OPB News. New e-services for Members. Buyback Calculator and Pension Estimator now available. Have you registered for e-services?

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1 OPB News Your Pension. Our Promise. January 2010 New e-services for Members Buyback Calculator and Pension Estimator now available They re here! OPB is pleased to announce new e-services for Members: the Buyback Calculator, and the Pension Estimator Now, you can create personal estimates to buy back pension credit, or forecast what your Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) pension may be at retirement. At OPB, we re really excited about these new e-services. Why? Because the Buyback Calculator and the Pension Estimator let you create customized estimates using your employment information. And you can create these estimates in the comfort of your home at a time that fits into your schedule. Have you registered for e-services? The Buyback Calculator and Pension Estimator use your employment information to create customized estimates for you, so you will need to log into OPB s secure e-services to access them. If you ve already registered and received your User ID you can log in and use these new tools right away. If you haven t already registered Go to our website at and: 1. Click Login on the top-right corner of your screen. 2. Click the link to register, and complete your information on the Client registration page. (You will need your OPB Client Number you can find this number on your Annual Pension Statement.) To keep your information private and secure, your registration information is split into two steps: 1. You will receive an advising you that you have successfully registered. The 2. User ID for your online account will be mailed via Canada Post to your mailing address on record with OPB, so you will want to ensure that your address on file with us is up to date. Inside... Buyback Calculator and Pension Estimator now available 1 Create estimates in the comfort of your home Have you registered for e-services? 1 Register now if you haven t already registered Introducing... your Buyback Calculator. 2 Create personal estimates to buy back pension credit Introducing... your Pension Estimator 4 Create personal estimates to forecast your PSPP pension Pension Plan 6 OPB News - January 2010 p.1

2 Introducing... your Buyback Calculator The benefits of additional pension credit Buying back pension credit offers valuable benefits. It may help you: earn a larger Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) pension, qualify to retire earlier than age 65 with an unreduced pension, and qualify for insured medical, dental and life insurance benefits during retirement. 1. Select your buyback period The first step for you is to enter the period of service you want to buy back. For information on buying back pension credit, and how to determine what periods of service are eligible for purchase, please refer to the following OPB publications available on our website: Understanding your pension credit booklet Pension Plan fact sheet Now you are ready to select a period of service for which to buy back pension credit. OPB s Buyback Calculator lets you create estimates to buy back pension credit using customized calculations based on your employment information. That means that you can see the added benefits to your pension of buying back pension credit. Using the Buyback Calculator is as easy as We ve designed the Buyback Calculator with you in mind, so we hope you find it easy to use. If you need instructions on how to use the Buyback Calculator, a link to the online guide Using the Buyback Calculator is available on the main Buyback Calculator page. Of course, you can always call us if you need more information. There are three major steps to creating an estimate to buyback pension credit: 1. Select your Buyback period 2. Review the Buyback estimate 3. Work with your Saved estimates You are not obligated to buy back the service for which you create an estimate, so you can create a buyback estimate anytime without any commitment to buy. Fig. 1: Buyback Calculator - Buyback period When should you apply to buy back pension credit? It s best to apply as soon as you can. That s because for most eligible periods, the cost of buying pension credit increases over time sometimes significantly. We encourage all members who are interested in buying back an eligible period of past employment, to apply to buy back this pension credit as early as possible. p.2 OPB News - January 2010

3 Creating personal estimates to buy back pension credit 2. Review your buyback estimate Your buyback estimate shows how your pension is impacted by displaying pension estimates with purchase of the buyback period and without purchase. About your buyback estimate and quotes Because an estimate creates no obligation for you to make a purchase you choose when to make a purchase, and you can: 1. Create a buyback estimate at your convenience 2. Apply to buy back pension credit 3. Elect to purchase pension credit 1. Your estimate Your online buyback estimate is a customized calculation based on your employment information on the date of calculation. These figures are rough estimates of the actuarial cost to buy back pension credit for non-ops employment, or prior OPS service outside the 24-month costing window. If you want to purchase prior OPS service and you are inside your 24-month costing window, please contact OPB to get your buyback quote. Fig. 2: Buyback Calculator - Buyback estimate 3. Work with your buyback estimate Once you have a buyback estimate you can choose to save, print, or look at your estimate at another time. Your saved buyback estimate shows the impact to your pension and the added benefits to your pension if you buy back the period of service for which you created the estimate. IMPORTANT The figures generated online are estimates only and may not reflect the actual benefits to which you will be entitled at retirement; therefore, these figures are not binding on the Ontario Pension Board they are intended to provide you with an idea of the cost to purchase service and the additional pension this may provide. 2. Your application To apply to buy back pension credit, please send us a completed Application to purchase Pension Credit (1043) form, available on our website at or call us at or toll free at Remember to include supporting documents with your application. 3. Your quote After OPB receives your completed application, we ll send you a personalized Election to purchase pension credit (1017) form; this contains your cost quote to purchase pension credit and the payment options available to you. Remember to send your completed Election to purchase pension credit (1017) form and payment to OPB within 92 days from the Mailing date on the form or the quote will lapse. For more information For more information about buying back pension credit, please read the following publications on our website: Understanding your pension credit (booklet) Pension Plan (fact sheet) OPB News - January 2010 p.3

