The full text of Linda s report can be found at the end of this Bulletin.

Transcription

1 The following is a summary of the proceedings of the Fall Meeting of the Ottawa Chapter of the Bell Pensioners Group which took place on October 26, 2004 at the Nepean Sportsplex in Ottawa, Ontario. 1. Opening Remarks and Ottawa Chapter Update. The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by David Fair, Chairman of the Ottawa Chapter. David extended a special welcome to any pensioners who were attending their first Chapter meeting. David introduced the head table and the members of the Ottawa Executive. Of special note were Jim Murray, PIC Representative and Linda Terrill, President of BPG Inc. David also recognized the contribution of two long standing members of the Ottawa Executive who are stepping down as of this meeting: Dirk Paul (formerly Chapter Secretary) and Bill Barr (Member-at-large). Since the Spring AGM, the Ottawa Chapter has been addressing numerous issues that the Membership has forwarded to us. David stated that he was happy to report that the majority of outstanding issues have been successfully resolved. However, we are still working with Bell Enterprise Services on your behalf on several outstanding items. We will continue to follow up on these cases. The Ottawa Chapter is still seeking a lower cost, alternate location for future general meetings. Members are encouraged to continue suggesting new venues keeping in mind that the meeting facility must meet all of the following criteria: capacity for at least 250 persons, wheelchair accessibility, free parking. 2. BPG President s Report Linda Terrill. The full text of Linda s report can be found at the end of this Bulletin. Linda stressed that Pensioners should retain all of their In Touch magazines. The magazine is published by Bell and is the only formal communications vehicle between Bell and its pensioners concerning changes to the Bell pension, benefits and related Enterprise Services procedures. Bell will not be issuing the annual Pension Statement to pensioners until March 2005 for the reasons mentioned in item #5 of the Pension section of the Linda s report (see the end of this Bulletin). As a result, Bell will try to publish the information on the cost of living adjustment (COLA) in the next issue of the In Touch magazine. Questions and issues from the floor arising from Linda s report: Q1: Medical, dental and drug coverage for surviving spouses: Would the Bell Emergis/Manulife company that manages the current Bell Medical and Dental plans be prepared to offer a "Follow-Me" insurance plan for survivors of pensioners not covered by the Flexible Benefit Plan introduced to employees in 2000? Ans. The current Bell Flexible Benefit plan is funded by BCE/Bell and is only administered by Manulife. Manulife Financial does not offer a "Follow - Me" medical/dental plan. Next meeting: Thursday, May 19,

2 Q2: Pension cheque stub: If Bell stops mailing the monthly pension cheque stub associated with direct deposit of my pension cheque, how will I find out when there have been changes due to COLA adjustments etc.? (see item # 5 in Pension section of Linda s report) Ans: Whenever there is a change in the gross amount of the pay cheque (e.g. increased because of a COLA adjustment) or if there is a tax change affecting the amount of tax deducted at source, then Bell will issue a specific pension cheque stub to you. Q3: Lobbying related to Quebec drug plan premium: How will the BPG lobbying efforts affect the surviving spouse of a deceased pensioner? Ans. This needs to be investigated further. Q4: Employee Discount Plan: Some pensioners still have not obtained the 35% discount on BCE services. When will the billing issues be resolved? Ans. BPG is still pursuing these issues with Bell. Pensioners who are experiencing problems and are not satisfied with the response they are getting from Bell/BCE can forward details of their problem(s) by to the Ottawa Chapter if they would like the BPG to lend its weight to the issue(s). 3. Guest Speaker The Changing Face of Bell. Louise Villeneuve, Vice-President Customer Services Provisioning, Bell Canada Louise acknowledged the contribution of the pensioners in the room, all of whom had had a hand in making Bell Canada such a highly regarded and successful company. She highlighted the changes that had taken place over the last 30 years or so. And she described the dynamic changes that are taking place at Bell at the present time. The full text of the presentation can be found on the Ottawa Chapter website. Ms. Villeneuve s presentation was warmly received and David thanked her for taking the time to travel from Montreal to address the assembly. 4. Pension Update Jim Murray PIC Representative. We are waiting for the company to schedule the Bell PIC meeting which should take place before the 2003 annual report is issued. In the meantime the PIC pension representatives requested and received audited annual reports from BCE and Bell regarding pension fund financials for the year ending 31 December The reports offer a level of comfort that our pension fund continues to be healthy but a final confirmation can only be made once the annual PIC report is reviewed. The BPG pension sub-committee has been active all year with meetings, conference calls and several rounds of s. The committee reviewed the company reports referred to above along with the previous year s PIC report in detail and as a result we have issued two letters to the pension plan administrators with numerous questions and observations. The questions and comments cover a wide spectrum of pension fund administration including: questioning the adequacy of controls and audits regarding ongoing pension fund activities; noting that the 2003 pension fund expenses appear to have exceeded earnings; requesting more information on the new Pooled Funds in the BCE Master Trust Fund; questioning why there are investments being managed outside of the BCE Master Trust Fund; commenting that the reporting is too late; Next meeting: Thursday, May 19,

