’s contributions under section 13 or 14 or both, and includes
current service contributions under and within the meaning of the former Act;
(n) “dependent minor child” means, in relation
to a deceased, a minor child who
(i) was wholly or substantially supported
financially by that other person immediately before that person’s death, and
(ii) was not then married;
(o) “disability plan” means a long term
disability income continuance plan or program that satisfies the criteria
specified in section 5 and that is filed with the Minister, or compensation for
temporary total disability or temporary partial disability referred to in
section 51(7) of the Workers’ Compensation Act;
(p) “employee” means
(i) a police officer employed by a local
authority on a full‑time continuous basis,
(ii.ii) a police officer who is on a job‑sharing
arrangement,
(iv) a police officer who is on leave without
salary from a local authority’s police service or in receipt of benefits under
its disability plan, and who falls within section 3, or
(v) any other person employed by a local
authority who immediately before commencement was participating in the pension
plan under the former Act,
for
which purpose section 3(7) applies;
(q) “employer” means a local authority that
employs a participant or otherwise occupies an employer or former employer
relationship in relation to a person who is or was a participant;
(r) “financing rate” means, in relation to
interest, the rate specified in section 105(3);
(s) “fiscal year” means the fiscal year of the
Plan provided for in section 6;
(t) “former Act” means the Special Forces
Pension Plan Act and includes the Special Forces Pension Act or the
corresponding provisions of it, and the regulations under the Act in question;
(u) “full‑time basis” means, in relation
to an employment, a basis where the regularly scheduled hours of work in the
employment are not fewer than 30 hours per week;
(u.2) “job‑sharing arrangement” means an
arrangement, approved by the employing local authority, in which the police
officers in the arrangement are employed on a basis that, taken together,
constitutes a full‑time continuous basis;
(u.3) “latest pension commencement date” means, in
relation to a participant or former participant whose pension has not yet
commenced, the last moment as of which that person is or was allowed to
commence to receive the pension under the tax rules;
(v) “leave with partial salary” means a period
of service
(i) during which a participant is, with the
authority of his employer, on leave from all or a portion of the regular duties
of his employment and is receiving remuneration that is less than regular
salary from his employer, and
(ii) that, if after 1991, is or was an eligible
period of temporary absence or an eligible period of reduced pay under and
within the meaning of the tax rules,
but
does not include a period during which he is in receipt of benefits under a
disability plan;
(w) “leave without salary” means a period of
service during which a participant is, with the authority of his employer, on
leave from the regular duties of his employment and is receiving no
remuneration from his employer and includes leave without pay under the former
Act, but does not include a period during which he is in receipt of benefits
under a disability plan;
(w.2) “local authority” means a body any of whose
workers participate or are eligible to participate in the Local Authorities
Pension Plan;
(x) “locked‑in retirement account” means a
registered retirement savings plan that meets the conditions referred to in
section 1(1)(s.1) of the Employment Pension Plans Act;
(y) “matrimonial property order” means a
matrimonial property order within the meaning of the Matrimonial Property
Act, or a similar order enforceable in Alberta of a court outside Alberta,
that affects the payment or distribution of a person’s benefits;
(z) “new reciprocal agreement” means a
reciprocal agreement in respect of which all the conditions specified in
sections 84(2) and 97(2) had been fully met at the time in question;
(aa) “old reciprocal agreement” means a
reciprocal agreement that is not a new reciprocal agreement;
(bb) “participant” means a person who is a
participant of the Plan by virtue of Part 2;
(cc) “pension” means a pension under the Plan;
(dd) “pension commencement” means the time established
by section 81 or 94 that constitutes the effective date for the commencement of
the relevant pension;
(dd.1) “pension partner” means
(i) a person who, at the relevant time, was
married to a participant or former participant and
(A) was not judicially or otherwise separated
from him or her, or
(B) if so separated, was wholly or substantially
dependent on him or her,
(ii) if there is no person to whom subclause (i)
applies, a person who, as at and up to the relevant time, had lived with the participant
or former participant in a conjugal relationship
(A) for a continuous period of at least 3 years,
or
(B) of some permanence, if there is a child of
the relationship by birth or adoption,
and
was, during that period or that relationship, as the case may be, held out by
the participant or former participant in the community in which they lived as
being in that conjugal relationship, or
(iii) if there is no person to whom subclause (i)
or (ii) applies, a person who was married to but separated from the participant
or former participant and not wholly or substantially dependent on him or her
at the relevant time;
(ee) “pensionable salary” means the salary of a
participant that is compensation within the meaning of the tax rules, subject
however to such limitation as is necessary to ensure that the benefit accrual
for the calendar year, being the amount of benefit accrued in respect of that
year’s pensionable service, as computed under the tax rules, does not exceed
the defined benefit limit fixed by the tax rules for that year;
(ff) “pensionable service” means, subject to
section 20, service in respect of which contributions have been made under
section 13, 14, 20 or 26 or section 14 or 16 of the former Act;
(ff.1) “police officer” means a peace officer who
is a member of a police service with authority to enforce federal and
provincial statutes in force in Alberta generally, excluding a person acting
solely as a special constable;
(gg) “prior service” means any service other than
that for which current service contributions are or were made, and includes
service that was prior service under the former Act;
(hh) “reciprocal agreement” means a reciprocal or
any other agreement entered into under section 84 or 97, and includes an order
under section 10(1) of the Regulations or an equivalent agreement or order
under the former Act;
(ii) “registered” means registered or accepted
for registration under the Income Tax Act (Canada);
(jj) “Regulations” means the portion of the Public
Sector Pension Plans (Legislative Provisions) Regulation preceding the
Schedules and Schedule 4 to that Regulation;
(ll) “salary”, subject to sections 29 and 30,
means
(i) subject to subclause (ii), an employee’s
gross basic pay for the performance of the regular duties of the employment, or
(ii) in the case of an employee who is receiving
benefits under a disability plan or on leave without salary, the salary he was
earning immediately before he commenced to receive those benefits or went on
that leave, adjusted in accordance with any subsequent general adjustments in
respect of the period in question that are applicable to the class of employees
that he was then in,
and
includes acting pay (that is, pay at a higher level or extra pay for the
performance on a temporary basis of duties at a higher level than the duties
referred to in subclause (i)) which the employer treats as salary under the
employer’s established salary policy for pension purposes, but does not include
any expense allowance, overtime payment, special remuneration or other similar
compensation (other than such acting pay);
(mm) “salary period” means the length of time,
related to a recurring salary payment cycle, for which an employee normally
receives a payment of salary;
(nn) “service” means
(i) any period that may be recognized as
eligible service under the tax rules, except any such period performed outside
Canada, and
(ii) any other period before July 1, 2002 that
was or is maintained as pensionable service as the result of section 20(1.1)(b)
or (c);
(oo) repealed AR 100/2002 s13;
(pp) “tax rule excess” means any amount of money
that, when a transfer is to be made from the Plan to a registered retirement
savings plan, exceeds that amount that will, in the Minister’s opinion, be
certain not to attract an income tax penalty under the tax rules in respect of
the transfer;
(qq) “tax rules” means those provisions of the Income
Tax Act (Canada) or of the regulations under it, or of both, that apply to
pension plans registered or to be registered under that Act and includes any
approval, certification or other permission or any direction or order from the
federal Minister of National Revenue the absence of which or failure to comply
with which may make the Plan’s registration liable to revocation under that
Act;
(rr) “termination”, used in relation to a person,
means that person’s ceasing to be an employee, under any circumstances other
than death;
(ss) “transfer” or “transferred”, where used with
reference to the transfer of money from the Plan, means transfer or transferred
(as the case may be) to another registered pension plan, to a registered
retirement savings plan, to a locked‑in retirement account or to any
other registered vehicle that is designed to assist with retirement savings, to
the extent, in the case of a transfer to a registered retirement savings plan,
that the amount transferred does not constitute a tax rule excess and with any
tax rule excess being paid to the person entitled;
(ss.2) “vested” means, in relation to a
participant, having
(i) accumulated at least 5 years’ pensionable
service, or
(ii) attained the age of 65 years;
(tt) “year’s maximum pensionable earnings” means
the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings within the meaning of the Canada
Pension Plan (Canada).
(2) References
in these plan rules to a section “of the Act”, where there is no reference to
the Act Schedule, are references to a section of the Public Sector Pension
Plans Act preceding Schedule 1 to that Act.
AR
369/93 s2;109/96;23/97;150/98;68/2002;100/2002;301/2003;108/2004
Interpretation - employee
3(1) For the purposes of the
Plan, an employee who commences to receive benefits under a disability plan
remains, while receiving those benefits, an employee of the employer who was
employing him immediately before that time.
(2) For the purposes of the Plan, an employee who goes on leave
without salary remains, while on that leave, an employee of the employer who
authorized that leave.
(7) To the extent that a
person is or was employed by a commission as defined in the Police Act, he
is, to that extent and for the purposes of the Plan, deemed to be or to have
been employed by the local authority that established the commission.
4 Repealed
AR 68/2002 s3.
Interpretation - disability plan
5 The criteria for
disability plans referred to in section 2(1)(o) are as follows:
(a) all participants employed by an employer in
a group specified by the Minister in relation to the employer, except for those
ineligible for coverage by reason of not meeting the medical requirements, must
be covered by the disability plan;
(b) a participant must not be required to apply
for a pension as long as he qualifies for benefits under the disability plan.
Part
1
Administration
Fiscal
year of Plan
6 The fiscal year
of the Plan is the calendar year.
Administration of the Plan
7(1) The Minister
is the administrator of the Plan.
(2) Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan except subsection (3), the Minister shall administer the
Plan in accordance with the tax rules.
(3) If in any respect the
Plan does not comply with the applicable tax rules, the Minister may administer
the Plan as if it were amended so to comply.
(4) In administering the
Plan, the Minister shall follow applicable general policy guidelines set for
the purposes of section 3(2)(c) of the Act Schedule.
