2007 Annual General Meeting

Transcription

1 2007 Annual General Meeting The 2007 Annual General Meeting of the Bell Pensioners'Group (BPG), Montreal chapter, will be held: Wednesday June 6 th, 2007 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm at: Le Centre 7400, 7400 St. Laurent Boul., Montreal. (Metro: de Castelnau) You are invited for 12:00 to have dessert and coffee or juice with your colleagues before the meeting. The meeting proper will commence at 1:00 pm. Meeting Agenda Opening Remarks and Review of the Agenda Louis Lapierre Comments from BPG s National President Pam Went Presentation of the Montreal Chapter s Chairman Yvan Dutrisac Financial Results and Auditors Report Denis Labrecque Changes to Income Tax for Pensioners in 2007 Michelle Dion (Revenu Québec) Bell s Pension Plan Robert Marchessault (Bell) Update on Pension Committee s Activities Raymond Bertrand Report on PIC Activities Richard Vanslette Question Period 2007 Annual General Meeting 1 Bell s COLA vs QPP s 2 New Owners for BCE 3 BPG Board of Directors 4-5 Bell to Eliminate Benefits 6 Did You Know That... 6 BPG Proposes Major Changes to Defined Benefit Pension Plans 7-8 Your paid-up 2007 membership card will give you access to the meeting. An access for people with reduced mobility is located on the left side of the main entrance. The annual meeting of our members from the Eastern Townships will take place on June 13 th, at 1:30 PM at the «local des amis de la téléphonie», 2420 King West, in Sherbrooke. The meeting of our Outaouais region members will be held on Thursday, September 27 th. 1

2 BELL CANADA PENSION PLAN 2007 COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT Why is the adjustment of Bell pensions different from government (CPP/QPP) pensions? For two reasons: 1. Bell pensions are adjusted according to increases in the consumer price index (CPI), up to a maximum (2% in the last ten years). There is no maximum adjustment for government (CPP/QPP) pensions. 2. The indexation of Bell and CPP/QPP pensions is based on two different calculation methods. The details of these calculations were provided in the March issue of InTouch (page 4) and are also available on the Web site of BPG s Montreal Chapter. What is the impact of this difference on the amounts granted to Bell Canada pensioners? To illustrate this difference, we have calculated the impact of the two approaches for the last ten years ( ), using the example of a $ pension. C o m p a r iso n B e ll v e r su s Q u e b e c P e n sio n P la n (Q P P ) E x a m p le - P e n s io n o f $ 2 0,0 0 0 in B e ll Q u e b e c P e n s io n P la n (Q P P ) C o s t o f L iv in g C o s t o f L iv in g Y e a r A d ju s tm e n t A m o u n t A d ju s tm e n t A m o u n t % $ % $ $ $ ,0 0 % $ ,9 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,9 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,6 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,5 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,6 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,2 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,7 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,3 0 % $ ,0 0 % $ ,1 0 % $ T o ta l ( ) $ $ Conclusions : During the period , the average annual increase in the Bell pension was 1.80% while that of the QPP was 2.08%. The Bell pension adjustment was greater than the QPP on four occasions, while that of the QPP was greater six times out of ten. Over these ten years, the impact of the differences between the two plans represented less than 1% of the total amounts paid to pensioners. 2