3 and that the PIC reports should include a statement from the Directors of the company. The BPG pension committee has also identified some significant issues where government action is required in order to better protect the rights of pensioners as well as to better safeguard their pension income. Subject to more study and discussion, the committee may recommend that a government lobbying campaign is required in order to improve the security of federally regulated pension plans. Among the items required are: more complete and prompt disclosure of pension fund financial performance; establish a pension plan ombudsman; enhance the powers of the federal regulator and make the regulator more proactive; legally recognize pensioners as being more than just beneficiaries; establish a federal pension insurance scheme (similar to bank deposit insurance; and legislate better pension fund rights and protection in existing legislation (e.g. Pension Benefits Standards Act, Canada Business Corporations Act and the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act). 5. Financial Report - Harvey Hillier. a. Financial Report Ottawa Chapter. Estimated year end 2004 results: Cash at end of 3 rd Quarter 2004: $3,325 plus Estimated Revenues in 4 th Quarter 6,560 9,885 less Estimated Expenses in 4 th Quarter 7,735 Estimated cash at end of 4 th Quarter: $2,150 Financial Projection for 2005: Cash at beginning of 2005: $2,150 plus balance of 2005 membership dues 9,600 plus 2006 membership dues (in 4 Qtr 05) 6,000 plus Voluntary lunch contributions 1,000 18,755 less Expenses 1 14,800 Estimated cash at end of 2005: $3,950 b. Membership card: We have noticed that not all members want to receive cards. In addition, issuing membership cards takes time and costs the chapter money for postage and mailing, which would be better spent on other activities. Hence the following resolution was put forward: 1 Includes transfer to BPG Corporate of $10/member 3

4 o Motion: Rather than automatically sending Membership cards to all members each year, membership cards will be issued at the member's request. At the time of registration, on an annual basis, members will be able to indicate their preference to receive a membership card or not. o Moved by Doug Hughes seconded by Bob Jolliffe. o Discussion: Q5. Can the BPG membership card be used to get discounts at retail stores. Ans. No, not at this time. Q6. What is the purpose of the card? Ans. Some people want the card as a reminder that they have paid their membership. Q7. How does the BPG keep track of who has paid? Ans. We maintain a membership database that tracks this information. o Motion Carried. c. There are 765 paid up members in the Ottawa Chapter as of the Fall meeting. The chart below shows the trend in the Chapter membership numbers over the last six years. BPG Ottawa Chapter Paid-up Members d. Credit Card Payment option: Ron Hunt (Chapter Secretary) reported that the Ottawa Chapter has completed a preliminary investigation of the costs and benefits of making it possible for BPG members to pay the annual membership dues using a credit card. The benefits to BPG members are that renewal by credit card could potentially save some members time and money (i.e. postage). Members could renew online via a secure website. If implemented, it would cost the BPG about $1 per renewal to process the credit card renewals (online and paper transactions) assuming that at least 20% of the BPG membership (1500 members) renewed this way. At the present time, there are no plans to implement a credit card payment option. The following Motion was tabled in order to determine the general level of interest in this initiative from the people present at the Ottawa Chapter meeting. 4

