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.
Connex is your newsletter that provides information about your pension, benefits, and payroll. If you were previously receiving an email about Connex and didn’t see it in your inbox, check your spam folder! If it’s still not there and you would like to receive Connex, please sign up for the latest news and updates by filling out the form below.
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!
Are you looking to augment the Active member health and dental plan? Here are a few things to consider:
The United Church plan, the United Church rates
Other plans
Can I opt-out of the United Church Health & Dental Plan?
A letter from the General Secretary, Michael Blair, was sent to all retirees on November 22, 2021 that outlined recent discussions and decisions about benefits for retirees of the United Church. You can review the General Secretary's letter here.
If you are a retired member of the United Church and did not receive this communication by email or Canada Post, please contact UCCBenefitsNews@united-church.ca to provide your current information so we can update our records.
The plan summary for the Health and Dental Benefits for Active Members, effective January 1, 2022, is now posted on the Group Benefits page, under Life, Health and Dental, Disability Benefits. Please note, this plan summary is subject to a final review by external consultants. If you have any questions, please email benefits@united-church.ca. The General Council Office will reopen on January 4, 2022.
As we try and uphold our commitment to you by providing more information about the Benefits Plan changes, please visit the Group Benefits page, under Life, Health & Dental, Disability Benefits. The formal benefit plan text document is in development and will be published when finalized, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, what you need to know is in the following:
Further to the announcement of changes to the group benefits plans, a letter has been sent to all plan members with more detail. It can be found in the Document Library, under Benefits Administration.
A Comparison Chart of the changes and an FAQ are also available on the same page with more information.
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact Benefits@united-church.ca. Due to current workloads, the Benefits Team will only be accepting questions by email at this time.