We are pleased to announce that the United Church of Canada (UCC) Pension Plan emerged as a top contender in the 2022 Pension Leadership Awards. The plan's Pension Fund Manager, Derek Hurst, was nominated for the Investment Officer of the Year award.
Although the UCC Pension Plan was a finalist in its category, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Pension Plan ultimately won the award.
This is not the first time the UCC Plan has been recognized for its outstanding achievements. At the 2021 Pension Leadership Awards, the plan was shortlisted for its investment practices under the Sustainable Investing Award category with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.
The Investment Officer of the Year award is presented to an Investment Officer who has demonstrated leadership when it comes to pension investing and made demonstrable improvements to their organization’s investment process. Environmental, social and governance factors are also taken into account.
For more details, visit www.benefitscanada.com/microsite/microsite-cir/pension-leadership-awards-2022/winners-and-finalists/.
This reminder is a follow-up to notices shared late last year and earlier this year with community of faith treasurers and administrators, as well as ministry personnel, about changes to the regional cost of living group assignments. A copy of the letter shared with treasurers and administrators is in the Downloads section at the bottom of the Ministers’ Salary Schedule and Cost of Living Groups webpage.
These changes will be effective for the pay period beginning July 1, 2023, and apply to the balance of the year. You can find the revised cost of living group assignment data in the Downloads section as well.
If your regional COL group assignment has moved up, your ADP administrator will need to update the minister’s salary in TeamPay or inform ADP of the new salary amount for the pay period beginning July 1.
Salaries for ministry personnel serving in locations where the regional COL group assignment has been adjusted down will be maintained as per the terms of the appointment or call. This includes those whose appointments renew. This means that if the pastoral charge is in a lower cost of living group, the current minister’s salary may not be reduced. It will remain subject to the annual economic adjustment to minimum salaries or as defined in the terms of appointment or call.
There is no change to the COL group for 45 percent of communities of faith. Thirty-nine percent of communities of faith have stepped up one group. Sixteen percent have stepped down one group. These changes reflect regional differences in the costs of housing, property and provincial income taxes, utilities, and goods and services.
As a plan member, you can now submit your claims from your phone using the GSC everywhere app. The app gives you 24/7 access to your benefits and includes features such as
For more details, visit the Mobile App page on the GreenShield website.
GSC recently announced its new brand identity and the release of its integrated platform.
GSC will now be called GreenShield. As a member of our benefits plan, there should be no changes to your claims experience. All providers will recognize the new name, and your experience will remain the same.
GreenShield plans to release its integrated platform at the beginning of 2024. Details will be provided as they become available.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with the Benefits Centre at benefits@united-church.ca.
Do you know that as a GSC plan member you can now access reasonably priced and convenient vision care with Kits.ca in conjunction with your vision care benefit through GreenShield?
KITS is a Vancouver-based company. The retailer maintains a large inventory of contact lenses and eyeglasses, with over 700 styles and over 300,000 frames in stock.
They offer many regular promotions that bring down the cost of vision care, including
All you have to do is visit KITS.ca, log in as a GSC member, and select your coverage. Your benefits will be applied automatically when you check out. GSC is billed directly for eligible expenses, making your purchase seamless.
For more information, please visit KITS.ca.
The United Church of Canada provides a Defined Benefit Pension Plan for all employees who work more than 14 hours a week.
Visit CHURCHx for a recording of the 90 minute Pension Information Seminar to learn about how the plan works, what it costs, what it provides, and how to apply for your pension when you're ready. In this program, we will describe:
To view the recording and get all the handouts:
Click here to view a recording of this seminar on YouTube.
The accrual rate is the rate at which you earn your pension. In 2023, you will earn your pension at the rate of 1.85% of your pensionable earnings.
You earn a piece of pension every year that you work and contribute to the plan―like building blocks.
For example, let’s assume that a member’s pensionable earnings stayed constant at $60,000 every year (for easy figuring). From 2019 to 2024, that member would earn:
| Year | Accrual Rate | Formula | Pension Credit Earned |
| 2019 | 1.4% | 1.4% of $60,000 | $ 840 |
| 2020 | 1.85% | 1.85% of $60,000 | $ 1,110 |
| 2021 | 1.625% | 1.625% of $60,000 | $ 975 |
| 2022 | 1.85% | 1.85% of $60,000 | $ 1,110 |
| 2023 | 1.85% | 1.85% of $60,000 | $ 1,110 |
| 2024 | 1.4% | 1.4% of $60,000 | $ 840 |
At the end of your career, the annual pension amounts earned each year (pension credits) will add up to the total annual pension you will receive every year for the rest of your life. So, the higher amount earned in 2023 will continue to benefit you for the rest of your retired life.
