Enhanced Benefits for Eligible Manitoba Hydro Employees Regulation

Enhanced Benefits for Eligible Manitoba Hydro Employees Regulation, M.R. 140/2011 The Civil Service Superannuation Act , C.C.S.M. c. C120 Regulation 140/2011 Registered August 30, 2011 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definitions 2 Application 3 Administration 4 Contributions 5 Annual financial report 6 Actuarial report 7 Termination benefit 8 Additional pension benefit 9 No cost-of-living adjustment 10 Application for benefit 11 Beneficiary designation 12 Pre-retirement death benefit 13 Disability pension benefit 14 Coming into force Definitions 1 The following definitions apply in this regulation. "Act" means The Civil Service Superannuation Act . (« Loi ») "additional pension benefit" means the additional annual pension benefit provided under section 8. (« prestation additionnelle de pension ») "Manitoba Hydro" means the corporation referred to as Manitoba Hydro in The Manitoba Hydro Act , but does not include any subsidiary of that corporation. (« Hydro-Manitoba ») "participating employee" means an employee or former employee of Manitoba Hydro to whom, according to clause 2(1)⁠(c), this regulation applies. (« employé participant ») Application 2(1) This regulation applies to (a) Manitoba Hydro, but not to any of its subsidiaries; (b) the board, in its capacity as the administrator of this regulation; and (c) subject to subsection (2), every employee or former employee of Manitoba Hydro who (i) is or was accruing core benefits during any period of employment with Manitoba Hydro after the coming into force of this regulation, or (ii) accrued core benefits during a period of employment with Manitoba Hydro after May 31, 2006 and before the day this regulation came into force, and is entitled to a deferred pension in relation to those benefits. 2(2) This regulation applies to a participating employee's period or periods of service with Manitoba Hydro after May 31, 2006, but only to the extent that they are included in determining the employee's core benefits. ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING Administration 3(1) The board is responsible for the administration of this regulation. 3(2) Except as otherwise provided in this regulation, the board must administer this regulation (a) in a manner that complies with the applicable requirements for registered pension plans under the Income Tax Act (Canada); and (b) to the extent it is reasonably practicable to do so, in a manner that is consistent with the way in which the core benefits are administered under the Act. Contributions 4 Manitoba Hydro must make the following employer contributions to fund the enhanced benefits: (a) as soon as practicable after this regulation comes into force, a lump sum equal to the total of (i) the amounts set aside by Manitoba Hydro for the funding of enhanced benefits as contemplated by the agreement in principle, dated October 10, 2006, between Manitoba Hydro and the bargaining agents for its employees, and (ii) the interest earned on those amounts; (b) biweekly contributions not less than 0.5% of the biweekly salary of the participating employees. Annual financial report 5 Within six months after the end of each fiscal year, the board must provide to the advisory group a financial report regarding the operation of the account maintained by it for the funding of the enhanced benefits. The report must include (a) the opening and closing balances of the account for the year; and (b) a summary of the contributions made to the account, the investment income credited to the account and the expenses charged to the account in the year. Actuarial report 6(1) Whenever the board causes an actuarial report to be made on the status of the fund in relation to the core benefits, it must also cause an actuarial report to be made on the status of the funding for the enhanced benefits and provide a copy of the report to the minister responsible for the civil service, the minister responsible for The Manitoba Hydro Act and the advisory group. 6(2) The board may from time to time transfer, from the account used to support the benefits under this regulation to the account used to support the core benefits, an amount required to offset any demonstrable adverse actuarial impact on the cost of core benefits caused by the operation of this regulation (a) as jointly determined by the board's actuary and the advisory group's actuary; or (b) if those actuaries cannot agree, as determined by a third, independent actuary appointed by the board and the advisory group or, if they cannot agree on such an appointment, by a third, independent actuary appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The board and the advisory group are to share equally in the cost of hiring the third actuary. BENEFITS Termination benefit 7(1) A participating employee is eligible for a termination benefit under this section when he or she becomes entitled to a termination benefit under his or her core benefits. 7(2) The termination benefit is to be calculated in relation to the employee's accrued benefit under section 8 in the same manner, to the extent possible, as his or her core termination benefit is calculated in relation to his or her accrued core pension benefit. 7(3) Any option chosen by the employee in relation to his or her core termination benefit also applies to his or her termination benefit under this section. 7(4) If the employee does not choose an option for his or her core termination benefit, the default option that applies to that benefit also applies to the employee's termination benefit under this section. Additional pension benefit 8(1) Upon the commencement of a participating employee's pension under the core benefits, he or she is entitled to an additional pension benefit determined in accordance with this section. 8(2) The additional pension benefit is the amount determined by the following formula: Additional pension benefit = 0.1% × C × S In this formula, C is the amount determined for C in the formula in subsection 26(1) of the Act in determining the participating employee's core pension benefit; S is the length of the participating employee's credited period of service with Manitoba Hydro, including parts of years expressed in decimals to four decimal places. 8(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the participating employee's credited period of service with Manitoba Hydro includes any period of service with Manitoba Hydro after May 31, 2006, that constitutes a period of service for the purpose of the employee's core benefits. 8(4) The early retirement reduction and bridging benefits that apply to a participating employee's core pension benefit also apply to the additional pension benefit under this section. 8(5) The date of retirement for the purpose of an employee's additional pension benefit under this section is the employee's date of retirement for the purpose of his or her core pension benefit. 8(6) If a participating employee's spouse or common-law partner provides a written waiver of his or her entitlement to a joint pension under the Act, that waiver also applies to the employee's additional pension benefit under this section. 8(7) Any option chosen by a participating employee in relation to his or her core benefit pension also applies to the employee's additional pension benefit under this section. 8(8) If a participating employee does not choose an option for his or her core pension benefit, the default option that applies to that benefit also applies to the employee's additional pension benefit under this section. No cost-of-living adjustments 9 No adjustment is to be made under section 33 or 34 of the Act to, or in respect of, the additional pension benefit provided by section 8. Application for benefit 10 A participating employee's application for a termination benefit or superannuation allowance under his or her core benefits is to be treated by the board as including an application for the termination benefit under section 7 or the additional pension benefit under section 8, as the case may be. Beneficiary designation 11 A beneficiary designation in relation to any death benefit payable in relation to the core benefits also applies to any death benefit payable in relation to the enhanced benefits. Pre-retirement death benefit 12(1) If a participating employee dies before the commencement of his or her pension under the core benefit pension, the person who is eligible for a death benefit in relation to the deceased employee's core benefits is also eligible for a death benefit under this section. 12(2) The amount of the death benefit under this section is to be calculated in relation to the deceased employee's accrued additional pension benefits under section 8 in the same manner, to the extent possible, as the core death benefit is calculated in relation to the deceased employee's accrued core pension benefits. 12(3) Any option chosen by the beneficiary in relation to his or her core death benefit also applies to the corresponding death benefit payable to him or her under this section. 12(4) If the beneficiary does not choose an option in relation to his or her core death benefit, the default option that applies to that benefit also applies to the corresponding death benefit payable to him or her under this section. Disability pension benefit 13(1) A participating employee who is eligible for a disability pension benefit in relation to his or her core benefits is also eligible for a similar disability pension benefit in relation to his or her enhanced benefits. 13(2) Any option chosen by the employee in relation to the disability benefit payable in relation to the core benefits also applies to the disability benefit payable in relation to the enhanced benefits. COMING INTO FORCE Coming into force 14 This regulation comes into force on January 1, 2012.