Plan Features
TTCPP is a defined benefit pension plan. This means that when you retire, you will receive a pension calculated through a formula based on your best four years of pensionable earnings. You can count on receiving this pension for your entire life, which means you never have to worry about outliving your pension.
Who can join?
If you’re a full-time employee who has completed six months of continuous service, you automatically become a member of TTCPP. You begin to accrue credited service as soon as your employer deducts pension contributions from your pay.
If you’re a part-time or temporary employee, membership in TTCPP is optional. You can choose to join after you’ve completed six months of continuous service. To enrol, complete the Plan Enrolment for a Part-time or Temporary Employee form and send it to membercare@ttcpp.ca.
How do contributions work?
As a Plan member, you contribute a percentage of your earnings each pay period to the Plan, and these contributions are matched by your employer—essentially doubling your contribution. The amount you contribute is based on a percentage of your earnings and are tax deductible. You pay no income tax on the matching portion that your employer contributes.
When you become a member of TTCPP, as soon as you start contributing to the Plan, your entitlements are vested, which means you have now earned a right to receive a pension benefit.
What does it cost?
Your contribution is based on the year’s maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE) formula:
of your earnings up to the YMPE
of your earnings up to the YMPE
How much pension will you receive?
The basic formula for calculating your pension uses your years of service and your best four years of pensionable earnings in the Plan. The more time you spend as a contributing member of the Plan, the higher your pension will be.
The formula consists of two parts: the base-period calculation and the non–base-period calculation. Although it’s important to note that you do receive credit for the entire period of time you have been contributing, the base-period portion of your calculation has the largest impact on how much pension you will receive.
How to calculate your annual pension
Part 1: Base period
Includes your best four years of pensionable earnings and credited pension service up to December 31st of the
Board-approved base year. Your best four years do not have to be consecutive.
Average earnings up to YMPE†
1.6%
Average earnings up to YMPE†
2%
Credited service up to base year
†Average best four years
Part 2: Non–base period
Includes your pensionable earnings every year after the base period. Your pensionable earnings are the gross earnings
on which you have made TTCPP contributions.
Sum of earnings up to YMPE
1.6%
Sum of earnings above YMPE†
2%
Base Period
Non–base period
Annual pension
Starting your pension before age 65?
If your pension starts prior to age 65, you will also automatically receive the bridge benefit, which is a benefit payable to you each month until age 65 or death, whichever occurs first. Learn more about this key feature of the Plan below.
Pension calculation example*
Rohit is a member who completed 30 years of service. His average best four years of earnings up to the base period when he retires is $79,125, and his average Canada Pension Plan (CPP) earnings in the same four years is $56,825.
His annual basic pension would be $40,151.60, plus he would receive an annual bridge benefit to age 65 of $6,776.53. That means the combination of his basic pension plus his bridge benefit would be $46,928.13 annually until age 65. After age 65, he would receive the annual basic pension of $40,151.60.
*This example and calculation are for illustrative purposes only.
Your pension calculation
If you’re an active member, your pension is detailed in your Annual Entitlement Statement, which is issued every year by the end of the year. You can also learn more about your projected pension anytime by visiting the Online Pension Estimator.
Small pension rule
If your annual pension at age 60 is calculated to be less than 4% of the year’s maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE) or the commuted value is less than 20% of the YMPE in the year you terminate your membership, the small pension rule would apply to you. This generally occurs for members with short credited service in the Plan.
If applicable, this rule unlocks the commuted value and allows the pension to be transferred out in cash, less withholding tax, or to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), up to the maximum transfer value.
What are the key features of the Plan?
Here are a few of the key features and benefits you enjoy as a TTCPP member.
We’re always looking to enhance the benefits for members whenever it’s feasible. Each year, TTCPP—through its Board of Directors—assesses whether we can make improvements, based on careful consideration of the affordability and long-term health of the Plan. Any benefit updates approved by the TTCPP Board also require TTC Board and TTCPP membership approval before the improvements come into effect. See the latest approved Plan updates.
