Purchasing Periods of Part-Time Service for Child or Family Care Reasons
Members who worked in job-sharing arrangements or on a part-time basis in the past to care for their child or another family member may be eligible to purchase pension credit for such periods to establish the equivalent of full-time pensionable service. Please note that to apply, a member will need to complete the Child or Family Care Pension Purchase Application form. The deadline for active SFPP members to apply to purchase eligible periods from prior to January 1, 2022 on a contributions cost basis is December 31, 2022. The following are some common questions and answers relating to this matter.
In late 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General) that federal government pension plan members could buy back full-time pension credit for periods of employment where they temporarily reduced their working hours to care for their children. With that ruling, SFPP Corporation has taken proactive steps to ensure that SFPP follows suit with this decision and that our approach benefits impacted members.
There are several benefits to increasing pensionable service, but the two biggest benefits are:
- Increasing the amount of pensionable service means a member can retire earlier; and,
- Adding in service will increase the value of a member’s retirement benefit.
Plus, this is a unique window of time where active SFPP members with eligible periods from prior to January 1, 2022 will have access to a contribution-based purchase, so it is even more valuable (see question #4 to learn about this type of purchase).
In simple terms, the member will pay the outstanding balance of SFPP contributions that they would have paid during the applicable period of employment, had they been employed on a full-time basis. The employer will also pay their share of the SFPP contributions. In addition, there will be no interest applied historically to the member’s share of the contributions.
If a member is eligible but does not apply or make an election within the specified deadlines to purchase the service on a contributions cost basis, they may be eligible to purchase it at a later date, but the cost would be determined on an actuarial reserve basis. In general, 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 on the period of service they are purchasing.
A member’s hours of work are considered to have been temporarily reduced if they returned to work/anticipate returning to work on a full-time basis following their employment in a job-sharing arrangement or on a part-time basis.
SFPP Corporation is working on a method to allow purchases of service for eligible retired members and for members who left their deferred pension with SFPP. At this time, only active members with a period of eligible employment in a job-sharing arrangement or on a part-time basis from prior to January 1, 2022 are eligible to apply. A future solution to address retired and deferred vested members will be shared soon.
A member will need to confirm that they meet the stated eligibility conditions and provide the start and end dates associated with any eligible period(s) where they were employed in a job-sharing arrangement or on a part-time basis. A member will also need to indicate if the temporary reduction in hours was linked to child or family care. If it is linked to child care, the member will need to provide the date of birth or adoption of their child to allow for an assessment of whether the period qualifies as a period of parenting under the Income Tax Act. If the dates provided align with the information on a member’s SFPP file, they will be sent a Buyback Proposal within 30 days.
In the event the dates provided by the member do not align with the dates on file, SFPP Corporation will follow up with each applicable individual member to outline the remedy actions needing to be taken.
A member will be sent a Buyback Proposal within 30 days of submitting their completed form and they will have 180 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. Please note that if the total cost is more than $500, the first payment must be made by the stated deadline. If the total cost is $500 or less, all payments must be made by this deadline.
Once completed, please return your application to SFPP by one of the following methods:
By mail to or in person at: |
By secure message:
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For any queries related to any eligible period(s) of employment, a member should contact their employer’s pay and benefits department.
For any questions about completing the Child or Family Care Pension Purchase Application form, please contact the SFPP Member Services Centre at 1-877-809-7377 (SFPP).
All other inquiries on this matter can be directed to Ms. Tennille Willis, Chief Financial Officer with SFPP Corporation at tennille.willis@sfpp.ca. Please provide a contact phone number in your email if further discussion is needed. Upon receipt of your email, we will ensure a response within two business days.
Example 1: A member enrolls with SFPP on January 1, 2015, and is employed on a full-time basis. The member moves into a part-time capacity at a 50% full-time equivalency (FTE) on January 1, 2017 in order to allow for them to take care of their young child. The member then returns to a full-time position on January 1, 2021. Subject to prescribed limits, this member would be eligible to purchase the balance of eligible service for the period from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020 (i.e., 1.5 years of eligible service), as the 36-month prior employment requirement was not met until January 1, 2018.
Example 2: A member was in a full-time position and changed to a part-time role on January 1, 2017. Their hours were temporarily reduced to a 50% FTE to allow for them to care for their elderly parent. The member then returned to a full-time position on January 1, 2020. Subject to prescribed limits, this member would be eligible to purchase additional service during the period of part-time employment.
Work Arrangement | Start Date | End Date | Existing Pensionable Service Earned | Percentage |
Full-Time | January 1, 2012 | December 31, 2016 | 5 years | 100% FTE |
Part-Time | January 1, 2017 | December 31, 2019 | 1.5 years out of 3.0 eligible years | 50% FTE |
Full-Time | January 1, 2020 | Current | Ongoing full service | 100% FTE |
Based on the above example, this member would be eligible to purchase the balance of eligible service for the period from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019 (i.e., 1.5 years of eligible service).