Today we are pleased to announce an improvement to the value of your pension that is a result of strong advocacy on your behalf by your union, in close collaboration with the Component 1 Executive.
 
The full decision was announced today by the Public Service Pension Plan, and we recommend reading it to fully understand the additional benefit. It can be found here. 
 
We wanted to summarize the highlights for you: 

• The increase in your pension is funded by surplus investment returns in the plan, not out of a higher contribution rate.
• You will receive a cheque for the value of overpayments to the pension between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2022.
• Effective April 1, 2022, your below Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) pension accrual will increase from 1.35% to 1.6%
• All of your early retirement benefits, including the Rule of 80 and bridge, will remain in place.
• Your below-YMPE bridge accrual will be 2.25%
• The plan has established a reserve to help stabilize contribution rates in the future. 

This decision comes from years of advocacy by your union to improve the value of your pension. As a correctional officer, you are designated as a public safety occupation (PSO) under the Federal Income Tax Act. This provides you with earlier retirement provisions than regular pension members. When your union fought and won changes to the plan that made it more equitable for members, we made sure to grandparent early retirement provisions for correctional officers because of your status as PSOs.
 
Today's announcement means that effective April 1, 2022, surplus in the plan will be used to increase the value of your pension on a go-forward basis.
 
In solidarity,
 
Paul Finch, BCGEU Treasurer
Dean Purdy, Component 1 Vice President Corrections & Sheriff Services 

UWU/MoveUP