We know every dollar counts and the price of everything only seems to go up. TTCPP helps offset the negative impact of inflation by providing conditional inflation protection increases – these are called cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) . These are periodic enhancements to your pension that help protect your purchasing power in retirement. In that sense, they act like a pay raise. When deemed feasible for the Plan, the Board may grant a COLA to our retired members’ monthly pension, usually retroactive to January 1st of the year it’s approved. We’re proud to say that the Board has provided inflation protection every year since 2011. For information on how COLA is calculated, see our COLA article.
Eager to start your next chapter? If you are at least age 50 with less than 29 years of service, you have the option to take an early retirement with a reduced pension. To learn more about your early retirement options or how your reduced pension amount is calculated, visit the Planning for Retirement section.
The bridge benefit is a supplementary benefit automatically paid by TTC Pension Plan to members who start collecting their pension prior to age 65. This payment is intended to supplement or “bridge” your income between your retirement date and the time you are eligible to collect Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits at age 65. Once you start collecting your TTCPP pension, if you elect to start collecting your CPP benefit as early as age 60, you will still receive the Bridge Benefit until age 65.
If your pension starts prior to age 65, you will automatically receive the bridge benefit. 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 your beneficiary. There is no requirement to pay back the bridge benefit to TTCPP as there is with the level income benefit. There is no cost associated or a requirement to pay any amount back for the bridge benefit.
Bridge benefit pension formula (payable to age 65)
Formula 1
Bridge benefit for service to the end of the base period:
0.40%
Average or your best four years of
earnings up to the average YMPE in
the same four years
Credited service
up to base year
=
End of base-period
results
Bridge benefit for service after the base-period:
0.40%
Sum of the earnings up to the YMPE
=
After base-period results
Total bridge benefit:
End of base-period results
After base-period results
=
Total Formula 1
Formula 2
Minimum bridge benefit using the minimum bridge factor of $143.20:
$143.20
Total years of credited service
=
Minimum bridge factor results
The formula that yields a higher result will be used for your bridge benefit, which is payable to you until you reach age 65.
We know it’s important to take care of the people you love. You can protect your spouse or beneficiary with a monthly pension after you pass away. The death benefit paid to them will depend on whether you choose the survivorship or life-only guarantee option at retirement.
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, nothing further is payable. In the event you remarry after retirement, there is no entitlement to a survivor pension for the new spouse.
If you are single and elected the life-only guarantee option, then the residual balance of any guarantee option can be paid to your beneficiary as either a monthly pension or can be converted into a lump-sum value. However, if the guarantee period has ended, then nothing further is payable.
If you’re retiring before age 65, you can take advantage of the level income option, which is an optional benefit that supplements your retirement pension until you reach age 65.
The level income benefit is paid by TTCPP directly. Once you reach age 65, your base pension will be reduced. Both the level income and the reduction are eligible for cost-of-living increases. Note that you must elect this option before your pension starts. You can elect the level income option on your future Old Age Security (OAS) pension, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) pension, or both.
At age 65, your TTCPP pension will be reduced by the maximum government rates for OAS and CPP that were in effect when you retired, plus any indexing approved by TTCPP. This will be deducted from your pension each month until the date of your death. Remember, this reduction is for your lifetime. Upon your death, the level income portion of your pension will stop and will not affect the life-only guarantee or survivorship option payable to your spouse or beneficiary.
If you take the level income option, you can still apply for early CPP directly from the government.
There may be times during your career when you will stop working for a period and, as a result, stop making contributions to the Plan. This may be because you are going back to school, or perhaps you left your employment and were subsequently rehired. These gaps in employment can impact your credited service and pensionable earnings. While some leaves of absence are protected—such as pregnancy, parental leave, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) leaves and long-term disability—if your time away from work is not protected, you have the option to purchase your previous pension service to increase the value of your pension.
Read the full Plan text
The TTCPP Bylaws is the governing document that sets out the terms of the Plan. Download the full text of the Bylaws below.