Report to Board
8 The Minister
shall provide to the Board, at the request of the Board and at least semi‑annually,
written reports on the administration of the Plan and on the investment of the
plan fund’s assets.
Forms
9 The forms
provided for by these plan rules are those set out in Schedule 1.
Part
2
Participation
The
participants
10(1) Subject to
section 11, the persons who are to participate in the Plan are
(a) employees falling within section 2(1)(p)(i),
(ii.ii) or (iv) in or with respect to a police service referred to or listed in
Schedule 2, and
(h) employees falling within section 2(1)(p)(v)
who have not ceased to participate in the Plan.
(2) The Minister shall, on
application by a local authority in respect of its police service and with the
consent of the police association and the Board, bring that police service
under the Plan by making a regulation adding the name of the police service to
the list of police services in Schedule 2.
Exceptions to participation
11 Section 10 does
not apply to an employee
(a) after the employee reaches his latest
pension commencement date,
(b) who reached that date before July 1, 2002,
(c) repealed AR 301/2003 s38,
(d) who is in receipt of a pension in respect of
his own pensionable service, or
(d.1) who has ever been in receipt of any pension
after December 31, 2000.
AR
369/93 s11;325/2000;68/2002;301/2003
Part
3
Funding
Disposition
of contributions
12 All
contributions, with interest, if any, shall be made and remitted to the
Minister of Finance for deposit under section 8(1)(a) or (b), as appropriate,
of the Act Schedule.
AR
369/93 s12;268/2002
Participant’s current service contributions
13(1) Subject to this section
and section 14(1), a participant shall, at intervals coinciding with the salary
periods fixed by his employer with respect to him, make contributions for
current service for which he is receiving remuneration at the aggregate
percentage rate of
(a) 8.51% of the participant’s pensionable
salary, exclusive of post‑1991 COLA contributions, and
(b) 0.75% of the participant’s pensionable
salary as post‑1991 COLA contributions, being the amount payable into the
indexing fund.
(2) An employer who is
paying a participant’s remuneration is liable for the remittance of the current
service contributions under subsection (1), for which purpose he may, if
applicable, withhold those contributions from the remuneration payments.
(3) Current
service contributions are not to be made after the length of a participant’s pensionable
service has reached 35 years.
AR
369/93 s13;310/2002
Participant’s contributions respecting leave periods
14(1) A
participant who is performing service in the form of qualifying leave without
salary may have that service taken into account as pensionable service and, if
he wishes to do so, may make contributions pursuant to section 13(1) with
respect to that leave.
(2) Subject to this
section, a person who
(a) was performing service in the form of
qualifying leave without salary,
(b) wishes to have any period of that qualifying
leave taken into account as pensionable service, and
(c) did not make contributions under section
13(1) in respect of that period,
must
make contributions in respect of that period in accordance with this section at
the rates referred to in section 13(1), with interest at the relevant rate.
(3) If the required payment
exceeds $500, the person may choose to make the payment by instalments pursuant
to sections 23 to 25 with interest at the financing rate, as if it were prior
service contributions, if he provides the Minister with a completed election to
do so in the form required by the Minister before May 1 of the year following
the year in which the qualifying leave period terminated.
(4) If the person does not
choose to make the required payment in accordance with subsection (3) or if the
required payment does not exceed $500, he must make the whole of the required
payment, including interest, before the date referred to in subsection (3).
(5) If the person does not
return to the employment at the end of the qualifying leave period or returns
to the employment but terminates it before the date referred to in subsection
(3), he must apply to the Minister to have the qualifying leave period taken
into account as pensionable service within 30 days of termination or before the
date referred to in subsection (3), whichever is earlier, and must pay the
whole of the required payment, with interest, within 90 days of being requested
by the Minister to make payment.
(6) Where an employer
notifies the Minister that the terms and conditions of a qualifying leave
without salary have not been met, the participant’s contributions shall be
returned, with interest at the rate allowed under section 79 or 92 or that
person shall not be allowed to make the contributions, as the case may be, in
respect of the qualifying leave.
(7) Section 27 applies for
the purposes of subsections (3), (4) and (5).
(8) In this section,
“qualifying leave without salary” or “qualifying leave” means any period of
leave without salary to the extent that the aggregate of
(a) all the periods of leave without salary,
both before and after the beginning of January 1, 1992, and all unsalaried
portions of periods of leave with partial salary occurring after 1991 (excluding
any period referred to in clause (b)) does not exceed 5 years, and
(b) all the periods of parenting of an
individual, as that term is used in the tax rules, occurring after June 30,
2002 does not exceed 3 years.
AR
369/93 s14;68/2002
Employer contributions for current service
15(1) Subject to
subsections (2) and (3), whenever current service contributions are made, the
participant’s employer is liable to make contributions for the current service
at the percentage rates of
(a) 9.61% of the participant’s pensionable
salary, exclusive of post‑1991 COLA contributions, and
(b) 0.75% of the participant’s pensionable
salary as post‑1991 COLA contributions, being the amount payable into the
indexing fund.
(2) The aggregate of the
periods of leave without salary in respect of which an employer is liable to
make contributions is limited to one year less any periods for which any other
employers have been so liable.
(3) The contributions
required by subsection (1) are to be paid by the participant, rather than the
employer, where the service in question is leave without salary beyond the
limitation period referred to in subsection (2).
(4) Where
contributions are returned under section 14(6), the Minister shall also return
the corresponding contributions under this section, with interest at the rate
allowed under section 79 or 92 to the person who paid them.
AR
369/93 s15;310/2002
Additional contributions
16 Subject to the
Act, sections 13, 14 and 15, as they apply with respect to contributions for
current pensionable service, apply with respect to additional contributions
under, and at the rates of pensionable salaries set by, section 9 of the Act
Schedule.
Interest on unpaid or unremitted contributions
17(1) Where
contributions under section 13, 14, 15 or 16 to be remitted by an employer or
the Crown are not received by the Minister of Finance on or before the end of a
period of 15 days following
(a) the end of the salary period for which they
are payable, or
(b) in the case of contributions that are not
regularly payable, the last date on which they are payable,
the
Minister of Finance may charge the employer or the Crown, as the case may be,
interest on those overdue contributions.
(2) Interest charged under
subsection (1) is payable at a rate per year equal to the prime interest rate,
according to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, on the first banking day
of each quarter, plus 2%.
(3) Where
contributions that were liable to be remitted by an employer under section 13
but were not withheld by the employer are more than $500 in arrears, the
Minister may enter into an arrangement with a participant, former participant
or the employer pursuant to sections 23 to 25, with interest at the financing
rate, as if the contributions were prior service contributions payable by a
participant, for payment of the amount owing.
AR
369/93 s17;268/2002
Prior service contributions - evidence requirement
18 Before any
contributions with respect to prior service may be made, there must be provided
to the Minister, so far as applicable, the documents required by section 83(1)
or 96 or both.
Part
4
Pensionable Service
Computation
of pensionable service
20(1) Repealed
AR 68/2002 s6.
(1.1) Subject to this
section, in computing the length of pensionable service that a person
accumulated, the following periods of service, not exceeding 35 years in
aggregate, are the periods to be taken into account:
(a) service after June 30, 2002 with an employer
in respect of which current service contributions have been made;
(b) periods before July 1, 2002 which, as at the
end of June 30, 2002, had been acquired as pensionable service;
(c) other periods before July 1, 2002 in respect
of which arrangements for payment had been made before that date under the
applicable provisions referred to in sections 22 to 25 or arrangements referred
to in section 26 had been made to acquire those periods as pensionable service,
and provided that those arrangements and the rules of the Plan applicable to
them continue after that date to be adhered to without interruption;
(d) any other service in respect of which
arrangements for payment have been made after June 30, 2002 on an actuarial
reserve basis and the applicable terms and conditions set out in sections 22 to
25 have been satisfied.
(2) Repealed AR 68/2002 s6.
(3) Service that is
recognized as pensionable under any other registered pension plan under which a
person is receiving or is or will be entitled to receive a pension may not be
taken into account as pensionable service.
(4) Service with respect to
which the contributions made have been returned or paid to a person or
contributions or pension entitlements have been transferred out of the Plan on
a person’s behalf may not be taken into account as pensionable service.
(6) A person may not be
credited with more than one year’s pensionable service in respect of service
performed in a calendar year, regardless of the nature and extent of the
service so performed.
(7) Contributions referred
to in subsection (1.1)(d) are subject to any limitations imposed under the
applicable circumstances by the tax rules.
(8) Where service is
performed on less than a full‑time basis, the length of the service
performed is to be prorated in determining the length of the pensionable
service accumulated.
(10) The
conditions referred to in subsection (1.1)(d) are that, if the service occurred
after July 31, 1992, post‑1991 COLA contributions must have been paid by
the participant in respect of that service as if they had been employee and
employer post‑1991 COLA contributions payable under sections 13 and 15,
with interest.
AR
369/93 s20;68/2002;100/2002
Requirement to apply and make payments in time
22(1) Service
described in section 20(1.1)(d) may not be taken into account as pensionable
service unless the person entitled to have it taken into account applied to the
Minister in the form approved by the Minister, while a participant, as to the
amount of contributions required and has complied with section 23 and, where
applicable, sections 24 and 25.
(2) After
receiving an application as to the amount of contributions required, the
Minister shall send the applicant a notice advising of the required amount.
AR
369/93 s22;68/2002
Method of making lump sum and instalment contributions - general
provisions
23(1) Contributions
for service described in section 20(1.1)(d), except in the case of a payment
into the Plan under a reciprocal agreement, are to be made by lump sum payment,
by instalments withheld from remuneration or by annual instalments, but they may
be made only by lump sum payment if the required payment is $500 or less.
(2) In the case of a lump
sum payment, the required amount must be paid in full within 90 days of the
date of the notice advising the person of the required amount.
