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1 |
PURPOSE |
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1.1 |
The purpose of this directive is to provide compensation advisors with information concerning changes to the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP). These modifications include a decrease in PDSP contribution rates effective April 1, 2006, and amendments to enrolment deadlines, voluntary withdrawal, the enrolment forms and the enrolment process. |
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1.2 |
All changes to the PDSP, as well as the terms and conditions of the plan, are contained in the new Pensioners' Dental Services Plan Rules dated April 1, 2006. The Rules are available on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) Web site at the following address:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/bp-rasp/
PDSP-RSDP_e.asp. |
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1.3 |
The booklet entitled Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - Enrolment Information and Plan Summary (April 1, 2006) is also posted on the TBS Web site cited above.
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2 |
BACKGROUND |
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2.1 |
On January 1, 2001, the Government of Canada introduced the PDSP. This voluntary dental services plan provides dental services coverage to eligible pensioners and their eligible family members, including survivors, who are receiving a pension under a number of federal statutes including the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Defence Services Pension Continuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act, the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, the Governor General's Act, the Lieutenant Governors Superannuation Act, the Diplomatic Service (Special) Superannuation Act, the Judges Act and the Special Retirement Arrangements Act. |
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2.2 |
Under the current Rules, a retiring employee who wishes to enroll in the PDSP must enter his personal information on a PDSP enrolment form, provided to him by his compensation advisor. The completed form is submitted to the plan administrator (Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada) within the prescribed enrolment period.
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3 |
POLICY |
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3.1 |
Effective April 1, 2006, changes have been made to the PDSP. These changes include amendments to the PDSP Rules and changes in the enrolment process. |
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3.2 |
Effective April 1, 2006, plan member contribution rates will be reduced. Since PDSP contributions are deducted one month in advance, the new rates will be reflected on March 2006 pension cheques.
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4 |
PROCEDURES/INSTRUCTIONS |
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Compensation advisors in departments and participating agencies and entities are to continue to ensure that retiring employees are informed of the PDSP. |
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Compensation advisors are to provide employees who are retiring on or after April 1, 2006, with the new booklet entitled Pensioners' Dental Services Plan - Enrolment information and Plan Summary (April 1, 2006) and the new PDSP enrolment forms (see section 4.3). The new booklet is available for downloading from the TBS site as indicated in section 1.3. |
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Compensation advisors are to provide retiring employees with the above mentioned information using the compensation standard benefits letters available on the HR CONNEXIONS site at the following address:
http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/
sbl-ltas/Comp_Std_e.asp. |
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These letters will be updated to reflect the changes to the PDSP Rules and procedures. |
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4.1 |
Changes to the PDSP Enrolment Deadline |
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Compensation advisors are to inform retiring employees that membership in the PDSP is voluntary and that, under the new Rules, there is no enrolment deadline. Eligible pensioners whose retirements are effective on or after April 1, 2006, will be able to apply for membership for themselves and their eligible family members at any time. To apply for membership, retiring employees will still be required to complete a request for enrolment using the prescribed form. However, this enrolment form will no longer need to be submitted within 60 days of the effective date of their pension entitlement. |
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Compensation advisors are to advise retiring employees that coverage under the PDSP will be effective from the date of pension entitlement if they apply within 60 days of the entitlement date. Otherwise, coverage will be effective on the first day of the second month following the date on which the enrolment form is received by their designated pension office (up to and including May 31, 2006, this office will be Sun Life). |
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Example 1 |
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An employee retires effective April 5, 2006, with an entitlement to an immediate annuity and applies for PDSP membership on May 3, 2006.
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The pension office receives the pensioner's fully completed and signed PDSP enrolment form on May 20, 2006.
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- The coverage will begin effective April 5, 2006.
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Example 2 |
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- An employee's pension entitlement begins on April 5, 2006.
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The pension office receives the pensioner's fully completed and signed PDSP enrolment form on July 12, 2006.
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The coverage will begin September 1, 2006.
