I Have 2 or More Years of Service
Effective April 1, 2020, with 2 or more years of pensionable SFPP service, you're vested and entitled to a lifetime SFPP pension.
Note that if you left your SFPP employer before April 1, 2020, you must have 5 or more years of pensionable service to be vested and entitled to a lifetime SFPP pension.
Your options when you leave SFPP depend on your age and years of pensionable service. To find out more about the options available, click on the link that applies to you.
Please note: there may be some time-sensitive decisions you will need to make regarding your pensionable service in SFPP, such as purchasing prior service or a leave of absence. More on that here.
Under 25 Years of Service, Under Age 55
If you have 2 or more years of pensionable SFPP service, you're vested, meaning you're eligible to collect a pension once you reach 25 years of pensionable service or turn 55.
If you leave the Plan, SFPP will send you a Termination Statement with your options and you'll have 90 days to respond. If you don't respond, your pension benefit will stay with SFPP and you become a deferred member.
If any of your service was accumulated before 1992, please contact us for details.
Leave Your Pension Benefit With SFPP
You may choose to leave your pension benefit with SFPP, where it will stay until you are ready to begin collecting your pension. You are eligible once you turn 55 or until as late as December 31 of the year you turn 71.
If you leave your pension benefit with SFPP and return to the Plan later, new pensionable service will be added to your existing service.
Transfer Your Pension Benefit to Another Pension Plan
SFPP has transfer agreements in place with the Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Pension Plan. If you start working for an employer who participates in LAPP or start working with RCMP, you may be eligible to transfer your service. After you join LAPP or the RCMP Pension plan, contact us for the next steps.
Transfer Your Pension Benefit to a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA)
The lump sum of your pension is known as a commuted value (CV), a lump-sum value based on the amount of money the Plan would need to put aside today to pay for your future pension at retirement. You can transfer your CV to a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA). Due to limits on the amount of money you can tax shelter, some of your payout may be non-locked and taxable.
You may choose to have any non-locked funds:
- transferred to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) if eligible; or
- paid as a taxable cash lump sum payment.
If any of your service was accumulated before 1992, please contact us for details.
Once you have removed your benefit from SFPP, you're no longer entitled to a lifetime SFPP pension.
Legislation by the Government of Alberta will change assumptions used in the commuted-value calculations, bringing these calculations in line with other calculations used in the Plan. The new commuted-value basis for calculation will take effect on April 1, 2020.
For locked-in transfers to a LIRA, you will need to complete the Request for Transfer from a Registered Pension Plan (SF32) form provided with your Termination Statement.
25 Years or More of Service, Under Age 55 — OR Age 55 and Over
If you have at least 25 years of pensionable service or are 55 or older and vested, the options available to you when you leave the Plan include:
- begin collecting an SFPP pension immediately; or
- defer collecting your pension until as late as December 31 of the year you turn 71.
After leaving the Plan, you will be sent information on how to collect your SFPP pension. There is nothing to prevent you from getting paid for a job while you also receive pension payments. The amount of pension you receive will not change.