4 Introducing... your Pension Estimator Create pension estimates at your leisure Now you can forecast your PSPP pension in the comfort of your home at a time that fits into your schedule. And you can even run estimates for several different retirement dates and compare them. The Pension Estimator even shows you a graph and table that compares estimates. This may help you choose which retirement date will work the best for you. 1. Select your retirement date The first step for you is to select your Retirement date or Retirement option. Because your estimates are based on your employment information, you only see information and the options that apply to you. By selecting this information, you can see on which day you qualify for retirement and forecast the pension you may receive. Using the Pension Estimator is as easy as We ve designed the Pension Estimator with you in mind, so we hope you find it easy to use. If you need instructions on how to use the Pension Estimator, a link to the online guide Using the Pension Estimator is available on the main Pension Estimator page. Of course, you can always call us if you need more information. There are three major steps to create a PSPP pension estimate: 1. Select your Retirement date 2. Review your Pension estimate 3. Work with your Saved estimates (you can Compare your saved estimates) Fig. 3: Pension Estimator - Retirement date p.4 OPB News - January 2010

5 Creating personal estimates to forecast your PSPP pension 2. Review your pension estimate Your estimate is calculated using the retirement option or date you selected; it assumes a 2.5% increase to the Year s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) and Income Tax Act (ITA) limits, and includes the salary projection you selected. Pension estimates are shown in annual figures. 3. Work with your saved estimates You can save up to ten pension estimates, and you can compare up to three pension estimates at one time. If you already have ten estimates saved and want to save another one, you will need to delete one of your saved estimates before saving the new estimate. Comparing your saved estimates You can compare two or three pension estimates at one time. The image below shows a sample comparison of three estimates. Fig. 4: Pension Estimator - Pension estimate IMPORTANT The figures generated online are estimates only and may not reflect the actual benefits to which you will be entitled at retirement; therefore, these figures are not binding on the Ontario Pension Board they are intended to give you an idea of the pension you may receive. Fig. 5: Pension Estimator - Compare pension estimate If you are retiring within the next 24 months If you are considering retiring within the next 24 months we recommend that you contact Client Services at or (toll free in Canada and the U.S.A.) to receive a formal pension estimate. OPB News - January 2010 p.5

6 About pension estimates Pension estimates calculated at different times may show different information: December 31 - Every year on December 31, OPB takes a snapshot of your forecasted pension estimate to create your Annual Pension Statement. It does not factor in projections in your annual salary. Your Annual Pension Statement is automatically mailed to you each year, and you can view your statement online. Online (you choose the time) - The online estimate is a customized calculation based on your employment information on the date of calculation using information on record with OPB. It includes annual salary projections in your estimate. Within 24 months of your retirement - OPB calculates your formal pension estimate using your current annual salary and shows age reduction percentages if you choose an Immediate Reduced Pension. Because this is generated close to your actual Retirement date, the formal pension estimate more closely represents the pension you will receive at retirement. For more information For more information about your PSPP pension, please read the following publications available on our website: CPP Integration and your PSPP Pension Planning today for tomorrow Changes to buyback provisions in the Public Service Pension Plan The terms of the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) were recently amended, resulting in some changes to provisions for buying back pension credit in the PSPP. These changes allow eligible members to buy back: pension credit after their 24-month window closes; however, it will be calculated using actuarial costing costs over $500 can be paid through a payroll deduction payment plan over a maximum of 10 years or up to your retirement date, whichever is earlier pension credit for periods of legal strikes, lock-outs, and temporary layoffs due to legal strikes and lockouts; and shortfalls not purchased when pension credit was transferred into the PSPP through a transfer agreement. For more information about these changes, please read: Pension Plan (fact sheet available on our website) Buying back credit (web pages) Have a question? We ll help you find the answer Have a question about your pension plan? We ve got the answer. All you have to do is contact us. Here are a few easy ways to reach us. Phone us at or (toll free) Customer service representatives are available to provide assistance from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST). us at clientservice@opb.ca messages are not considered secure. Please do not include any confidential information (i.e., bank account number, social insurance number). Visit our website at Our site includes a wide range of information, including a plan description, financial information, forms, and our new online calculators. Write to us at Ontario Pension Board 200 King St. W., Suite 2200 Toronto ON M5H 3X6 Send us a fax at If you , fax or write us, please be sure to include your full name, OPB Client Number, address and a phone number where we can reach you. Documents related to our accessible client services are available upon request. Please contact us to discuss receiving information in this newsletter in an alternative format. p.6 OPB News - January 2010