Information for retired members and deferred pensions.
As part of our fiduciary duty, TTC Pension Plan (TTCPP) provides all retired members with a summary of their retirement benefit every two years. By law, this statement must be sent to members by June 30th. Your statement will provide you with important information related to your pension entitlement as of December 31st of the previous year.
Need help understanding the information contained in your biennial statement? Let’s take a closer look.
1. Your Personal Information
At the top right on page 1, you will find your basic personal information, including your:
- Name
- Address
- Pension number
- Date of birth
- Date of hire
- Date of pension entry (the date you entered the plan)*
- Pension start date.
* Note that the date of hire and date of pension entry are not the same. This is due to employees having to complete six months of continuous service before they become a member.
When you receive your statement, take a moment to review this information and let us know if there are any errors or if you have any questions.
2. Annual Gross Pension Payable
In this section, you will see your annual pension amount.
- This pension entitlement amount reflects any accrued cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) up to the end of the previous year and will continue to accrue any future approved cost-of-living increases.
- As a reminder, there is no guarantee of a COLA each year.
To learn more about the COLA, see our COLA article.
3. Benefit Eligibility
In the Benefit Eligibility section, you will see your:
- Commencement Date—This is the date you started receiving pension payments.
- Bridge Benefit—If you are receiving a bridge benefit, you will see the date that this bridge benefit ends. The bridge benefit is payable to you each month until age 65 or death, whichever occurs first, and is subject to cost-of-living increases. This benefit is only payable to you, the retired member, and would not become payable to any beneficiary.
To learn more about benefit eligibility or the bridge benefit, see Plan Features.
4. Post-Retirement Death Benefits
On page 2 of your statement, you will see the benefits you elected to receive upon retirement.
Before you started your pension, you would have selected one of two forms of pension: survivor option or a life-only option. (Once your pension has started, the option you have chosen cannot be changed.)
Survivor option
- A survivor option will provide your surviving spouse with a monthly lifetime pension upon your death. How much your spouse receives is based on the percentage of survivorship you selected (60%, 66 2/3%, 80% or 100%).
- If you elected the survivorship option, your survivor benefit payment is payable only to the spouse you were married to at retirement. If your spouse passes away before you, the survivor option becomes void and nothing further is payable. In the event you remarry after retirement, the survivor pension benefit cannot be transferred to the new spouse.
Life-only guaranteed 5-, 10- or 15-year option
- At retirement, if you did not have an eligible spouse as defined by TTCPP Bylaws and the Pension Benefit Act, a guarantee period option is available in the form of a 5, 10- or 15-year life-only option.
- This option means that if your death were to occur before 60, 120 or 180 monthly payments have been made, your beneficiary will receive any remaining balance of your base pension, either in a monthly form or a lump-sum payment, depending on the option that was selected. If your death were to occur after the guaranteed 60, 120 or 180 monthly payments have been made to you, there will be nothing further payable to your beneficiary.
- If you selected a guarantee period, your beneficiary designation is transferable. If you want to change your beneficiary during the guarantee period, even after you have retired, you may do so.
To learn more about survivor benefits, see Taking Care of Loved Ones.
Need more help?
We’re always here for you. For help to understand your statement or to update your personal information, contact us.