Pension consultation and survey 2015

The BC Teachers’ Federation invites your participation in the Pension consultation and survey 2015

Dear colleagues:

I hope your start to the school year has been good.

Starting this week, we will be travelling across the province to talk about and get your input on possible changes to our Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Our Teachers’ Pension Plan can trace its origins back to the 1940s, when it was completely under government control. In 2001, the plan moved to a joint trust agreement between the BCTF and the government, giving both partners an equal say in the management of our pension. We currently have an opportunity to modernize our pension plan to reflect some of the changes in our world and our members, who are living and working longer than ever before. Overall, we are looking to enhance and strengthen the pension plan for our collective benefit.

Any plan changes are for “future service” only, meaning any member-earned pension benefit is unaffected up toJanuary 1, 2018. If you retire before that date, these changes would not affect your pension. In fact, the proposed changes may benefit you, as they strengthen cost of living protection. If you remain working and active in the pension plan after this date, prior earned pension benefits are untouched and there may be improvements to your lifetime pension.

As part of the BCTF Pension Consultations being held across the province, the BCTF is also conducting a survey about proposed changes. The purpose of the survey is to gather feedback regarding the options being considered.

It’s very important that you access relevant information before completing the survey.

To fully understand the options, it would be best that you attend a Pension Consultation meeting in your local area. If attending a consultation meeting is not possible, please review the Pension Consultation presentation and supporting documents on the BCTF web site before you begin the survey. This information will familiarize you with why changes to the Teacher Pension Plan are being considered, and what the proposed options are.

The information about the options and the Pension Consultation schedule can be found at http://www.bctf.ca/PensionConsultations2015/ .

The survey can be completed very quickly, and we hope that you can find the time to share your preferences for possible changes to the Teachers’ Pension Plan. Your input is critical to help shape the future of our plan.

To complete the survey click on the link here: http://survey.bctf.ca/PensionConsultation2015/pensionconsultationsurvey2015.htm

The results from the consultation and survey will be studied by the BCTF Executive Committee, which will make recommendations to the 2016 BCTF Annual General Meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns about the pension consultation or survey, please contact the Income Security Division of the BCTF at TPPdesign@bctf.ca .

Thank you in advance for your time and input. It is appreciated.

Jim Iker
President