There is no automatic indexing or increases in our pension plan. Each year, the Pension Board and Pension Plan Advisory Committee assess the resources available and determine whether there are surplus funds that can be used to increase benefits.
The Benefits Centre team is pleased to announce that we have made 17 lump sum payments and 4,768 regular pension payments following the transition from RBC Investor and Treasury Services to LifeWorks in May. All thanks to LifeWorks' Ariel payroll system that streamlined the payroll run and generated one payroll run instead of two for monthly pensions and lump sums. Check out more details below!
Annual member statements for the 2021 plan year will be issued to active, deferred and retired members of the Pension Plan at the end of June 2022.
Remember that, if you have a spouse, they would automatically receive any pre-retirement death benefit as per pension legislation. However, you should also designate a beneficiary in case your spouse pre-deceases you.
If you need to declare a spouse, or designate a beneficiary, please scan the QR code to fill out the secure form that will be submitted directly to the Benefits Centre. For security purposes, once you enter your name and email address, a verification code will be emailed to you. In order to proceed to the form, you will have to enter that code when prompted. If you have not received your statement and are paid through ADP, please contact them directly to ensure the address on file is correct.
If you have not begun receiving your pension, the statement will contain a box that looks something like this:
| Your Pension | Your Future |
| FOR EVERY YEAR YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE PENSION PLAN YOU INCREASE YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME | $XX,XXX
THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE EARNED ALREADY |
| IN 2021, YOU EARNED
$X,XXX THIS IS ADDED TO THE ANNUAL PENSION YOU’VE ALREADY EARNED |
+ XX,XXX
YOUR PROJECTED ANNUAL PENSION TO AGE 65 |
| + 15,043
MAXIMUM C/QPP BENEFITS |
|
| + 7,784
MAXIMUM OAS BENEFITS |
|
| ___________________________________ | _______________________________________ |
| = $XX,XXX
YOUR TOTAL ANNUAL PENSION EARNED TO DECEMBER 31, 2021 |
= $XX,XXX
YOUR ESTIMATED ANNUAL RETIREMENT INCOME (excluding other employer pensions or personal savings) |
THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE EARNED ALREADY - is calculated based on your pensionable earnings and years of credited service.
YOUR PROJECTED ANNUAL PENSION TO AGE 65 – is an estimate based on the assumption that you continue to work in the same job category until you reach age 65. If you stop working before that, or if your pensionable earnings change, this amount will also change.
MAXIMUM C/QPP BENEFITS – The amount shown as an example on your pension statement is the maximum amount payable under the Canada Pension Plan. Not all Canadians receive the maximum possible payout from the Canada Pension Plan. Please note that the average annual amount of CPP paid to new recipients in 2022 was $8,433.
In order to determine your personal benefit under the Canada Pension Plan, you can request a Personal Access Code (PAC) You can use this code to register for My Service Canada Account, which will provide access to your personal record of contributions and benefits earned under the Canada Pension Plan.
MAXIMUM OAS BENEFITS – Old Age Security is a pension you can receive if you are 65 years of age or older and have lived in Canada for at least 10 years.
When planning for retirement, all of these sources of income, as well as your personal savings and any pension from previous employers should be considered. We recommend that you consult with a financial planner to help with the financial aspects of your retirement planning.
The first letter from the Benefits Centre informing pensioners about the change to the processing of pension payments - from RBC Investor and Treasury Services to LifeWorks.
The second mailing in June was divided into three letters depending on where you are currently residing:
The second communication from the Benefits Centre was mailed the week of June 15, with more information on T4As for the 2022 year, and about the Web portal - which will be available to all in October 2023 but will be optional. Just a reminder, there is nothing for you, as a pensioner, to do on your end.
Three versions of the letter were mailed - depending on your current location - and they are all posted on the Retirement page, under Communications. If you have not received this communication by the end of the month, please e-mail pension@united-church.ca or phone the Benefits Centre at 1-855-647-8222 to ensure they have the correct address on file.
First Mailing - First Letter
Second Mailing -