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4.2 |
Changes to Voluntary Withdrawal |
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Compensation advisors must also advise retiring employees who enroll in the plan on or after April 1, 2006, that they cannot voluntarily terminate their membership under the plan until they have been members for three (3) complete calendar years. Similarly, members who apply to include eligible family members in the plan on or after April 1, 2006, cannot voluntarily terminate PDSP membership until the eligible family members have been covered for three (3) complete calendar years or become ineligible. |
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Retiring employees who enroll in the plan before April 1, 2006, cannot voluntarily terminate their membership under the plan until they have been members for two (2) complete calendar years. Members who apply to include eligible family members in the plan before April 1, 2006, cannot voluntarily terminate PDSP membership until the eligible family members have been covered for two (2) complete calendar years or become ineligible. |
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In most cases, members who voluntarily cancel their PDSP membership cannot rejoin the plan later. |
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4.3 |
New PDSP Enrolment Forms |
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As part of the new PDSP enrolment process, new forms have been created. These new PDSP enrolment forms must be used in all cases where an employee's pension entitlement will commence on or after April 1, 2006. Compensation advisors are to provide eligible employees, retiring on or after April 1, 2006, but before June 1, 2006, with the new PDSP interim form PWGSC-TPSGC 439-1E (English version) or PWGSC-TPSGC 439-1F (French version). Eligible retiring employees who are receiving dental care through the Department of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Dental Services Program, and who wish to provide dental coverage for eligible family members, are to be given the new PDSP interim form PWGSC-TPSGC 437-1E (English version) or PWGSC-TPSGC 437-1F (French version). |
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Eligible employees retiring on or after June 1, 2006, are to be provided with the new PDSP form PWGSC-TPSGC 439-E (English version) ( PDF 290k ) or PWGSC-TPSGC 439-F (French version) ( PDF 297k ). Eligible retiring employees who are receiving dental care through the Department of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Dental Services Program, and who wish to provide dental coverage for eligible family members, are to be given the new PDSP form PWGSC-TPSGC 437-E (English version) ( PDF 384k ) or PWGSC-TPSGC 437-F (French version) ( PDF 308k ). |
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Effective April 1, 2006, the following PDSP forms will no longer be valid: TBS/SCT 330-299A, Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - Enrolment Form; TBS 330-312, Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - Form for newly eligible family member(s); TBS/SCT 330-313, Pensioners Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - PDSP Coverage Activation Form; and TBS/SCT 330-315, Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - Enrolment Form (Pensioners entitled to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Dental Services Program). |
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Compensation advisors can find the appropriate PDSP forms for partial electronic completion, downloading and printing from the Compensation Sector Web site at the following address:
http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/compensation/
forms/forms-e.html. |
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Compensation advisors are to advise retiring employees or eligible survivors of employees who have died in service that the new PDSP forms are to be used for initial enrolment in the PDSP, for any amendments to the PDSP coverage and for termination of membership in the PDSP. |
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Compensation advisors must also advise retiring employees that if they choose to enroll in the PDSP, or subsequently amend or terminate their coverage after retirement, they can obtain an enrolment form by contacting their pension office directly. The telephone number and address of the various pension offices have been included in the enrolment booklet. |
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4.4 |
Changes to the PDSP Enrolment Procedure for the Period from April 1, 2006, up to and including May 31, 2006 |
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Compensation advisors must electronically complete Part A of the PDSP enrolment form, including an employee's personal information, pension number and the pension entitlement date before providing the form to the retiring employee. Compensation advisors are to advise the employee to complete Part B of the form and to mail it directly to Sun Life at the address indicated on the form. Instructions for the completion of PDSP enrolment forms can be found in chapter 6 of the Insurance Administration Manual (IAM) and Part B of the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - Enrolment Information and Plan Summary Booklet (April 1, 2006). |
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The same procedure applies for employees applying for PDSP membership under the VAC Dental Services Program. Compensation advisors are to advise retiring employees, who are uncertain as to their eligibility to the VAC Dental Services Program, to complete a VAC application form. Their eligibility will be confirmed or denied at a later date. |
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Compensation advisors are to follow the same enrolment procedure for eligible survivors of employees who die in service, if they wish to apply for membership under the PDSP. |
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4.5 |
Changes to the PDSP Enrolment Procedure for the Period On and After June 1, 2006 |
