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

If you did not apply, 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 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, please complete the Service Record (Actuarial Reserve-Based Cost Application) with your SFPP employer.

Yes. If you would like to stop making payments, your pensionable service will be prorated based on the payment(s) that you have made.

If you terminate from participating in SFPP, you will have 90 days from your date of termination to make payments. If you do not pay in full within those 90 days, your pensionable service will be prorated based on the payment(s) that you have made.

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

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

Adding in pensionable service will increase the value of a member’s retirement benefit. The pensions of SFPP pensioners who purchase periods of eligible service, will be retroactively increased from the pension commencement date.

Please note, this is a unique window of time where eligible SFPP deferred members and SFPP pensioners can purchase pensionable service and have access to a contribution-based costing (see question #4 to learn about this type of costing and question #14 for an example).

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 must have been employed in a job-sharing arrangement or 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 to your full time position. 

  1. You must have been an active SFPP participant during the period(s) being purchased.

  2. You must have received less than an equivalent full-time pensionable service credit in SFPP during the period(s) being purchased.

• You must have been employed with your SFPP employer for at least 36 months (as referenced in the Income Tax Act) before the part-time or job-sharing period occurred.

Please see question #13 for examples of eligible periods of service.

A member’s hours of work are considered to have been temporarily reduced if they worked in a job-sharing arrangement or on a part-time basis to care for their child or another family member and where they returned to work on a full-time basis once the period of child or family care was complete.

In simple terms, the deferred member/pensioner 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, for deferred members/pensioners who are purchasing periods of eligible temporary part-time service for child and/or family care reasons, there will be no interest applied historically to the deferred member’s/pensioner’s share of contributions.

If a deferred member/pensioner reduced their hours temporarily to care for their 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 as defined in the Income Tax Act, inclusive of any prior leave buybacks.

A period of parenting under the Income Tax Act is the 12-month period immediately following the date of birth or adoption of your child.

If a deferred member/pensioner has periods of eligible service that exceed the five-year and three-year limits, as applicable, they may still be eligible to purchase that service on an actuarial reserve cost basis. However, 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 benefit associated to the period of service they are purchasing, and the employer is not responsible for paying any portion.

SFPP will be sending letters and application forms to members identified as being potentially eligible to purchase this service. Once you have had a chance to review the information, if you meet the eligibility criteria, you will need to complete a Child or Family Care Pension Purchase Application form (SF60) with your previous SFPP employer(s). Please complete sections 1 to 4 of the application form and submit it to your former employer to complete their sections and submit the application form to SFPP. Please note that your completed application must be received by SFPP by October 31, 2023.

Once a completed application is received it will be added to a batch. All Buyback Proposals for eligible members will be issued at the same time toward the end of December/early January. Please check back here for any updates on those dates.

Your Buyback Proposal will outline the cost and payment options available to you and provide an estimate of your monthly pension benefit should you purchase the associated pensionable service. You will have 180 days from the date of the Buyback Proposal to submit your election and payment to purchase the service as indicated in the Buyback Proposal.

Please note, if your application, election, and payment(s) are not received within the applicable deadlines, you are no longer eligible to purchase this service.

The Child or Family Care Pension Purchase Application form is also located on the SFPP website here.

Members 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. Members 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 in the employer’s records and on a member’s SFPP file, they will be sent a Buyback Proposal toward the end of December/early January.

In the event the dates provided by the member do not align with the dates on file, the employer will follow up with each member to verify the information.

Once you have completed the member sections of the Child or Family Care Pension Purchase Application form, please submit the application form to your former employer. For

• City of Calgary, via email to the Pension/Benefits general inbox at pbforms@calgary.ca; or

• City of Edmonton, via mail to City of Edmonton Employee Service Centre 20th Floor, Century Place 9803 102A Avenue NW Edmonton, AB T5J 3A3 Attn: Pension (Note: The City of Edmonton’s Talent Management And Support Services branch can also be reached via phone at 780-944-4311).

Your Buyback Proposal will outline the available payment options. The options may include:

• Payment via cheque, money order, or bank draft to SFPP 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 payment(s) that you have made.

If an eligible deferred member or pensioner does not apply or make an election and/or payment within the specified deadlines to purchase the eligible period(s) of service, they will no longer have the opportunity to purchase the eligible period(s) of service.

You will be sent a Buyback Proposal toward the end of December/early January, and you 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.

If you do not make an election and/or payment within the specified deadlines to purchase the eligible service, you will no longer have the opportunity to purchase the eligible service.

For any questions related to any eligible period(s) of employment, please contact your former employer.

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

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 since 2012 and then 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.

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).

The following is an example of a contribution-based buyback cost calculation. Of note, this information is provided purely as an example and is not to be taken as an exact calculation:

Job-Sharing Period: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2014
Work Percentage while Job-Sharing: 50% full-time equivalent
Annualized Pensionable Salary (on a full-time basis): $120,000/year
Pensionable Salary (in a job-sharing capacity): $60,000/year

Pensionable service earned in 2012: 0.5000 years
Pensionable service earned in 2013: 0.5000 years
Pensionable service earned in 2014: 0.5000 years
Total service earned in 2012 – 2014: 1.5000 years

Service eligible for purchase in 2012: 0.5000 years
Service eligible for purchase in 2013: 0.5000 years
Service eligible for purchase in 2014: 0.5000 years
Total service eligible for purchase: 1.5000 years

Member buyback cost: 1.5000 years X $120,000 x 13.45% (SFPP member contribution rate in 2012 - 2014) = $24,210

Employer buyback cost: 1.5000 years X $120,000 x 14.55% (SFPP employer contribution rate in 2012 - 2014) = $26,190

Please stay tuned for information on the eligibility requirements.

A member’s hours of work are considered to have been temporarily reduced if they returned to work or anticipate returning to work on a full-time basis following their employment in a job-sharing arrangement or on a part-time basis.

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, for members who are purchasing periods of eligible temporary part-time service for child and/or family care reasons, there will be no interest applied historically to the member’s share of contributions.

If a member reduced their hours temporarily to care for their 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 as defined in the Income Tax Act, inclusive of any prior leave buybacks.

A period of parenting under the Income Tax Act is the 12-month period immediately following the date of birth or adoption of your child.

If a member has periods of eligible service that exceed the five-year and three-year limits, as applicable, they may still be eligible to purchase that service on an actuarial reserve cost basis.

Please stay tuned for information on the application process.

Your Buyback Proposal will outline the available payment options. The options 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.

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

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

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.

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).

The following is an example of a contribution-based buyback cost calculation. Of note, this information is provided purely as an example and is not to be taken as an exact calculation:

Job-Sharing Period: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2014
Work Percentage while Job-Sharing: 50% full-time equivalent
Annualized Pensionable Salary (on a full-time basis): $120,000/year
Pensionable Salary (in a job-sharing capacity): $60,000/year

Pensionable service earned in 2012: 0.5000 years
Pensionable service earned in 2013: 0.5000 years
Pensionable service earned in 2014: 0.5000 years
Total service earned in 2012 – 2014: 1.5000 years

Service eligible for purchase in 2012: 0.5000 years
Service eligible for purchase in 2013: 0.5000 years
Service eligible for purchase in 2014: 0.5000 years
Total service eligible for purchase: 1.5000 years

Member buyback cost: 1.5000 years X $120,000 x 13.45% (SFPP member contribution rate in 2012 - 2014) = $24,210

Employer buyback cost: 1.5000 years X $120,000 x 14.55% (SFPP employer contribution rate in 2012 - 2014) = $26,190