U of T working to develop University Pension Plan Ontario

The University of Toronto, University of Guelph and Queen’s University, together with their faculty associations, unions and other staff groups, are working together to develop a new pension plan that would cover employees at all three universities.

The new plan – to be called the University Pension Plan Ontario – will begin with the three universities, but the goal is that once it is up and running, it will become a sector-wide plan that other universities can join.

The plan follows the model of other well-known, jointly sponsored pension plans that include multiple employers, such as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). 

“This is an opportunity for us to make sure we maintain and protect the retirement benefits we know are so important for our employees,” said Angela Hildyard, special adviser to U of T’s president and provost, who has represented the university in pension plan discussions.

“This is a chance to reshape and sustain the retirement income system in the Ontario university sector.”

Monthly pension benefits for retirees will not change, and there will be no change to pension benefits earned before the plan is established. The new plan will be a defined benefit (DB) plan, as is the case with U of T’s existing plan, which provides secure and predictable retirement income based on salary and years of service.

More information on the proposed plan is available here and on the University Pension Plan website.