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

Eligible periods of service for child or family care reasons that can be established as pensionable service under SFPP must meet all of the following conditions:

• You were employed on a part-time basis where your hours were temporarily reduced for you to care for your child(ren) or family member(s) 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(s) being purchased.
• You received less than an equivalent full-time pensionable service credit in SFPP during the period(s) being purchased.
• You were employed with your SFPP employer for at least 36 months before the part-time or job-sharing period occurred.

Hours of work are considered to have been temporarily reduced if you worked in a job-sharing arrangement or on a part-time basis to care for your child or another family member. This reduction was temporary, with the expectation that you would return, or intended to return, to full-time work once the period of child or family care was complete.

In simple terms, the member will pay the outstanding balance of SFPP contributions they would have paid during the applicable period of employment, had they been employed full-time. The employer will also pay their share of the contributions plus interest.

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

A period of parenting is the 12-month period 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, as applicable, you may still be eligible to purchase that service on an actuarial reserve cost basis. However, an actuarial reserve-based cost will be higher because it is calculated based on the amount of money required today to pay for a member’s benefit associated with the period of service they are purchasing, and the employer does not contribute to this cost.

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

• Regular payroll deductions arranged with your employer (according to the number of installments you choose on your Buyback Election);
• 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.

You will have 90 days from the date of the Buyback Proposal to make an election and payment(s). The election and payment deadlines will be clearly stated in the Buyback Proposal.

If you do not make an election and/or payment(s) 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 will be higher because the cost is calculated by determining the amount of money required today to pay for a member’s future pension associated to the period of service they 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 service on an actuarial reserve-based cost, you can complete the Service Record (Actuarial Reserve-Based Cost Application) with your SFPP employer.