(3) In the case of payment
by instalments withheld from remuneration, the participant must authorize the
withholding and the first payment must be withheld from the participant’s
remuneration and remitted to the Minister of Finance within 90 days of the date
of the notice advising of the required amount, and the required amount must be
paid in full by regular instalments withheld from remuneration in an amount
that is not less than $50 per month and is in any case at least sufficient to
ensure full payment, with interest at the financing rate,
(a) by his latest pension commencement date,
(b) by the date when the aggregate of the number
of years of
(i) his pensionable service already accumulated,
(ii) all service being acquired by him, and
(iii) the pensionable service that will accumulate
on a current basis while the instalments are being made, assuming no change in
employment,
will
equal 35 years, or
(c) in 10 years,
whichever
comes first.
(4) In the case of payment
by annual instalments, the required amount must be paid in full by annual
payments each in an amount that is at least equal to 12 times the minimum
monthly payment specified in subsection (3), with the first instalment being
remitted to the Minister of Finance within 90 days of the date of the notice advising
the person of the required amount and the subsequent annual instalments being
payable on or before the anniversary of the due date of the first instalment.
(5) Notwithstanding a
person’s having entered into arrangements to effect payment under subsection
(3) or (4), he may thereafter change the basis of instalment payments to that
provided for in subsection (4) or (3) respectively.
(6) Notwithstanding
a person’s having entered into arrangements to effect payment under subsection
(3), (4) or (5), he may at any time prepay the balance of the required amount
or any portion of that balance, without penalty.
AR
369/93 s23;68/2002;268/2002
Payment of balance on termination
24 Notwithstanding
section 23, where a person terminates leaving contributions covered by section
20(1.1)(c) or (d) that are not fully paid, he must pay the full balance of the
required amount within 90 days after termination if he wishes the remaining
service to be taken into account as pensionable service.
AR
369/93 s24;68/2002
Effect of leave without salary on instalment payments
25(1) Notwithstanding
section 23, a participant who goes on leave without salary and has previously
undertaken payments under section 23(3), (4) or (5) may
(a) continue to make those payments, or
(b) without affecting his liability to make the
payments within the time limit that would have applied had he not gone on that
leave, cease to make those payments during the leave period.
(2) Where the participant
has ceased to make payments under subsection (1)(b), he shall recommence making
them within 90 days after the end of the leave period and make such further
payments as the Minister considers necessary to ensure that the time limit
referred to in that clause is met.
Prior service liability - continuation of arrangements under former Act
26(1) Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan, a person who immediately before commencement was
participating in the Plan under the former Act and had previously made
arrangements for payment with respect to prior service under and within the
meaning of the former Act is to continue to make payments under those
arrangements under the same terms and conditions, including the rate of
interest, until payment is made in full, and the employer is liable to continue
to make those contributions, if any, with interest at the rate formerly
payable, in respect of that service, that the employer would have been liable
to make had the former Act been still in force.
(2) and (3) Repealed AR 68/2002 s10.
AR
369/93 s26;68/2002
Cessation of prior service arrangement payments
26.1 If a
person to whom section 20(1.1)(c) applies ceases to make the required payments
under the arrangements referred to in that clause, section 27 applies and, on
the crediting of service under that section, the person is thereafter entitled
to purchase the remainder of the service not credited only pursuant to sections
20(1.1)(d) and 22 to 25.
AR
68/2002 s11
Partial credit of partially paid service
27 Notwithstanding
section 22(1), where a person complied with the applicable provisions of
sections 20(2), 23, 24 and 25 or section 26 except that he did not pay the
whole of the required amount, the Minister may take the service for which he
has paid into account as pensionable service.
AR
369/93 s27;68/2002
Interest on unpaid or unremitted prior service contributions
28 Where
contributions under or referred to in section 20(1.1)(c) or (d) or 26 to be
remitted by an employer are not received by the Minister of Finance on or
before the end of a period of 15 days following
(a) in the case of a lump sum payment, the last
date on which it is payable,
(b) in the case of instalments withheld from
remuneration, the end of the salary period for which they are payable, or
(c) in the case of annual instalments, the
applicable date referred to in section 23(4),
the Minister of Finance may charge
the employer interest on those overdue contributions at the rate referred to in
section 17(2).
AR
369/93 s28;68/2002;268/2002
Part
5
Benefits
Interpretation
and application of Subdivisions A
29(1) This section
applies with respect to the interpretation and application of Subdivision A of
any Division of this Part and, in any such Subdivision,
(a) “employee contributions” means the
following, so far as they relate to service that occurred before 1992 and have
not previously been returned, namely
(i) current service contributions,
(ii) contributions described in section 15(3),
(iii) contributions for prior service made by a
participant, and
(iv) any part of a sum paid into the Plan under
an old or a new reciprocal agreement that is recognized by the Minister as
employee contributions,
whether
those contributions were made before or after January 1, 1992, and includes
interest on those amounts;
(b) “highest average salary” means, subject to
this section, the average remuneration resulting from the application of
subclause (i) or of subclauses (i) and (ii) combined, as the case may be:
(i) a person’s annual salaries in the 5 or, if
less than 5, the total number of consecutive years (whether before or after or
partly before and partly after the beginning of 1992) of the following service
over which the average of his salaries was the highest, namely
(A) his pensionable service for which current
service contributions were paid,
(B) any further service that would be
pensionable service referred to in paragraph (A) but only for its exceeding the
35‑year aggregate limit referred to in section 20(1), and
(C) any service transferred into the Plan under
a reciprocal agreement and performed with a party to a reciprocal agreement;
(ii) if the person has not accumulated 5 such
consecutive years, then, in respect of other service not taken into account for
the purposes of subclause (i), the higher of
(A) the annual remuneration on which the contributions
paid to establish that other service as pensionable service were based under
section 16(1)(c) of the former Act or section 26, and
(B) the annual remuneration implicit in the
salary basis used in determining the actuarial reserve value, excluding salary
growth assumptions, paid to establish the service as pensionable service under
the relevant portions of section 20(1)(d) (before its repeal) and section
20(1.1)(d) of these plan rules;
(c) “normal pension” means a pension in the
amount receivable under section 36(1) and in the form specified in section
36(2);
(d) “years of pensionable service” means the
number of complete years and any fraction of a remaining year of pensionable
service.
(2) Except where
specifically stated, Subdivision A of any Division of this Part applies only
with respect to service that occurred before 1992.
(3) For the purpose of
determining the consecutive years referred to in subsection (1)(b), breaks in
service shall be disregarded.
(4) For the purposes of
subsection (1)(b)(i), the salary with respect to service that has been
transferred into the Plan under
(a) an old reciprocal agreement is the
remuneration reported as the person’s remuneration by the other party to the
agreement, or
(b) a new reciprocal agreement is the
remuneration on which contributions paid to establish that service as
pensionable service were based.
(5) In determining the
annual salary for the purposes of the calculation under subsection (1)(b) of a
person who has accumulated prorated pensionable service under section 20(8),
the person’s actual annual salary is to be annualized in accordance with the
following formula:
actual
annual salary earned X 1
decimalized
proportion of
pensionable
service accumulated
to
full length of
service
performed
AR
369/93 s29;247/99;68/2002
Interpretation and application of Subdivisions B
30(1) This section
applies with respect to the interpretation and application of Subdivision B of
any Division of this Part and, in any such Subdivision,
(0b) “employee contribution excess” means an
amount equal to the excess, if any, of the employee contributions, other than
additional contributions, over half the commuted value, as at the date provided
for in this Plan;
(a) “employee contributions” means additional
contributions paid by a participant and, so far as they relate to service that
occurs after 1991 and have not previously been returned, any contributions
referred to in section 29(1)(a)(i) to (iv), and includes interest on those
amounts;
(b) “highest average salary” has the meaning
assigned to it by section 29(1)(b);
(c) “normal pension” means a pension in the
amount receivable under section 47(1) and in the form specified in section
47(2);
(d) “years of pensionable service” has the
meaning assigned to it by section 29(1)(d).
(2) Except where
specifically stated, Subdivision B of any Division of this Part applies only
with respect to service occurring after 1991.
(3) For the purpose of
determining the consecutive years for the purposes of subsection (1)(b), breaks
in service shall be disregarded.
(4) For the purposes of
subsection (1)(b), as it incorporates section 29(1)(b)(i), section 29(4) applies.
(5) In determining the
annual salary for the purposes of subsection (1)(b), section 29(5) applies.
(7) In determining salaries
or the average of a person’s annual salaries for the purposes of subsection
(1)(b),
(a) the salary in respect of any year after 1991
is to be taken to be pensionable salary for the year in question, and
(b) a salary in respect of any year before 1992
that exceeds the amount that would have been required to produce the defined
benefit limit fixed by the tax rules for 1992 is deemed to be equal to that
amount.
AR
369/93 s30;150/98
Pensionable service references re vesting
31 In any provision
of this Part predicating entitlement to a benefit on whether or not a minimum
number of years of pensionable service has been accumulated, the reference to
pensionable service includes pensionable service accumulated before and after
the beginning of 1992.
Limitation of benefits where obtainable under Subdivisions
A and B
32 Notwithstanding
anything in this Part, so far as applicable,
(a) where more than one type of benefit is
obtainable under Subdivision A or B of any Division of this Part and benefits
corresponding to those Subdivision A or B benefits are also obtainable under
Subdivision B or A thereof, as the case may be, the person entitled is
permitted to take only the one type of benefit under the 2 Subdivisions,
(b) if benefits under the 2 Subdivisions would
otherwise be obtainable at or from different times, the person may only take
the benefits at or commencing from one single time under the 2 Subdivisions,
and
(c) where different forms of pension may be
selected, only one form of pension may be selected under the 2 Subdivisions.
Locking in - general provisions
33(1) Where money
held in the Plan is locked in, the money is to be held in the Plan until
(a) it is paid out in the form of a pension,
(b) it is transferred from the Plan to a locked‑in
retirement account pursuant to a provision of this Part allowing a transfer, or
(c) it is transferred from the Plan under a new
reciprocal agreement pursuant to a provision of this Part allowing such a
transfer.
