Clarification Regarding Municipal Pension Plan Rules

January 13, 2023

Members now earn service at higher rate under new rules; old rules apply to service earned prior to Jan. 1, 2022

BCNU members whose pensions are with the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP) are subject to revised pension plan rules first announced in the fall of 2020. On Jan. 1, 2022, changes to the MPP plan formula came into effect. Most notably, the revised formula has changed the rate at which pensions are accrued (earned) as well as the eligibility of a bridge benefit.

Members who earned service prior to Jan. 1, 2022 and choose to retire will have some service with the old pension rules applied. That portion of service will have earned some bridge benefit for those who choose to retire prior to age 65.

Pensionable and contributory service earned prior to Jan. 1, 2022 will be eligible for:

Rule of 90 (if your current age + years of contributory service = 90, unreduced retirement is available)
A bridge benefit for those who choose to retire before age 65
The old pension formula

A member who became part of the MPP prior to Jan. 1, 2022, will have their basic lifetime pension calculated using two formulas:

Old formula for service accrued up to and including Dec 31, 2021 (when plan contributions varied over time)
New formula for service accrued on or after Jan. 1, 2022 (current member contributions equal 8.61% of salary)

Learn more

For more details and to review the values used in each formula, look up the lesson “How Does the Pension Plan Work?” found in the BCNU online module, Pensions 101.

BCNU offers regular pension workshops for members in order to help them learn the basics of the MPP and PSPP benefits and to have their questions answered by pension plan experts. please visit the BCNU Events Calendar to see when new dates are added for upcoming pension workshops.

For more information, visit the MPP website, the PSPP website, or email Michelle Sordal, BCNU Executive Councillor, Pensions and Seniors Health, at michellesordal@bcnu.org.