Purchasing Periods of Part-Time Service for Child or Family Care Reasons

If you were temporarily employed part-time to care for your child or another family member on or after January 1, 2025, you may be able to buy back the missing service. You do not need to apply to purchase service for eligible periods that occurred on or after January 1, 2025 Your employer will submit the details to SFPP annually on your behalf, and you will receive a Buyback Proposal in the mail. Please ensure your mailing address is up to date by logging in to your secure online account to verify and update your contact information, as needed.

How do I know if I am eligible to purchase eligible periods of service?

The following conditions must be met for your child and family care to qualify as pensionable service:

• You were employed part-time where your hours were temporarily reduced for you to care for your child or family member, and you must have returned, or intended to return, to your full-time position once the period of child or family care was complete.
• You were an active SFPP participant during the period being purchased.
• You received less than an equivalent full-time pensionable service credit in SFPP during the period being purchased.
• You were employed with your SFPP employer for at least three months before the part-time or job-sharing period occurred.

What does “temporarily reduced” hours mean?

Hours of work are considered to have been temporarily reduced if you worked in a job-sharing arrangement or part-time to care for your child or another family member, and your reduction in hours was temporary. In all cases there must be an expectation that you would return, or intended to return, to full-time work once the period of child or family care was complete.

What is a contribution-based purchase of service?

In simple terms, the cost for purchasing this service is the outstanding balance of SFPP contributions you would have paid during the applicable period of employment, had you been employed full-time.

You pay your share of the contributions, and the employer will pay its share of the contributions for the first year of service purchased. This first-year cost sharing is cumulative, meaning that it takes into account any prior buybacks the employer has already cost-shared, up to a maximum of 1.0000 (one full year) of pensionable service. Beyond that limit, you are responsible for both the employee and employer contributions.

To make a contribution-based purchase of service, you need to complete the buyback within the applicable deadlines

Is there a limit on how much service I can buy back on a contributions cost basis?

Yes.

If you temporarily reduced your hours to care for your child or family member, the difference between the reduced schedule and a full-time schedule is considered a leave of absence. The amount of leave of absence service eligible to purchase under SFPP is a maximum of five years, with an additional three years for periods of parenting, including any prior leave buybacks.

A period of parenting can occur within the 18-months immediately following the date of birth or adoption of your child.

If you have periods of eligible service that exceed the five-year and three-year limits, you may still be eligible to purchase that service on an actuarial reserve-cost basis. However, an actuarial reserve-based cost may be higher because it is calculated based on the amount of money required today to pay for your benefit associated with the period of service you are purchasing, and the employer does not contribute to this cost.

What if I return to work full-time mid-year?

No matter when you return to work full-time, your employer will report the period during which your hours were temporarily reduced to care for your child or family member to SFPP. This reporting occurs annually, in the year after you returned to full-time employment.

Once SFPP receives this information from your employer, you will be sent a package called a Buyback Proposal for any periods of eligible service. This proposal will be issued in the year after you resume full-time work.

If you prefer not to wait until the next calendar year to receive a Buyback Proposal, you may complete a Service Record (Contributions-based Cost Application) (SF_136) form with your employer. Submitting this form allows you to apply to buy back the service sooner.

What if I stop participating in SFPP while my hours are reduced?

If you stop participating in SFPP (meaning you leave your SFPP-participating employer) while your hours are reduced to care for your child or family member, you must apply to purchase that period within 30 days of the date you stop participating in SFPP.

To apply, you may complete a Service Record (Contributions-based Cost Application) (SF_136) form with your employer. Once the form is submitted, you will be sent a package called a Buyback Proposal  for any period of eligible service.

After you receive your Buyback Proposal, you will have 90 days to complete your purchase. The deadlines for making your decision and payments will be clearly stated in the Buyback Proposal. If you miss this deadline, you will no longer be eligible to buy back service.  

How do I pay for my purchase of eligible service?

Your Buyback Proposal will outline the available payment options, which may include:

• Pre-authorized debit lump sum payment or first installment payment through your secure online account;
• Regular payroll deductions arranged with your employer (according to the number of installments you choose);
• Payment via cheque to your employer for either the total buyback amount or a portion of it; or
• A lump-sum transfer of funds from your registered retirement savings vehicle, such as a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Locked-in Retirement Account (LIRA).

If you purchase a portion of the eligible service, your pensionable service will be prorated based on the payments that you have made.

How long do I have to decide? 

You will have 90 days from the date of the Buyback Proposal to make your decision and start making payments. The election and payment deadlines will be clearly stated in the Buyback Proposal.

If you do not make your decision or payments within the specified deadlines to purchase the service on a contributions-based cost, you may be eligible to purchase it in the future on an actuarial reserve-cost basis.

Please note, an actuarial reserve-based cost may be higher because the cost is calculated by determining the amount of money required today to pay for your future pension associated with the period of service you are purchasing. In addition, employers are not required to pay any portion of a buyback that was calculated on an actuarial reserve-cost basis.

To purchase eligible periods of service on an actuarial reserve-based cost, you can complete the Service Record (Actuarial Reserve-Based Cost Application) with your SFPP employer.

Examples of eligible periods of service

Example 1: A member enrolls with SFPP on January 1, 2023, and is employed full-time. The member moves into a part-time capacity at a 50% full-time equivalency (FTE) on January 1, 2026, to take care of their young child. The member then returns to a full-time position on January 1, 2029. This member has not reached their allowable leave limit, so they would be eligible to purchase the balance of eligible service for the period from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028 (1.500 years of eligible service).

Example 2: A member was in a full-time position and temporarily reduced to a 50% FTE on October 1, 2026, to care for their elderly parent. The member then returned to a full-time position on April 1, 2027. This member has not reached their allowable leave limit, so they would be eligible to purchase the balance of eligible service for the period from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027 (0.2500 years of eligible service).

Need help?

For any questions related to any eligible period of employment, please contact your employer.

For any other questions, please contact the SFPP Member Services Centre at 1-877-809-7377 (SFPP).

You can also sign in to your secure online account to review your details and send Secure Messages.

The deadline for active members to purchase eligible periods of service before January 1, 2025, has passed.

What if I missed the deadlines?

You may still be eligible to purchase on an actuarial reserve-cost basis.

Can I stop making instalment payments?

Yes. Your pensionable service will be prorated.

What if I stop participating in SFPP?

You have 90 days from termination to complete payment.

The purchase window has closed. You are no longer eligible.

What if I missed the deadlines?

Deferred members and pensioners can no longer purchase this service.

Still have questions?

Contact your former employer or the SFPP Member Services Centre.