(2) Notwithstanding
anything in this Part, money that would otherwise be locked in or required to
be transferred to a locked‑in retirement account is not locked in
(a) to the extent that it consists of a tax rule
excess, or
(b) if the lump sum amount is less than 4% of
the year’s maximum pensionable earnings for the year in which termination or
death, as the case may be, occurred and the benefit is not a pension.
Imposition of locking in on other plans and vehicles
34(1) Notwithstanding
anything in this Part, where money that is locked in is to be transferred to a
locked‑in retirement account, it may be transferred only if the financial
institution or entity to which it is transferred receives it on a locked‑in
basis and the acceptance of the money, and any subsequent transfer of it, will
be the subject of a contract within the meaning of, and that is subject to,
section 39, 40 or 41 of the Employment Pension Plans Regulation (Alta.
Reg. 35/2000).
(2) When a transfer of
locked‑in money has been made in compliance with this section or section
33(1)(c), all the liabilities of the Minister and of the Plan with respect to
the money become extinguished.
(3) To avoid
doubt, where money has been transferred from this Plan to a locked‑in
retirement account, the Employment Pension Plans Act and the regulations
under it (and particularly their spousal protection provisions) rather than
these plan rules apply.
AR
369/93 s34;325/2000
Commuted value and employee contribution excess
34.1(1) This section
applies where a provision of the Plan necessitates determination of the
commuted value of a person’s benefits or of an employee contribution excess.
(2) Commuted value and
employee contribution excess are to be
determined as of the date of pension commencement, termination before
eligibility for a pension or death before pension commencement, as the case may
be, except as provided for in subsection (3) or (4) or in section 84(2)(a)(i) or
97(2)(a).
(3) Where there is a delay
of more than one year between the date as of which the commuted value or the
employee contribution excess was determined and the date of the transfer of the
commuted value or the transfer or payment of that excess, the Minister shall
recompute the commuted value or excess as if never originally done and as of
the date when the transfer or payment, as the case may be, is made, except
where the commuted value or employee contribution excess has to be computed for
the purpose of a transfer under a reciprocal agreement.
(4) Where a participant
terminates and opts to receive a pension under section 69(d) or 72(d), or both,
and an employee contribution excess is payable or transferable, that excess is
to be determined as at pension commencement.
(4.1) Calculations
of commuted values under Subdivisions B of Divisions 1, 2 and 3 are to include
the value of post-1991 COLA benefits whose amount has been set by Subdivision B
of Division 4 with effect from a time that is prior to the time as of which the
benefit is determined.
(5) Where commuted value is
transferable, interest is to be added, at the rate that was assumed in
determining that commuted value, for the period of one year or less between the
date of the determination of the commuted value and the date when the commuted
value is transferred.
(6) Where an employee
contribution excess is payable or transferable, interest is to be added for the
period of one year or less between the date of the determination of that excess
and the date when that excess is paid or transferred.
(7) In this
section, “employee contribution excess” has the meaning assigned to it in
section 30(1)(0b).
AR
150/98 s4;208/2003;263/2006
Division 1
Retirement Benefits
Subdivision A
For Service Before 1992
Limitation
of benefits to meet tax rules
35 Benefits
that relate to service that is pensionable under section 20(1.1) are limited to
what is allowed by the tax rules.
AR
369/93 s35;68/2002
Normal pension based on age or service
36(1) A person who
terminates and either
(a) is vested and has attained the age of 55
years, or
(b) has accumulated at least 25 years’
pensionable service,
is
entitled to receive a pension in the annual amount that is equal to 2% of his
highest average salary multiplied by the number of years of his pensionable
service and reduced in accordance with subsection (4).
(2) A pension under
subsection (1) is payable for the life of the pensioner or the term of 5 years,
whichever is the longer.
(4) A pension payable under
any provision of this Subdivision shall be reduced to the pre‑reduction
amount less 0.6% of the whole of his highest average salary if it does not
exceed, or of that part of it that does not exceed, the annual average of the
year’s maximum pensionable earnings period of, or periods aggregating, 5 years
over or in respect of which that highest average salary is determined,
multiplied by the number of years of his pensionable service that occurred
after December 31, 1965 and before 1992
(a) if the pensioner attained the age of 65
years before pension commencement, immediately from pension commencement,
(b) if the pensioner has not yet attained the
age of 65 years, on the first day of the month following the date when he
attains that age, or
(c) if the pensioner died before attaining that
age, on the first day of the month following the date when he would have
attained that age had he continued to live.
(4.1) For the purposes of
subsection (4), where there are 2 or more periods or combinations of periods
producing the same highest average salary, the year’s maximum pensionable
earnings are to be averaged over the period or periods that produce the highest
possible pension.
(5) Notwithstanding
subsection (2), where a former participant receiving a pension in the form
specified in that subsection dies survived by a person who was his pension
partner at pension commencement, the pension is payable to that person for life
in an amount equal to 65% of the pension that would have been payable to the
former participant had he continued to live.
AR
369/93 s36;60/96;247/99;100/2002;301/2003
Pension partner protection
37(1) Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan except subsection (3) and section 34(3), a pensioner who
has a pension partner at pension commencement is deemed for the purposes of the
Plan to choose a pension in the form of a normal pension.
(3) Subsection (1) does not
apply where there was filed with the Minister
(a) a valid statutory declaration by the person
who was the pension partner referred to in subsection (1) in the form set out
in, and signed in accordance with the requirements of, Form 1 of Schedule 1,
(b) where that person was a pension partner
within the meaning of section 2(1)(oo)(iii) and the circumstances described in
subsection (6) apply, a valid statutory declaration by the pensioner in the
form set out in Form 2 of Schedule 1, or
(c) a matrimonial property order.
(4) Notwithstanding
subsection (3), a declaration under that subsection is not valid if it is made
more than 90 days before pension commencement.
(6) The circumstances
referred to in subsection (3)(b) are that
(a) the pension partner was separated from the
pensioner for at least 3 years prior to pension commencement, and
(b) the Minister has not been notified in
writing that any matrimonial property proceeding designed to obtain a
matrimonial property order has been or is about to be commenced.
AR
369/93 s37;60/96;100/2002
Alternative forms of pension
38(1) A person who
is entitled to receive a pension in the form specified in section 36(2) is
entitled, as an alternative, to select a form of pension from one of the
following:
(a) a guaranteed term pension, payable for
(i) whichever term, being 10 years or 15 years,
is selected by the pensioner, or
(ii) his life,
whichever
is the longer;
(b) a single life pension, payable only for the
life of the pensioner;
(c) repealed AR 208/2003 s3;
(d) a joint life pension, payable during the
joint lives of the pensioner and a nominee designated by the pensioner and
which, after the death of either, continues to be payable
(i) in the same amount as the amount payable
before the death, or
(ii) in the amount of 2/3 of it,
to the
survivor for life and that is payable, in the event that the survivor dies
within 5 years of pension commencement, for the remainder of the guaranteed
term of 5 years from pension commencement in the amount that was payable to the
survivor immediately before the survivor’s death.
(2) Where an alternative
form of pension is selected under subsection (1), the pension is in an amount
that is the actuarial equivalent of the pension in the form of a normal
pension.
(3) The nominee
referred to in subsection (1)(d) must be eligible for post‑retirement
survivor benefits under and within the meaning of the tax rules.
AR
369/93 s38;68/2002;208/2003
Pension after reaching 69
40 A
person who ceases to be a participant by reason only of reaching his latest
pension commencement date is to receive a normal pension.
AR
369/93 s40;68/2002;301/2003
Disability pensions
41(1) Subject to
subsection (3), a person who, before attaining the age of 55 years,
(a) is vested,
(b) satisfies the Minister that he has become
totally disabled, and
(c) either terminates and ceases to be a
participant as a result of that disability or had previously terminated and had
elected to receive a deferred pension under section 69(d),
becomes
and, subject to section 42, is entitled to receive a normal pension.
(2) Subject to subsection
(3), a person who, before attaining the age of 55 years,
(a) is vested,
(b) satisfies the Minister that he
(i) has become incapable of effectively
performing the regular duties of his work as a result of his mental or physical
impairment, and
(ii) is not totally disabled,
and
(c) either terminates and ceases to be a
participant as a result of that impairment or had previously terminated and had
elected to receive a deferred pension under section 69(d),
becomes
and, subject to section 42, is entitled to receive a pension in the form and in
the amount of a normal pension, reduced, however, in amount by 3/12 of 1% for
each complete month (with a proration for the additional portion, if any, of a
month) by which pension commencement
falls short of his 55th birthday.
(3) A person is not
entitled to receive any pension if he is receiving benefits under a disability
plan.
(4) In this
section and in section 42, “totally disabled” means suffering from a physical
or mental impairment that can reasonably be expected to last for the remainder
of the person’s lifetime and that prevents the person from engaging in any
gainful occupation.
AR
369/93 s41;301/2003
Disability pension adjustments
42(1) Where a
person who has not yet attained the age of 55 years is in receipt of a pension
under section 41(1) and
(a) does not submit the evidence required under
section 83 of the continuing total disability, or
(b) the Minister finds that he is no longer
totally disabled,
the
Minister may have his pension reduced to the amount provided for by section
41(2).
(2) Where a person who has
not yet attained the age of 55 years is in receipt of a pension under section
41(2) and satisfies the Minister that he is totally disabled, the Minister may
upgrade his pension to a pension under section 41(1) with effect from the date
of his application for the upgrading.
(3) Where a person who has
not yet attained the age of 55 years is in receipt of a pension under section
41(2) and the Minister is no longer satisfied that he is eligible for the
pension, the Minister may eliminate payment of the pension.
Postponement of pension
43(1) A person who
is entitled to receive a pension under section 36 or 69(d) may postpone
commencement of the pension to any date up to his latest pension commencement
date.
