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Inside UNBLife Events
Leaving UNB
If you leave before you have completed two years of plan membership (or five years of service), you will receive a refund of your contributions with interest. You may transfer this money tax-free to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or take it as a taxable cash payment.
If you have completed two years of plan membership (or five years of service), you are entitled to the current value of the pension you have earned to the date you leave.
Payment options
You have these options:
Leave your pension benefits in the plan to provide a pension when you retire (this is called a "deferred pension"). By taking this option, you will receive all cost-of-living increases granted before and after your retirement. You may begin taking your deferred pension at the normal retirement age of 65 or at a reduced level anytime after you reach age 55.
OR
If you don't qualify for an early retirement pension, you can transfer the current value of your pension, tax-free, to one of the following:
o a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or other registered arrangement allowed by law,
an insurance company to buy an annuity that will guarantee a lifetime income anytime from age 55, or
your new employer's registered pension plan if that plan allows transfers.
If the current value of your pension is less than the total of your own contributions with interest, you will receive the difference in cash.
If you take a leave of absence
Your membership in the pension plan continues as before while you are on an approved leave with full or partial pay, such as sabbatical leave. If you are receiving partial pay, you will continue to be treated as a full-time employee for up to five years. After five years, you will be considered a part-time employee.
Maternity and other authorized leaves without pay count as service for the purpose of calculating your pension as long as you buy back the service on your return. When you return from a leave without pay, you can buy service for the period of the leave by paying contributions based on the salary you would normally have made and the contribution rates in effect during that period, plus interest. You may buy service for up to a maximum of two years of unpaid leave.
Buying previous service
If you accepted a deferred pension at the end of your previous period of employment with UNB (your pension benefits are still in the UNB plan), your full period of previous service is recognized automatically.
If you transferred a lump-sum payment from the plan when you left, you have one year to decide whether you wish to buy back your previous service by repaying the lump sum with interest.
For information on other circumstances in which you may be permitted to buy past service, please contact Human Resources.
If you are on a workload reduction
You will continue to be treated as a full-time employee for up to five years. After five years, you will be considered a part-time employee. This means that for the first five years of workload reduction, you continue your pension contributions based on your regular, full-time salary. After that, your contributions are pro-rated based on your actual salary.
If you are on a temporary workload reduction, you may allow your contributions to lapse until you return to full-time work, and then repay them with interest. If you are on a permanent workload reduction, you must continue making your pension contributions as described in the previous paragraph.
If you are contemplating a workload reduction, please discuss the pension implications with Human Resources.
Disability
You are not required to make contributions to the plan while you are disabled and receiving benefits from UNB's long term disability plan. Your service is uninterrupted and you continue to earn pension benefits.
Gaining a spouse
Make sure you're up-to-date on who qualifies as your spouse.
Remember to let Human Resources know if you get married or enter into a common-law relationship.
Birth or adoption
If you have a child, you may want to name your child as the back-up or primary beneficiary of your pension benefits. Keep in mind that your child can only be the primary beneficiary of your pension benefits if you don't have a spouse or your spouse has waived his or her right to a survivor benefit.
There are specific rules around naming a minor as your beneficiary. It is recommended that you seek legal advice before naming your child the beneficiary of your pension benefits.
If you separate or divorce
The value of the pension you earn during the marriage is included by law in your shared family assets. This means that if you divorce before retirement, the value of your pension must be taken into account when dividing the family assets. If you divorce after retirement, your pension may be split according to the settlement and the laws of New Brunswick. Provincial pension law does not allow pension splitting between same-sex spouses.