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Compensation advisors must electronically complete Part A of the PDSP enrolment form, including an employee's personal information, pension number and the pension entitlement date before providing the form to the retiring employee. Compensation advisors are to advise the employee to complete Part B of the form and to return the form to them. The compensation advisors are responsible for forwarding the form to the appropriate pension office along with the other retirement documents. The address of the various pension offices have been included in the enrolment booklet. |
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Instructions for the completion of the PDSP enrolment forms can be found in chapter 6 of the IAM and Part B of the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) - Enrolment Information and Plan Summary Booklet (April 1, 2006). |
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The same procedure applies for employees applying for PDSP membership under the VAC Dental Services Program. Compensation advisors are to advise retiring employees, who are uncertain as to their eligibility to the VAC Dental Services Program, to complete a VAC application form. Their eligibility will be confirmed or denied at a later date. |
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Compensation advisors are to follow the same enrolment procedure for eligible survivors of employees who die in service, if they wish to apply for membership under the PDSP. |
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4.6 |
Changes to the PDSP Contribution Rates |
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The decrease in PDSP contribution rates will be effective April 1, 2006, and will be reflected on March 2006 pension cheques. The following tables set out both the current and the new plan member contribution rates that will apply. |
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| PDSP CONTRIBUTION RATES |
| CATEGORY |
COVERAGE |
MONTHLY RATE |
| Current rates January 1, 2001 |
New rates as of April 1, 2006 |
| Category I |
Pensioner only |
$16.00 |
$12.50 |
| Category II |
Pensioner and one eligible family member |
$31.96 |
$25.50 |
| Category III |
Pensioner and more than one eligible family member |
$47.96 |
$36.20 |
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PDSP CONTRIBUTION RATES
for members covered under the VAC Dental Services Program |
| CATEGORY |
COVERAGE |
MONTHLY RATE |
| Current rates July 1, 2002 |
New rates as of April 1, 2006 |
| Category II |
Pensioner and one eligible family member |
$16.00 |
$12.50 |
| Category III |
Pensioner and more than one eligible family member |
$31.96 |
$25.50 |
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The cost of the PDSP is shared on a 60% - 40% basis between the Government of Canada and the members, respectively. Monthly PDSP contributions are deducted from a member's pension entitlement one month in advance to provide coverage for the following month. |
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Compensation advisors are to advise employees retiring on or after April 1, 2006, that no contributions will be required for the month in which PDSP coverage begins or is reinstated, unless coverage begins on the first day of that month. |
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Example 1 |
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An employee retires effective May 12, 2006, with an entitlement to an immediate annuity and applies for PDSP membership on May 26, 2006.
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The coverage will begin effective May 12, 2006, and the PDSP contribution deducted on the May pension cheque will provide coverage for June.
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Example 2 |
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- An employee retires effective May 1, 2006, with an entitlement to an immediate annuity and applies for PDSP membership on May 26, 2006.
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- The coverage will begin effective May 1, 2006, and two PDSP contributions will be deducted from the May pension cheque to provide coverage for May and June.
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Compensation advisors should advise retiring employees that provincial sales tax is applicable on PDSP premiums for members residing in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The sales tax will be deducted directly from their pension payment. For Ontario residents, the rate of provincial sales tax is 8% and for Quebec residents, the rate of provincial sales tax is 9%. As well, the value of the PDSP costs paid by the Government of Canada on behalf of Quebec residents (with the exception of survivors) is considered a taxable benefit in Quebec and is subject to Quebec provincial income tax. |
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Compensation advisors are to advise retiring employees who have requested the VAC contribution rates that, if they are not eligible for the VAC Dental Services Program, the regular PDSP contribution rates will apply. |
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4.7 |
General Information |
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Compensation advisors are to inform new employees who are PDSP members (i.e. re-employed pensioners) of their options with respect to termination or continuation of PDSP coverage to allow coordination of benefits with the employee dental plan. |
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The IAM will be updated to incorporate the relevant information contained in this compensation directive and to provide specific instructions on completion of the new forms.
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5 |
INQUIRIES |
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5.1 |
Any inquiries on the information contained in this document should be addressed to your Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) Compensation Services Office.
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