(2) Whether or not the
person has taken any active steps to effectuate a postponement, the pension
becomes postponed when, and only when, it transpires that pension commencement
has not occurred at the date when, given the circumstances described in the
relevant enactment referred to in subsection (1), it would have occurred.
(3) Subject to subsection
(3.1), when a pension that was postponed becomes payable, it is to be in the
form of a normal pension and in the amount that is the actuarial equivalent of
the normal pension that the person would have been entitled to receive had the
postponement not been made.
(3.1) A person who makes the
election under section 54(3.1) is entitled to receive, instead of the amount
specified in subsection (3),
(a) a pension in the form and in the amount of a
normal pension based, however, only on pensionable service up to the effective
date of the postponement, and
(b) a lump sum payment equal to the total
pension payments that would have been made during the period of the
postponement had the pension not been postponed.
AR
369/93 s43;68/2002
Failure to select pension
44 A person who is
requested in writing by the Minister to make a choice of pensions and who fails
to do so within 90 days after the request is sent is deemed for the purposes of
the Plan to have chosen a pension in the form of a normal pension.
Death after entitlement to section 36 pension
45 Where the
deceased had terminated, had become entitled to a pension under section 36 or
had become so entitled but only for postponing it, and died without having made
a valid choice as to the form of pension to be taken, the deceased is deemed
for the purposes of the Plan to have chosen,
(a.1) if there is a surviving pension partner and
no valid statutory declaration under section 37(3) had been filed in respect of
his pension, a normal pension,
(a.2) repealed AR 60/96 s4,
(b) if there is no surviving pension partner or
if there is but a valid statutory declaration under section 37(3) had been
filed in respect of his pension, a guaranteed term pension in the form specified
in section 38(1)(a) on a 10‑year basis.
AR
369/93 s45;60/96;100/2002
Subdivision
B
For Service After 1991
Tax
rule limitations on benefits
46 Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan but without affecting any particular provision of the Plan
further limiting benefits, benefits are limited to what is allowed by the tax
rules.
Normal pension based on age or age and service
47(1) A person
referred to in section 36(1) is entitled to receive a pension in the annual
amount that is equal to 2% of his highest average salary multiplied by the
number of years of his pensionable service and reduced in accordance with
subsection (4).
(2) A pension under
subsection (1) is payable for the life of the pensioner or the term of 5 years,
whichever is the longer.
(4) Section 36(4) applies
with respect to pensionable service occurring after 1991.
(4.1) Section 36(4.1) applies
to section 47(4).
(5) Section 36(5) applies.
(6) The person
entitled is also entitled to receive the employee contribution excess.
AR
369/93 s47;247/99
Spousal protection
48 Section 37
applies.
Alternative forms of pension
49 Section 38
applies, with references in it to section 36 being taken as references to
section 47.
Pension after reaching 69
51(1) Section 40
applies.
(2) In addition, the person
is entitled to the employee contribution excess.
Disability pensions
52(1) Section 41
applies, with references in it to sections 69(d) and 42 being taken as
references to sections 72(d) and 53 respectively.
(5) In addition, the person
is entitled to the employee contribution excess.
Disability pension adjustments
53 Section 42
applies, with references in it to sections 41 and 83 being taken as references
to section 52, as it incorporates the relevant provisions of section 41, and
section 96, respectively.
Postponement of pension
54(1) Section 43(1) and (2)
apply, with references to sections 36 and 69(d) being taken as references to
sections 47 and 72(d) respectively.
(3) When a pension that was
postponed becomes payable and the person entitled has not made an election
under subsection (3.1), it is to be in the form of a normal pension and
(a) if pension commencement is on or before the
date when the person attains the age of 65 years, in the amount specified in
section 47(1), or
(b) if pension commencement is after that date,
in the amount that is the actuarial equivalent of the normal pension that the
person would have been entitled to receive had pension commencement occurred on
the later of
(i) the date when the person attained the age of
65 years, and
(ii) the day after the person terminated.
(3.1) A person to whom
subsection (3) will (but for the making of an election under this subsection)
apply may, at any time before pension commencement, make an election in the
written form required by the Minister, that subsection (3) is not to apply to
him, in which case he is to receive
(a) a pension in the form and in the amount of a
normal pension based, however, only on pensionable service up to the effective
date of the postponement, and
(b) a lump sum payment equal to the total
pension payments that would have been made during the period of the
postponement had the pension not been postponed.
(4) Where a
pension is postponed, any employee contribution excess is payable at pension
commencement.
AR
369/93 s54;68/2002
Failure to select pension
55 Section 44
applies.
Death after entitlement to section 47 pension
56 Section
45 applies, with references in it to sections 36, 37(3) and 38(1)(a) being
respectively taken as references to section 47 and to sections 48 and 49, as
they incorporate sections 37(3) and 38(1)(a).
AR
369/93 s56;60/96
Division 2
Death Benefits
Application
and interpretation of Division
57(1) This
Division applies with respect to a person, other than a pensioner, who dies
with employee contributions referred to in section 29(1) or 30(1) in the Plan.
(2) In this
Division, “surviving pension partner” means the person (if any) who was the
pension partner of the person referred to in subsection (1) immediately before
death occurred, and who survived the deceased.
AR
369/93 s57;100/2002
Return of prior, etc. service contributions
58(1) Except where
a pension is to be paid under this Division, the amount of any employee
contributions referred to in section 29(1) or 30(1) paid to establish any prior
service on an actuarial reserve basis covered by section 20(1.1)(b), (c) or (d)
and any leave without pay or salary in respect of which the participant paid
employer contributions pursuant to section 15(3) or pursuant to the former Act
in respect of service in 1992 or 1993 shall be
(a) paid to, or transferred to a registered
retirement savings plan belonging to, the surviving pension partner, if there
is one, or
(b) paid to the person entitled to receive any
benefit on the death, if there is no surviving pension partner.
(2) Subdivisions
A and B apply to a person only after any applicable payment or transfer
required by subsection (1) has been made and after section 20(4) has been
applied.
AR
369/93 s58;68/2002;100/2002
Subdivision
A
For Service Before 1992
Benefit
on death before commencement of pension - pension partner’s entitlements
59(1) Where there
is a surviving pension partner, the pension partner may choose,
(a) if the deceased was vested,
(i) a pension in the form and in the amount that
would be payable under section 36(5) to a surviving pension partner and an
additional pension in the amount of 10% of the amount of the pension that the
deceased would have received had he commenced to receive a pension immediately
before his death, using the formula specified in section 36(1), for the benefit
of each surviving dependent minor child, if any, but payable in respect of no
more than 3 such children, until the end of the month in which the child dies
or attains the age of 18 years, whichever event first occurs,
(ii) to have transferred from the Plan an amount
equal to the employee contributions and a further amount equal to
(A) current service contributions,
(B) contributions paid by the deceased in
respect of the first year of leave without salary, to the extent that they are
not included under paragraph (A),
(C) either the part of a sum transferred into
the Plan under a reciprocal agreement that is recognized by the Minister as
employee contributions or the total sum transferred into the Plan under the
reciprocal agreement less the amount that is recognized by the Minister as
employee contributions, whichever is less, and
(D) contributions made for service described in
section 20(1)(d)(iii), to the extent that the original contributions that were
returned were contributions described in paragraph (A), (B) or (C),
that
were not previously returned to the deceased, with interest, or
(iii) to receive the amounts specified in
subclause (ii),
(b) if the deceased died while an employee not
being vested, the benefit specified in clause (a)(ii) or (iii), or
(c) if neither clause (a) nor clause (b)
applies,
(i) to receive an amount equal to the employee
contributions, or
(ii) to have that amount transferred from the
Plan.
(2) Where there are 2 or
more surviving dependent minor children, the children’s benefits under
subsection (1) are to be shared equally among all of them, even if there are
more than 3.
(3) If the
deceased’s surviving pension partner is not the legal guardian of any surviving
dependent minor child, then, notwithstanding subsection (1)(a)(i), the pension
payable for that child’s benefit under that provision shall be paid to the
child’s legal guardian for the child’s benefit.
AR
369/93 s59;60/96;100/2002;301/2003
Idem - where no pension partner, but dependent minor children
60(1) Where there
is no surviving pension partner and the deceased is survived by dependent minor
children, the legal guardian of those children may choose, on behalf and for
the benefit of all those children,
(a) if the deceased was vested or died while an
employee but not vested,
(i) the benefit specified in section
59(1)(a)(iii), or
(ii) to be paid a pension in the amount of 15% of
the amount of the pension that the deceased would have received had he
commenced to receive a pension immediately before his death, using the formula
specified in section 36(1), in respect of each surviving dependent minor child
up to 4, with the pension payments in respect of each child ceasing at the end
of the month in which the child dies or attains the age of 18 years, whichever
event first occurs,
or
(b) if clause (a) does not apply, to receive an
amount equal to the employee contributions.
(2) Where there
are 2 or more surviving dependent minor children, the children’s benefits under
subsection (1) are to be shared equally among all of them, even if there are
more than 4.
AR
369/93 s60;100/2002;301/2003
Idem - where no pension partner or dependent minor children
61 Where
there is no surviving pension partner or dependent minor child, the person
entitled to receive any benefit on the death is entitled to receive an amount
equal to the employee contributions.
AR
369/93 s61;100/2002
Subdivision
B
For Service After 1991
Interpretation
for Subdivision
63 In this
Subdivision, the deceased’s accrued benefits that are to be taken into account
in determining commuted value are to be taken to be what his accrued benefits
would have been under Subdivision B of Division 3 had the deceased terminated
rather than dying.
