Calculation & Deduction of Pension Contributions
- Member Contributions
- Employer Contributions
- Calculation Details
- Suspended Contributions
- Leave Contributions
Member Regular Contributions
Members are required to contribute 3% of their gross pensionable pay. You are required to deduct member contributions from each pay and remit them to OPTrust within specified timelines.
Pensionable pay is the regular salary paid to an OPTrust Select member based on their actual hours of work in a given pay period. This amount is used to determine the contributions that a member makes to the Plan and does not include one-off payments, such as bonuses, overtime or pay in lieu of benefits.
The chart below summarizes the most common inclusions and exclusions from pensionable pay.
| Included in Pensionable Pay | Excluded from Pensionable Pay |
|---|---|
| Regularly paid salary (earnings on regular rate of pay up to full-time hours) | Overtime |
| Retroactive salary adjustments (may be a paid as a lump sum) | Bonuses or one-off payments |
| Holiday pay taken as paid leave (e.g. vacation and statutory holidays) | Pay-in-lieu of benefits (e.g. holiday or vacation pay for time not taken) |
| Shift premiums that are paid on a regular basis | On-call or standby pay |
| Other periodic payments regularly paid as a permanent component of pay (e.g. remote location pay) | Reimbursement for expenses (e.g. meals, travel) |
| Pay in lieu of termination notice (paid as salary continuance or as a lump sum) | |
| Severance paid as salary continuance | Severance paid as a lump sum |
Employer Regular Contributions
You are required to match the 3% of members’ pensionable pay.
Employer Special Contributions
For the first two years of participation in OPTrust Select, you are required to pay an additional 0.2% of members’ pensionable pay.
A major change in the organization (e.g. a merger or reorganization) could have an impact on your participation in OPTrust Select, including a requirement to remit an additional 0.2% for new members for another two-year period. Please advise your Pension Partner as soon as possible of any planned organizational changes.
Calculation Details
Member and employer regular contributions are 3% of the pensionable pay earned in the pay period. If an employee works less than full time in a pay period, apply your standard pro-ration or reduction method to the employee’s earnings. The same pro-ration will apply to the pension contributions.
Your Pension Partner is available to help you with this reporting.
Suspended Contributions
If an OPTrust Select member becomes a member of the primary schedule of benefits of the Plan, all contributions to OPTrust Select must be suspended (i.e. member and employer contributions must cease to be paid into OPTrust Select) until the individual’s employment under the primary schedule of benefits has been terminated. At that time, member and employer contributions will resume without retroactive payments for the period of suspension. OPTrust will inform you when contributions should be suspended and/or resumed.
Leave Contributions
When a member is absent from work on an approved leave of absence, the member and employer pension contributions may be mandatory or optional, depending on the type and length of the leave (see Leaves of Absence section below).
If a member contributes during an unpaid leave period, they pay OPTrust directly. Following receipt of the member contributions, OPTrust will invoice you for your portion, if applicable.
Contributions for leave periods are calculated at the same rate as regular contributions (3% each or 3.2% for employers if the leave occurs during the first two years of plan participation) and are based on the member’s pensionable pay immediately prior to the leave.
If the leave period extends into a subsequent calendar year, the pensionable pay, on which the contributions are based, is increased by the maximum cost of living adjustment (COLA) applicable to OPTrust Select pensions in pay for that calendar year. This is true whether or not the member would have received a pay increase and whether or not the COLA is actually applied. Your Pension Partner will inform you of the COLA each year.
Employer Manual
The employer manual provides information on the administrative requirements for an OPTrust Select employer and is organized around four main roles: deduct and pay contributions, remit pension data, initiate transactions, and communicate.