5 o Motion: That the Ottawa Chapter of the BPG should keep the possibility of credit card payment of membership dues on its agenda for future consideration. o Moved by Ron Hunt and seconded by Ben James. o Motion Carried. 6. New Business Q8: Surviving Spouse payment of benefits: Why can t the surviving spouse pay for benefits through deductions from the survivor s pension cheque? Ans. We think that this is because not all pensioners take the survivor pension option and not all survivors are entitled to benefits. Bell implemented the survivor pension cheque this way for simplicity. Q9: Hearing Aid Claim: Is the first purchase covered by benefits? Ans. Yes we think that this is the case provided that the hearing loss is the result of an accident or a medical condition. Q10: CME Balance: Would it be possible to get the outstanding balance of our lifetime CME allocation from a Bell website? Ans. The annual statement that we have asked Bell for is a step in this direction. At the present time the outstanding balance can be obtained by contacting Manulife Financial. Q11: Transition Benefit (Beneficiary): Could the BPG provide information about this on the BPG website; was some of this information already provided to employees by Bell? Ans. The transition benefit can only go to your spouse or dependent children. For further information, please see the Bell Benefits website ( Pensioner s retired after July 2000 won t be able to view this information since they are not eligible for the transition benefit. Bell will include an article on the transition benefit in the November In Touch magazine. Q12: Group Life (Beneficiary): Can you change the beneficiary for your Group Life? Ans. Yes, anyone can be your beneficiary even an organization or foundation. The forms to change your beneficiary can be found on the Bell benefits website ( which can be accessed via the BPG website. Please note, that in the Province of Quebec, the beneficiaries have to be designated in your will. Q13: Transition Benefit (Amount): If the transition benefit is based upon your pension, is it the current year or is it the level pension amount? Ans. It is the initial level pension before any other optional form of payment is elected (i.e. survivor pension or integrated pension). Suggestion: establish a chat feature on BPG website. (Under consideration.) 7. Closing Remarks David thanked Jim and Linda for their contributions to the meeting. As well, he thanked Louise Villeneuve, Vice-President Customer Services Provisioning, Bell Canada for taking time today to speak to our membership. Members are encouraged to invite/bring at least one new member to the AGM in May The meeting is open to all Bell pensioners and spouses. 8. Next Meeting: Thursday, May 19, 2005 Location: To be announced later. Ron Hunt, Secretary Ottawa Chapter of BPG re.hunt@sympatico.ca (613) Attachment: BPG President s Report 5

6 PRESIDENT S REPORT I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer. I am proud to say that your BPG team has been working hard all summer and I will outline some positive updates for you. As you know we formally meet twice a year with a team from Bell and our most recent meeting was held on October 14. This year we not only had representatives from In Touch, the Call Centre and the Benefit and Pension staff teams but we also had the President of BCE Enterprise Services in attendance. On several topics he made it clear that the changes Bell were working on for pensioners were a direct result of a request from BPG. We find that encouraging as it shows we do still have a voice at Bell and your support of BPG allows us to do that. Thank You. As pensioners our top concern is in the area of PENSION and there is much to report in this area; 1. BPG again this fall sponsored a full day meeting with the new PIC reps and the Pension sub-committee members from BPG. Jim Murray will outline in more detail later in this newsletter what they are up to. 2. Although it does not impact any current retirees Bell outlined for us the introduction of the new Defined Contribution Pension Plan which is effective for all new hires as of October 1, Bell has distributed to their 32,000 active employees a booklet and CD that will allow them to decide whether to go with the new plan or stay with the defined benefit plan that we all currently have. All employees must decide by November 12, 2004 and their decision is irrevocable. One key point to note is the new pension plan does not include post retirement benefits. 3. Bell has made some minor revisions to the defined benefit plan for future retirees. There is now a 10 year pension payment guarantee option. If an employee has selected this option and dies within 10 years of his retirement date his beneficiary would receive the full pension for the balance of that 10 year period. 4. Another change that BPG has been instrumental in getting in place is the return to a level pension for pensioners who obtain a divorce or legal separation. As many of you know BPG hired a legal firm to assist us on this issue and Bell went to the Board in September to have their pension plan changed to allow this to happen. There will be a detailed article in the November In Touch. Basically if the courts waive the survivor option and the spouse signs a waiver form for Bell the pensioner will be returned to a level pension effective the date of the waiver form. We still have a few cases outstanding with Bell where the spouse cannot be located to sign the waiver and Bell legal are currently looking into these isolated cases to see if they can be resolved. 5. Another piece of good news is the improvement you will see next year in the annualized pension statement. As you may know BPG was instrumental in getting this statement reintroduced and over the last 2 years have been discussing with Bell how to improve it to make it a more valuable estate planning tool. Bell has agreed to add to the statement the amount of your lifetime CME allowance you have remaining and the amount of your Group Life Insurance. Unfortunately Bell cannot show the Beneficiary of the life insurance as this changes based on provincial laws and retirement date. There will also be some generic statement regarding the transition benefit to alert you to the fact there may be one. For those that retired prior to 6