3 New Owners for BCE? On April 17 BCE, the owner of Bell Canada, announced it was reviewing its strategic alternatives with a view to further enhancing shareholder value. As part of that strategic review, the company also announced it has entered into discussions with a group of leading Canadian pension funds to explore the possibility of taking the publ i c l y - t r a d e d company private. This group will be led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), who have signed a non-disclosure and standstill agreement with BCE on a non-exclusive basis. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR), a leading global private equity firm, has also signed the agreement and will join the Canadian-led consortium as a minority partner. What does this mean for Bell pensioners? What do we know? We do not know yet what impact, if any, a change in the strategic direction of BCE will have on Bell pensioners. Bell Canada and not BCE is the sponsor of our pension plan. The Bell Canada Board of Directors is responsible for all aspects of the pension plan and fund in accordance with the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act (PBSA) and Pension Benefits Standards Regulations (PBSR). The funds of the Bell Canada pension plan are held in trust at arm s length from the owner/ shareholder (BCE) and from Bell Canada. The assets of the pension plan are not on the balance sheets of either company. Bell has a legal obligation to fund the pension plan as required by the PBSA and PBSR on both a going-concern valuation and a solvency valuation basis. There is no legislation that governs postretirement benefits (life insurance, medical, dental, vision, employee discount, etc.) which do not form part of the pension plan, as is the case for us. Given the current activity surrounding the strategic direction of BCE, all of the resources of the Bell Pensioners Group will be directed at protecting the interests of its members. We will keep members informed on any potential impacts on the Bell Canada Pension Plan and on post-retirement benefits as this activity proceeds. Should BCE become privately owned, as opposed to being publicly traded, full financial data on BCE and Bell Canada would likely no longer be widely available. Regardless, the Bell Pensioners Group will continue to monitor the financial health of the Bell pension plan as a prime ongoing objective. We will also continue to actively advocate for needed changes in laws and regulations to improve the security of our pensions. This newsletter is published by the Montreal Chapter of the Bell Pensioners Group (BPG). Please send your comments or suggestions to André Bergeron at: andrembergeron@sympatico.ca 3

4 BPG BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2007/2008 Following a nomination period that ended on January , BPG s Nomination Committee, composed of Linda Terrill (past president), Pam Went (president) and Gerald Lacroix (director at large) has reviewed all submissions received and prepared a slate of nominated candidates for election at the Chapter meetings. The by-laws ensure that the Board has provincial representation based on our membership levels. Based on the membership as of Dec 31, % of the Board should come from Ontario (8 Board members) and 41% from Quebec (6 Board members). Listed below are the candidates proposed for the 2007/2008 Board in 3 categories; elected Board representatives who are prepared to continue for another term; Board representatives who have been appointed by the Board since the last election and who are prepared to continue on, and new Board nominees. ELECTED BOARD REPRESENTATIVES ONTARIO Carol Ann Cole Dave Fair (Ottawa Chair) Jim McColl (Toronto Chair) Pat Bossence (London Chair) QUEBEC Yvan Dutrisac (Montreal Chair) Martial McGraw (Quebec Chair) APPOINTED BOARD REPRESENTATIVES ONTARIO Ron Hunt Pam Went QUEBEC Raymond Bertrand Richard Vanslette NEW BOARD CANDIDATES ONTARIO Linda Gervais Gwen Guillet Brief CV s have been included for all Board representatives that have not previously been elected by the members (appointed and new Board reps). BPG members will be asked to show their support for these dedicated volunteers by a show of hands at the upcoming Annual Meetings. André Bergeron - André retired from Bell in 2002 with 27 years service. During his career, he held a variety of management positions in Marketing and Finance in Quebec and in several corporate groups. He also worked for Bell Canada International in Saudi Arabia. As a member of the Communications QUEBEC André Bergeron Daniel McDonald Committee since 2004, he has played a key role in improving BPG s communications with its membership. He is in charge of communications for BPG s Montreal Chapter and is the editor of the Chapter s quarterly newsletter. Since October 2006, he is the Interim Chairman of the Communications Committee. Raymond Bertrand - Raymond retired in 1992 after 32 years of service. He worked in Ottawa, Toronto (BNR) and Montreal. For most of his career he occupied management positions in Network research and Operations. Raymond became active in 4