Benefit on death before commencement of pension - pension partner’s
entitlements
64 Where there is a
surviving pension partner, the pension partner may choose,
(a) if the deceased was vested,
(i) both
(A) the pension that would have been payable if
the deceased, immediately before dying, had terminated under the circumstances
referred to in section 52(1), as it incorporates section 41(1) (disregarding
age however) and had exercised the joint life option under section 49 specified
in section 38(1)(d)(i), with the surviving pension partner as the designated
nominee or, if the pension partner so selects as an alternative, a guaranteed
term pension, payable for
(I) whichever term, being 5, 10 or 15 years, is
selected by the pension partner, or
(II) the life of the pension partner,
whichever
is the longer, in an amount that is the actuarial equivalent of that deemed
joint life pension, and
(B) to receive the employee contribution excess,
or
(ii) to have an amount equal to the commuted
value transferred from the Plan to a locked‑in retirement account and
either to receive the employee contribution excess or to have it transferred
from the Plan,
or
(b) if the deceased was not vested,
(i) to receive an amount equal to the employee
contributions, or
(ii) to have that amount transferred from the
Plan.
AR
369/93 s64;100/2002;208/2003;301/2003
Idem - where no pension partner
65(1) Where there
is no surviving pension partner and the deceased was vested, the person
entitled to receive any benefit on the death is entitled to receive an amount
equal to the aggregate of the commuted value and the employee contribution
excess.
(2) Where there
is no surviving pension partner and the deceased was not vested, the person
entitled to receive any benefit on the death is entitled to receive an amount
equal to the employee contributions.
AR
369/93 s65;100/2002;301/2003
Division 3
Benefits on Termination
Before Pension Eligibility
Application
of Division
66 This Division
applies with respect to a person who terminates with pensionable service before
being entitled to apply for and receive a pension.
Return of prior service contributions
67(1) Except where
a deferred pension is to be paid under this Division, the amount of any
employee contributions referred to in section 29(1) or 30(1) paid to establish
any prior service on an actuarial reserve basis covered by section 20(1.1)(b),
(c) or (d) and any leave without pay or salary in respect of which the
participant paid employer contributions pursuant to section 15(3) or pursuant
to the former Act in respect of service in 1992 or 1993 shall be paid to, or
transferred to a registered retirement savings plan belonging to, the former
participant or transferred from the Plan to a registered pension plan operated
by the other party to a reciprocal agreement.
(2) Subdivisions
A and B apply to a person only after any applicable payment or transfer
required by subsection (1) has been made and after section 20(4) has been
applied.
AR
369/93 s67;68/2002
Locking in under old reciprocal agreements
68 Notwithstanding
anything in this Division, where any amount that would otherwise be payable to
a person or transferable on a non‑locked‑in basis under this
Division represents money that has been received on a locked‑in basis
under an old reciprocal agreement, that money must nevertheless be transferred
from the Plan on a locked‑in basis.
AR
369/93 s68;268/2002
Subdivision
A
For Service Before 1992
Termination
after 5 years’ pensionable service
69 A person who is
vested may choose
(a) to receive an amount equal to the employee
contributions,
(b) to have the amount specified in clause (a)
transferred from the Plan,
(c) subject to section 71, to have his pension entitlements transferred
from the Plan to a registered pension plan operated by the other party to a
reciprocal agreement in the amount required by that other party, not exceeding,
however, the amount which, taken together with the amount to be transferred
under section 72(c) (excluding any employee contribution excess) is specified
in section 84(2)(a), or
(d) to receive, when he attains the age of 55
years, a normal pension.
AR
369/93 s69;60/96;301/2003
Termination before 5 years’ pensionable service
70 A
person who is not vested may choose the benefit specified in section 69(a), (b)
or (c).
AR
369/93 s70;301/2003
Excess not transferred under reciprocal agreement
71 Where a sum of
money is transferred from the Plan under a reciprocal agreement that is less
than the amount of the benefit transferable under a reciprocal agreement under
section 84(2)(a), the excess is to be
(a) transferred from the Plan on a locked‑in
basis, to the extent that it is locked in, and
(b) paid to the person, to the extent that it is
not.
Subdivision
B
For Service After 1991
Termination
after 5 years’ pensionable service
72 A person who is
vested may choose
(a) to have an amount equal to the commuted
value transferred from the Plan to a locked‑in retirement account and to
receive the employee contribution excess,
(b) to have an amount equal to the commuted
value transferred from the Plan to a locked‑in retirement account and to
have the employee contribution excess transferred from the Plan,
(c) subject to section 74, to have his pension
entitlements transferred on a locked‑in basis from the Plan to a
registered pension plan operated by the other party to a reciprocal agreement
in the amount required by that other party, not exceeding, however, the amount
which, taken together with the amount to be transferred under section 69(c), is
specified in section 97(2)(a), or
(d) to receive, when he attains the age of 55
years, a normal pension and the employee contribution excess.
AR
369/93 s72;60/96;150/98;301/2003
Termination before 5 years’ pensionable service
73 A person who is
not vested may choose
(a) to receive an amount equal to the employee
contributions,
(b) to have the amount specified in clause (a)
transferred from the Plan, or
(c) subject to sections 74 and 98, to have his
pension entitlements transferred from the Plan to a registered pension plan
operated by the other party to a reciprocal agreement in the amount required by
that other party, not exceeding, however, the amount which, taken together with
the amount to be transferred under section 70 (as it relates to section 69(c)),
is specified in section 97(2)(a).
AR
369/93 s73;301/2003
Excess not transferred under reciprocal agreement
74 Section 71
applies with the reference in it to section 84(2)(a) being taken as a reference
to section 97(2)(a).
Division 4
Cost‑of‑Living Increases
Subdivision A
For Service Before 1992
Cost‑of‑living
increases
75(1) Notwithstanding
anything else in the Plan, if the cost of living has increased in the 12‑month
period ending on October 31 in the calendar year previous to the current
calendar year, all amounts payable as pensions in the current calendar year
shall be increased by a cost‑of‑living increase calculated in
accordance with subsections (3) to (6) or by the higher rate, if any, that the
Board establishes under section 76.
(2) The increases shall
also be applied to the periods
(a) of postponement under section 43, and
(b) between termination and the commencement of
deferred pensions under section 69(d).
(3) The amount of a cost‑of‑living
increase under this section shall be determined using a pension index,
calculated in accordance with subsection (4).
(4) The pension index for
each calendar year shall be calculated as
(a) the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of
the consumer price indices for Alberta, as published by Statistics Canada, for
each month in the 12‑month period ending on October 31 in the previous
year by the sum of the corresponding indices for the 12‑month period
immediately preceding that period, adjusted to 3 digits after the decimal
point, or
(b) one, if the quotient so obtained is less
than 1.
(5) Subject to subsection
(6), the basic monthly amount of a pension, excluding any additional payment
under section 80, in one calendar year shall be increased, if applicable,
annually with effect from January 1 of the following calendar year so that the
amount payable, to the nearest cent, for a month in that following year is an
amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying
(a) the basic amount that would have been
payable for that month if no increase had been made under this section,
by
(b) 1 + .6X,
where
X is equal to the pension index (calculated in accordance with subsection (4))
minus 1.
(6) Where a pension has
commenced in the calendar year immediately preceding the effective date of a
cost‑of‑living increase, the amount of the increase shall be
multiplied by the fraction obtained by dividing the number of complete months
in that year during which the pension was paid by 12.
(7) The amount
of any increase under this section must not exceed the maximum amount set for
cost‑of‑living increases by the tax rules.
AR
369/93 s75;68/2002
Increase by Board of normal COLA
76(1) The Board
may establish a higher rate of increase for the purposes of section 75(1) and
(2), but only if the Plan meets the minimum funding and solvency requirements
set by section 38(2) and (3), and the regulations made with reference to
section 38(2), of the Employment Pension Plans Act.
(2) Section
75(6) and (7) apply with respect to increases under subsection (1).
AR
369/93 s76;68/2002
Subdivision
B
For Service After 1991
77, 78 Repealed
AR 263/2006 s3.
78.1 Repealed
AR 263/2006 s4.
Cost‑of‑living
increases
78.2(1) Pension
increases under this section are to be calculated by reference to cost‑of‑living
increases in accordance with section 75(3) to (6), with the reference in
section 75(5) to section 80 being deemed a reference to section 93.
(2) Without
limiting subsection (1), increases under this section are to be applied to the
periods
(a) of
postponement under section 54, and
(b) between
termination and the commencement of deferred pensions under section 72(d).
(3) Pensions
are increased relative to that part of the pensions that is payable with
respect to pensionable service from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1995.
(4) Subsections
(1), (2) and (3) are to be treated as having come into force on January 1,
1997.
(5) Pensions
are increased relative to that part of the pensions that is payable with
respect to pensionable service from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998.
(6) Subsection
(5) is to be treated as having come into force on January 1, 1999.
(7) Pensions
are increased relative to that part of the pensions that is payable with
respect to pensionable service from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2000.
(8) Subsection (7) is to be treated as having come
into force on January 1, 2006.
AR 263/2006 s5
Division 5
Miscellaneous
Subdivision A
For Service Before 1992
Interest
allowance
79(1) Except where
otherwise specifically provided, where the Plan provides for the allowing of interest,
interest shall be
(a) allowed at the rate of 4% per annum
compounded semi‑annually up to commencement, and
(b) thereafter allowed at the rate, compounded
annually, calculated in the manner and applied at the times, provided in
subsections (2) to (5).
(2) Subject to this
section, the rate of interest to be allowed for the purposes of subsection
(1)(b) is the rate that is calculated on and as of the first day of the fiscal
year on the basis of the average of the yields of 5‑year personal fixed
term chartered bank deposit rates maintained by Statistics Canada as CANSIM
Series B 14045, over the most recent 12‑month period for which the rates
are available and, where that rate results in a fraction of 1% that is
expressed otherwise than as a multiple of a full 1/10 of 1%, rounded downwards
to the next full 1/10 of 1%.
(3) Interest shall be
applied on the first day of each fiscal year with respect to all contributions,
with interest accumulated up to the end of the fiscal year immediately
preceding the most recently completed fiscal year.