7 1988 the benefit is the last year of salary. For those retired between Jan 1, 1988 and July 2000 the benefit is one year pension. For those retired post July 2000 there is no transition benefit. The reason the specific amount will not be shown is that this file is not mechanized. To implement these changes will delay the statement until approximately March BPG has indicated to Bell that in return for these improvements the pensioners would not require the monthly pension stub. It is only needed if the amount would change. Bell will likely stop issuing the stub a few months after the new pension statement but you will be advised in advance. 6. Another piece of good news is for those receiving minimum pension. Again Bell has attributed this change to a request from BPG. There are currently 542 pensioners over the age of 80 on the minimum pension. The Board of Bell has agreed to increase the pensions by $18 for each year of service which equates to an average increase of 12.5%. As well these pensions will be indexed as ours are on a going forward basis. The next critical area of interest is BENEFITS; 1. As many of you know we have been concerned about benefits for surviving spouses and pensioners that use up their lifetime allowance on CME. We had been hopeful that Bell would come up with a package in their work on the new pension plan. The new pension plan includes no post retirement benefits. Bell has worked with outside firms and come up with a medical insurance package that employees can purchase but it does not include any dental or vision coverage. The new package is not suitable for our situation. As many of you know the surviving spouse is cut off of benefits 90 days after the death of a pensioner. Bell has agreed to look at including the Follow Me Plan from Manulife in the death package sent to the spouse. The spouse would need to decide if this plan meets their needs and apply within 60 days of the Bell plan expiring. There will be more to come on this item. 2. The 35% discount on Bell Mobility is something many pensioners are still waiting for. As many of you know Bell Mobility has been changing their billing system and has had many problems. The next step was to include Mobility in the One Bill and then introduce the discount. Bell is hopeful this will happen in the 2 nd quarter There is an issue in Quebec that BPG is pursuing regarding a premium paid for drug coverage for pensioners over 65. BPG has consulted 2 legal firms and met with the BCE President recently. Bell has committed to responding to us by early in the new year in an attempt to avoid legal action. Other issues that have recently been addressed include the receipt of In Touch by surviving spouses. It appears that it is not being received today and Bell agrees it should be. They are currently looking into this. As well effective October 18 Bell introduced their new voice response system at the Call Centre. BPG had some input into the design and is pleased to report that there is now a separate response for people reporting the death of a pensioner. BPG has also been doing some committee work over the last 6 months. The Governance committee has been reviewing our BPG bylaws and hopefully will have them available for your review at our spring 2005 meetings. Our communication committee has been slow to get rolling but hopes to get into high gear in the next few 7

8 months and this will result in improvements to our website. Jim will report below on the activity of the pension committee and we are setting up a Benefits committee with members from Ontario, Quebec and BPG. An area where we need your help is in volunteering. Many of us who serve on the Chapter Executives and/or the Board have been here for several years and we need to bring some younger blood on the team. If you have any interest in joining us please identify yourself to one of your BPG Chapter leaders. We have elections coming up next spring and we need you. Thank you for your support Linda Terrill President BPG Reminder: Membership dues for 2005 are $20.00 and are payable by December 31, Please send your cheque payable to BPG Inc. to: BPG Ottawa Chapter P.O. Box Orleans Blvd. Orleans, Ontario K1C 7H4 Thank you to all members who have already paid their BPG dues! All the best to you and yours in 2005! Next meeting: Thursday, May 19, 2004 Location to be announced later. 8