5 BPG in 2004 as President of the Montreal Chapter. In July 2006 he became Vice-President of the Board of Directors of BPG and Chairman of the Pension Committee in January He is a dedicated member of BPG and has earned the respect of his peers. He is open-minded and has a global view on things. His people skills have enabled him to establish good working relationships with our interveners in Bell and Government. Linda Gervais - Linda retired from Bell in 2004 with 35 years service in the fields of marketing communications, advertising, promotion and media relations. Linda retired as VP Government Relations leading Bell s federal government relations department. Bell never lost a cabinet appeal by Bell s competitors during Linda s tenure. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Governor General s Performing Arts Awards Foundation for 5 years and served a number of years on the board of Media Awareness Network. She has also been assisting BPG in the last year on our lobbying with the government on pension issues. Linda s communications expertise and people skills will be an asset to the board of BPG. Gwen Guillet - Gwen retired from Bell in 1995 after 31 years service specializing in financial management positions in Montreal and Bell Ontario. Gwen was involved in forecasting, analyzing and explaining deviations to the Executive team at Bell. She helped the company navigate through the budget as a result of downsizing and major reorganizations. Post retirement Gwen has been the President & Treasurer of the Simcoe Condo Corp and the Secretary/Treasurer of the Huronia District Golf association of Ontario. Her list of volunteer assignments is lengthy and indicative of the energy and dedication she puts into anything she takes on. Ron Hunt - Ron retired in 2002 with over 26 years of service at Bell and Stentor. His career in those organizations included facilities management, product management, network operations, quality management, interoperability testing and product development. Since retiring, Ron attained his Project Management Professional certification. He is now self-employed as a management consultant and continues to live and work in the Ottawa area. He currently serves on the Boards of Hike Ontario and the Rideau Trail Association. Ron joined BPG in January 2006 in the role of Secretary. The BPG Board values his excellent organizational skills and appreciates his help in facilitating the updating of the BPG Vision. Daniel McDonald - Daniel retired from Bell in 2004 after 30 years of service. His experience varied from Network Operations, Maintenance, Traffic, Planning and IS/IT Director. He was also a member of the Service Assurance business transformation design team from 94 to 97. He received the President s award in Since Daniel retired he was hired as a consultant by Bell Nordiq to lead a change management team. His background and skills in business and problem solving would be an asset to BPG. Richard Vanslette - Richard retired from Bell in 2005 after 34 years of service. During his career he held numerous management positions in billing (CRB) and Financial management. Since 1995 Richard has worked as Vice-President Finance for different Bell business units i.e. Bell Quebec, Local Services, Network and his last assignment at Bell was Vice-President Finance Enterprises. He joined BPG in the fall of 2005 and has been a Director at large and a member of the Pension committee. He recently was elected by Bell retirees as the prime substitute on the Pension Information Committee (PIC). Richard s financial expertise and his role on PIC make him a very valuable addition to the BPG board. Pam Went - Pam retired from Bell in 2003 after 31 years of service during which time she held management positions in several departments in both Ontario and Quebec, including Operator Services, Network Services, Customer Services and Marketing. At the time of her retirement she was a Senior VP and Officer of the company. During her employment Pam served on several not for profit boards including Junior Achievement of Toronto and Kids Help Phone. She was also a member of the Board of Governors of Dawson College in Montreal. Pam joined the BPG Board of Directors in late 2004 when she was appointed Corporate Secretary. She is currently President of BPG. 5

6 Changes do not affect existing pensioners Bell to eliminate post-retirement benefits by 2017 Bell has announced it will gradually phase in changes to company-paid post-retirement benefits - - medical, dental, vision and insurance coverage -- over the next 10 years. In a letter to employees on March 27 th, Michael Sabia described the move to eventually eliminate these benefits as a measure to stay competitive on every front against companies like Videotron, Rogers and Telus, who offer employees limited or no post-retirement benefits. Benefits will be phased out as follows (certain eligibility criteria apply) :!"!!#$ %& " '(!)"! *+ DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN GET BELL DISCOUNT RATES FOR HOTELS AND CAR RENTALS For information go to and click on BPG and then on Bell rates/hotels and car rentals. The following information is for those who do not have Internet access: Hotels Most hotels extend the Bell rates to employees and retirees for their personal use. Ask if they offer the Bell corporate rate when you make your reservations. Car rentals For car rentals call Budget rent a car (Bell's primary supplier) at and quote corporate discount number BCD #A Some restrictions could apply. THE PERSONAL - GROUP HOME AND CAR INSURANCE As you know Bell Canada employees and retirees can participate in the Personal s Group home and car insurance Plan. Pensioners who have chosen the Personal as their insurer, and who had a car policy in effect as of December 31, 2005, were eligible for a $50 reimbursement plus a $25 reimbursement for those who also held a home insurance policy. In October 2006, the Personal decided to let insured pensioners benefit from a surplus by forwarding cheques to those who qualified. HOWEVER, you must be identified as a Bell Canada pensioner in your file. If you meet the criteria, and have not received your reimbursement, don t hesitate to contact the Personal at:

7 BPG Proposes Major Changes to Improve Defined Benefit Pension Plans In May 2005, Finance Canada issued a consultation paper and requested pension plan stakeholders to submit comments and concerns on major issues that are adversely affecting defined benefit pension plans. In its response, BPG submitted its views on the issues and problems from the perspective of retirees and emphasized its concerns in regards to the long term financial security of our pensions. BPG also took the initiative to suggest how key issues and problems could be resolved. Since that time, as a result of this consultation, Finance Canada has introduced only one change in pension regulations. Last fall, the government implemented temporary regulations to allow employers the option of having more time to eliminate a solvency deficiency in their pension plans. In a meeting requested earlier this year, BPG was advised by Finance Canada that the responses to their consultation paper are still under active review. We were not provided with any more information on what further changes might be forthcoming or when. The meeting with Finance Canada took place on February 28, 2007 and representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions were also present. BPG provided the agenda which included a discussion on our formal paper issued on January 31, This paper proposes the following significant fundamental changes to improve the defined benefit pension plan model for the benefit of pensioners. 1) Defined benefit pension plans should never be allowed to operate with a solvency deficiency. Current regulations not only allow a pension plan to be in a deficit but allow employers 5 years (or an option of taking 10 years under current temporary legislation) to eliminate a deficiency. 2) A reserve fund should be established for each plan. The purpose of the reserve fund is to ensure that: a) There is minimum contingency funding for adverse deviations, above and beyond the funding required for full and continuous solvency. b) There is sufficient funding set aside to make current payments into the pension plan as required in order to keep it fully funded from a solvency point of view. The amount to be kept in reserve is to be sufficient to allow the sponsor to continue to fund the pension plan during times of business recessions or in periods of low interest rates or low returns on investments. c) The pension plan actuaries would determine the reserve level requirements for each plan taking into account the financial status of the sponsor s business and other financial and economic categories. The current funding limits imposed by the Income Tax Act would be eliminated. 3) Changes in government regulations are required to ensure employers provide pensioners with more information on a more current basis. BPG is proposing that this would best be met by requiring pension plan administrators to: a) Provide all pensioners with online secured access through the internet to: the full text 7

8 of the plan; posting of significant amendments to the plan; and copies of all the financial, actuarial and other reports to be posted in the same timeframes as when being submitted to the regulator; and b) Allow pensioners without internet capabilities to request paper copies of this same information. Subsequent to the meeting with Finance Canada and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, BPG prepared and distributed a new discussion paper. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how the proposed changes to the defined benefit pension plan model would benefit not only pensioners but also employers and the pension plan regulatory environment.! These BPG proposals have been distributed to other retiree groups and other pension plan stakeholders. Due to the above and our other ongoing efforts to present our views to government and to others, BPG is rapidly gaining recognition as a knowledgeable and respected advocacy organization within the various pension plan stakeholder communities. Have you recruited a new member? Some of your colleagues are still not BPG members? Don t hesitate to talk to them about our group. To recruit new members, use the membership application form below. As BPG members, you are our best recruiters! I wish to become a member of the Bell Pensioners'Group (BPG) Inc and I enclose my cheque for $20. Please make the cheque payable to: Bell Pensioners Group. The annual fee covers the period from January 1 to December 31 and will be applied to (Please print) Family and Given Names: Address: City or Town: Province : Postal Code: Telephone : Date of Retirement (Month and Year) : Language Preference: F A I would like to receive my newsletters by : mail I retired from Bell Canada : Bell Mobility : Expertech : Connexim : Bell Internet Management Services (BIMS) : Other (specify): Signature : Please mail this form along with your cheque to: Date(Year/Month/Day): BPG, 20 chemin Dufresne, Austin, QC, J0B 1B0 8