(4) Interest shall be
applied on the first day of each fiscal year to contributions made during the
most recently completed fiscal year at 1/2 of the applicable rate provided by
subsection (2).
(5) Where a person becomes
entitled to have a benefit, other than a pension, paid to him or transferred,
interest shall be applied to the date of payment,
(a) at the rate calculated by dividing 365 into
the product of the number of days in the uncompleted fiscal year with respect
to which interest is to be paid and the applicable rate provided for by
subsection (2) at the end of the immediately preceding fiscal year, and
(b) to contributions made during the more recent
uncompleted fiscal year, at 1/2 of the rate applied under clause (a).
AR
369/93 s79;208/2003
Co-ordination of certain pensions with C.P.P. and O.A.S.
80(1) Where a
person is to receive a pension under section 36(1) or 69(d) before attaining
the age of 65 years, he may choose to increase the pension by an amount equal
to the actuarial equivalent of the co‑ordination base until he reaches
the age of 65 years or dies before reaching that age.
(1.1) For the purposes of
this section,
(a) “the co‑ordination base” is the amount
that is equal to 40% of the year’s maximum pensionable earnings for the
calendar year in which pension commencement occurs less the annual bridge
entitlement, and
(b) “the annual bridge entitlement” is the
amount, as at pension commencement and without taking into account any cost‑of‑living
increase, that is equal to the 0.6% factor by which the pre‑reduction
amount is reduced pursuant to section 36(4).
(2.1) Where a person who has
chosen to increase a pension under subsection (1) attains the age of 65 years,
the increased pension, including the actuarial equivalent of the co‑ordination
base, shall be reduced at that time by the actuarial equivalent of the co‑ordination
base, and for (but only for) the remainder of that person’s lifetime, the
pension shall be further reduced from that time by the difference between the
co‑ordination base and the actuarial equivalent of the co‑ordination
base.
(2.2) Where a person who has
chosen to increase a pension under subsection (1) dies before attaining the age
of 65 years, the increased pension, including the actuarial equivalent of the
co‑ordination base, shall be reduced at that time by the actuarial
equivalent of the co‑ordination base, without the further reduction
referred to in subsection (2.1).
(9) Notwithstanding
anything in this section, a person is not entitled to make a choice under this
section if the monthly pension payments payable to that person under both
Subdivisions A and B of a Division of this Part, after the reductions referred
to in subsection (2.1) have commenced, will be less than 1/12 of 4% of the
year’s maximum pensionable earnings for the calendar year in which the
termination or death occurred.
(10) The
conditions set out in subsections (1) or (2) and (3) to (8), as they existed
prior to their repeal by Part 3 of the Public Sector Pension Plans
(Miscellaneous 2004) Amendment Regulation (AR 301/2003) and the Special
Forces Pension Plan (Further 2004 Co‑ordination Changes) Amendment
Regulation, continue to apply with respect to a choice or selection made
thereunder in respect of a pension commencing in or before 2003, but if, where
applicable, a choice under that subsection (1) or (2) relates to a pension
commencing on or after January 1, 2004, the choice is deemed to have been made
under subsection (1) as it exists on January 2, 2004.
AR
369/93 s80;208/2003;301/2003;358/2003
Pension commencement
81(1) Where a
person becomes entitled to receive a pension under section 36 and does not
postpone commencement of that pension, the effective date of the commencement
of the pension is the day after termination.
(2) Where a person becomes
entitled to receive a pension under section 41, the effective date of the
commencement of the pension is the latest of
(a) the date indicated in the application for
the pension,
(b) the day of receipt of the application by the
Minister, and
(c) the day after termination.
(3) Where a person becomes
entitled to receive a pension under section 69(d) and does not postpone
commencement of that pension, the effective date of the commencement of the
pension is the latest of
(a) the date indicated in the application for
the pension,
(b) the day of receipt of the application by the
Minister, and
(c) the day the person attains the age of 55
years.
(4) Where a person
postpones commencement of a pension, the effective date of the commencement of
the pension is the later of
(a) the date indicated in the application for
the pension, and
(b) the day of receipt of the application by the
Minister.
(5) Notwithstanding
subsections (2) and (3), the Minister may treat the effective date of the
commencement of a pension under either of those subsections as being a date
that is not more than 6 months prior to the date that would otherwise be the
effective date under that subsection and that is not prior to the day after termination.
(6) The
effective date of the commencement of a pension under section 59(1)(a)(i) is
the day of the deceased’s death.
AR
369/93 s81;208/2003
Commencement of guaranteed term of years
82 The guaranteed
term of a guaranteed term pension is to be taken as commencing on pension
commencement.
Requirement of evidence
83(1) Before any benefit is
paid or transferred, there must be provided to the Minister
(a) where it is necessary to determine in
relation to a person the age, cohabitation, pension partner, single or
dependent minor child status, legal change of name, fact of death or facts
relative to previous employment, documents evidencing the facts, and
(b) where a person applies for a pension under
section 41,
(i) a medical statement from a physician
outlining the findings of a medical examination and assessing the degree of the
person’s disability or mental or physical impairment, and
(ii) any other documents evidencing that
incapacity that the Minister specifies.
(2) Without limiting the
application of subsection (4), for the purposes of determining whether a person
who has been granted a pension under section 41 is to continue to receive the
same amount of pension or not, the Minister may require that person
(a) to undergo the special medical examinations,
(b) to supply the reports, and
(c) to supply the statements of his occupation
and earnings for any period,
that
the Minister specifies.
(3) An employer shall
submit to the Minister the evidence required by the Minister in respect of a participant
who applies for a pension under section 41.
(4) For the
purposes of determining whether a person who has been granted a pension is or
is not entitled to continue to receive the same amount of pension or any
pension at all, the Minister may require that person to supply any information
that the Minister considers relevant to determining that entitlement.
AR
369/93 s83;100/2002
Transfer of pensions under reciprocal agreements
84(1) The Minister may enter
into a reciprocal or any other agreement with any local authority within the
meaning of the Local Authorities
Pension Plan, government or other public body, any of whose workers is
subject to a pension plan, for the purposes of enabling the transfer of pension
entitlements between the Plan and any such plan.
(2) A reciprocal agreement
entered into, made or amended after commencement must be consistent with the
Plan and provide
(a) for pension entitlements under the Plan,
based on all pensionable service, whether accumulated before or after January
1, 1992, to be transferred from the Plan on a locked‑in basis only in an
amount that is not greater than the greater of
(i) the commuted value, based on all such
service and determined as of the date when the application for the transfer is
received by the Minister, and
(ii) the aggregate of the combined employee
contributions within the meanings of sections 29(1)(a) and 30(1)(a) and the
amount (based on all such service) transferable under section 67(1),
(b) that only persons who were participants at or
after commencement are entitled to transfer pension entitlements from the Plan,
(c) repealed AR 301/2003 s51,
(d) for service that is eligible to be
recognized as pensionable service under the Plan to be recognized only on an
actuarial reserve basis,
(e) where the amount transferred into the Plan
is less than the amount required by applying clause (d), for the participant to
be able to
(i) prorate the service, or
(ii) both
(A) prorate the service, and
(B) subject to meeting the requirements of section
22, acquire as pensionable service the service not recognized as pensionable
service on an actuarial reserve basis,
and
(f) that money that is locked in under the
transferring plan will continue to be locked in under the transferee plan even
if it would not be locked in under the transferee plan but for this
requirement.
(3) The Minister
shall ensure that no reciprocal agreements that were in force immediately
before commencement remain or are in force more than one year after
commencement unless they comply with subsection (2).
AR
369/93 s84;150/98;301/2003
Beneficiaries
86(1) Where a
person designates a person to receive a benefit payable on his death, whether
beneficially or in a representative capacity, or revokes a designation so made,
the designation or revocation may be filed with the Minister.
(2) Where a person
designates his estate as being entitled to receive a benefit payable on his
death, or makes a designation using words indicative of his estate or of the
representative capacity of his personal representative, he shall be deemed to
have designated the personal representative of his estate in his representative
capacity.
(3) Where
(a) at the date of the death of a person on
whose death a benefit is payable, there is no valid designation by him filed
with the Minister, or
(b) after his death but before any payment is
made under section 12(2) of the Regulations, there is filed with the Minister a
valid revocation by him of a designation
filed with the Minister
and
no valid designation is filed with the Minister before any such payment is
made, the person entitled to receive any benefit payable on his death is the
deceased’s pension partner, if he is survived by a pension partner, or the
personal representative of the deceased’s estate, if there is no surviving
pension partner.
(4) The right of
any person under this section to a benefit is subject to any rights given by
Subdivision A of Division 1 or 2 of this Part to any other person.
AR
369/93 s86;100/2002
Method of payment of pensions
87(1) A pension
shall be paid on a monthly basis in an amount equal to 1/12 of the annual
amount of the pension.
(2) If pension commencement
occurs after the first day of a month, the amount payable in respect of the
remaining days in the month is as follows:
number
of days remaining
annual amount of
pension X in
the
month
365
(3) Subject to subsection
(4), where a person in receipt of a pension dies, the pension is payable to the
person for the full month in which the death occurred.
(4) Subsection (3) does not
have the effect of extending the term of any guaranteed term pension.
(5) The reduction of a
pension payable on the first death in the form specified in
(a) section 38(1)(c)(ii) or section 38(1)(d), as
it related to section 38(1)(c)(ii), as those enactments existed before
September 15, 2003, in the case of a death that occurred before that date, or
(b) section 38(1)(d)(ii), in the case of a death
occurring on or after that date,
is
to be taken as occurring with effect from the beginning of the month following
that in which the death occurred.
AR
369/93 s87;208/2003
Idem - conversion following death
88(1) Where a
pensioner who has chosen a guaranteed term pension dies before the expiry of
the guaranteed term and the person entitled to the remainder of the pension
payments requests the Minister in writing that those payments be converted to a
lump sum payment, the person so entitled shall instead be paid the present
value of the remaining pension payments.
(2) Subsection (1) does not
apply if the person entitled is the pension partner or a dependent minor child
in relation to the deceased unless the Minister grants the request for the
conversion.
(3) Where a
person is to be paid the present value under this section and there are pension
payments outstanding after the date of death and before the payment of the
present value, the outstanding payments are to be made first and the remaining
payments are to be converted to a lump sum.
AR
369/93 s88;100/2002
Prohibition of pension suspension
89(1) Once a
pension has commenced, it may not be suspended for any reason.
(2) Subsection
(1) does not affect the ongoing validity of a pension suspension effected under
section 89 (but not under section 90) as those sections existed at the end of
2000.
AR
369/93 s89;325/2000
90 Repealed
AR 325/2000 s4.
Continuation of existing pensions and pension rights
91(1) A person who was in
receipt of or entitled to a benefit immediately before commencement continues,
subject to these plan rules, to be entitled to that benefit and in the same
form that applied on that date and the same survivorship rights, if any, that
applied on that date continue to apply thereafter.
(2) A person who before
commencement had chosen to receive a deferred pension under section 30(c) of
the former Act and, immediately before commencement, had not yet commenced to
receive that pension continues to be entitled to receive the same pension, with
the same rights appertaining to himself and to other persons flowing through
him, that would have applied had the former Act, as it was on that date, still
been in force, except that the options as to the form of pension to be taken
are to be those under these plan rules rather than those under the former Act.
Subdivision
B
For Service After 1991
Interest
allowance
92 Section 79
applies.
Co-ordination of certain pensions with C.P.P. and O.A.S.
93(1) Where a
person is to receive a pension under section 47(1) or 72(d) before attaining
the age of 65 years, section 80(1) applies.
(1.1) Section 80(1.1)
applies.
(2.1) Section 80(2.1)
applies.
(2.2) Section 80(2.2)
applies.
(9) Section 80(9) applies.
(10) Section
80(10) applies.
AR
369/93 s93;208/2003;301/2003;358/2003
Pension commencement
94(1) Section
81(1) to (3) apply, with references to sections 36, 41 and 69(d) being taken as
references to sections 47, 52 and 72(d) respectively.
(4) Where a person
postpones commencement of a pension, the effective date of the commencement of
the pension is the later of
(a) the date indicated in the application for
the pension, and
(b) the day of receipt of the application by the
Minister.
(5) Section 81(5) applies.
(6) Section
81(6) applies, with the reference to section 59(1)(a)(i) being taken as a
reference to section 64(a)(i).
AR
369/93 s94;325/2000
Commencement of guaranteed term of years
95 Section 82
applies.
Requirement of evidence
96 Section 83
applies, with references in it to section 41 being taken as references to
section 52.
Transfer of pensions under reciprocal agreements
97(1) Section
84(1) applies.
(2) A reciprocal agreement
entered into, made or amended after commencement must be consistent with the
Plan and provide
(a) for the transfer of the pension entitlements
covered by section 84(2)(a) (based on all pensionable service, whenever
accumulated), subject to the maximum of the aggregate of the maximum allowed by
section 84(2)(a) and in addition, in the case of a person falling within
section 72(a), the employee contribution excess determined as of the date when
the application for the transfer is received by the Minister, and
(b) the matters specified in section 84(2)(b),
(d), (e) and (f).
(3) Section
84(3) applies.
AR
369/93 s97;150/98;301/2003
Beneficiaries
99 Section 86 applies,
with the reference in subsection (4) of it to Subdivision A being taken as a
reference to Subdivision B.
Method of payment of pensions
100 Section
87 applies, with the references in subsection (5) of it to section
38(1)(c)(ii), (d) and (d)(ii) being taken as references to section 49 as it
incorporated or incorporates, respectively, those enactments.
AR
369/93 s100;208/2003
Idem - conversion following death
101 Section 88
applies.
Prohibition of pension suspension
102(1) Once a
pension has commenced, it may not be suspended for any reason.
(2) Subsection
(1) does not affect the ongoing validity of a pension suspension effected under
section 102 (but not under section 103) as those sections existed at the end of
2000.
AR
369/93 s102;325/2000
103 Repealed
AR 325/2000 s6.
Continuation of existing pensions and pension rights
104(1) Section 91 applies,
with the reference in subsection (2) of it to section 30(c) of the former Act
being taken as a reference to section 31.2(c) of the former Act.
(2) To avoid doubt, the
pension or the right to a pension or deferred pension continued by subsection
(1), if based on the participant’s death or total disability, includes any
portion of the pension that is based partly on potential service under and
within the meaning of the former Act, even if the service is recognized after
commencement.
Part
6
Miscellaneous
Interest
chargeable
105(1) Where the
Plan provides for the charging of interest, interest shall be charged at the
rate of 4% per annum compounded semi‑annually up to commencement.
(2) Where a provision of
these plan rules provides for the charging of interest after commencement and
does not provide for a specific rate, interest shall be charged at the rate
that is calculated on and as of the first day of the fiscal year on the basis
of the average of the yields of 5‑year personal fixed term chartered bank
deposit rates maintained by Statistics Canada as CANSIM Series B 14045, over
the most recent 12‑month period for which the rates are available and, where
that rate results in a fraction of 1% that is expressed otherwise than as a
multiple of a full 1/10 of 1%, rounded downwards to the next full 1/10 of 1%.
(3) Where a
provision of these plan rules provides for the charging of interest at the
financing rate, interest shall be charged at the rate that is equal to the
nominal interest rate per annum, compounded annually, used in the calculation
of actuarial reserve amounts.
AR
369/93 s105;256/98
Advance against pension
106 Where
there is a delay in processing a pension beyond 30 days from pension
commencement, the Minister of Finance may advance money from the plan fund to
the pensioner against the pension.
AR
369/93 s106;268/2002
Actuarial formulas
107(1) The
actuarial formulas to be used for the purposes of the Plan or for particular
provisions of the Plan are to be certified by an actuary and approved in writing by the Minister for the
purposes of the Plan.
(2) The actuarial formulas
are exempt from the application of the Regulations Act.
Exercise of benefit choice
108(1) A person
wishing to exercise a choice in relation to a benefit must do so by giving
written notice to the Minister indicating the choice.
(2) A choice made,
including a choice deemed to be made, in relation to a benefit is irrevocable
when, and is not irrevocable until, the benefit is received or commences to be
paid.
Prohibition against assignment, etc.
109(1) A person may not
assign, charge, anticipate, give as security or surrender his interest in a
benefit or any of his rights under the Plan.
(2) For the purposes of
subsection (1),
(a) assignment does not include
(i) an assignment under a matrimonial property
order, or
(ii) an assignment by the legal representative of
a deceased individual on the distribution of the individual’s estate,
and
(b) surrender does not include a reduction in
benefits to avoid the revocation of the Plan’s registration.
Overpayments and deficiencies
110 Any overpayment
of benefit paid or underpayment of contribution payable is recoverable by the
Minister, with interest, as a debt due to the Plan.
Return of money
111(1) If the
Minister finds that a person paid a contribution that was not, or that was in
excess of what was, payable, the Minister of Finance shall repay from the plan
fund the contribution or the excess, with interest.
(2) The Minister
of Finance shall return any contribution to the person who made it where
returning it is necessary to ensure compliance with the tax rules.
AR
369/93 s111;268/2002
Retentions for debt
112(1) The Minister
of Finance may withhold from any benefit payable a sum sufficient to meet any
amount by which the person entitled to the benefit is indebted to the Plan.
(2) The Minister
of Finance shall apply any money withheld under this section in satisfaction of
the debt to the Plan.
AR
369/93 s112;268/2002
Part
7
Transitional and Commencement Provisions
Pre‑commencement
indexing contributions
112.1 It is recognized
that the amount transferred into the indexing fund pursuant to section 2 of the
Public Sector Pension Plans (Prescribed Assets for Transfer) Regulation
(Alta. Reg. 261/93) generally represents contributions paid between August 1,
1992 and September 30, 1993 that would, had they been made after commencement,
have been post‑1991 COLA contributions.
113 Repealed
AR 310/2002 s4.
Transitional - prior service provisions
114(1) Notwithstanding
anything in Part 3, a person is regarded as having made the arrangements to
purchase prior service under and within the meaning of the former Act if he
made an application pursuant to section 7 of the Special Forces Pension Plan
Regulation (Alta. Reg. 317/85) before commencement or, in the case of leave
without pay that ended at any time within the 7 months prior to commencement,
within 7 months of the end of that leave period, and he commences to comply
with section 8 and, if applicable, section 9 of that Regulation expeditiously
after commencement or the end of that leave, as the case may be, as if those
provisions were still in force.
(2) Where a person,
immediately before the commencement of section 14, was performing service in
the form of leave without pay that continued as leave without salary after that
commencement, that person remains entitled to purchase that service as prior
service under and within the meaning of the former Act until 7 months after the
end of the leave period and, if he does so, that person and, if applicable, the
employer continue to be liable to make contributions in respect of that leave
on the same basis, including the rate of interest, that applied immediately
before that commencement, as if the former Act were still in force.
(4) Section 26 applies
where subsection (1) or (2) is met.
Transitional - spousal protection
115(1) Section
37(3)(a) is to be read as if “or an effective statutory declaration by that
person made under section 25 of the former Act before its repeal” were added at
the end of that clause, and section 48 is deemed to read accordingly.
(2) Without affecting the
application of section 37(4) or section 48, as it incorporates section 37(4),
subsection (1) ceases to have any force 90 days after commencement.
Savings - suspensions of pension
116(1) Subject to
subsection (2), sections 89 and 102, as they existed at the end of 2000 (except
for the reference in section 102(4) to attaining the age of 71 years being
treated as referring to reaching the latest pension commencement date),
continue to apply with respect to pension suspensions effected under them
before 2001 so long as the person continues, without interruption, to make
current service contributions.