RSNL1990 CHAPTER P-17 - PORTABILITY OF PENSIONS ACT

RSNL1990 CHAPTER P-17 PORTABILITY OF PENSIONS ACT Amended: 1996 c7; 1996 c17; 2010 c18; 2017 c25; 2018 cT-4.01; 2019 cP-44.01 s44 CHAPTER P-17 AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PORTABILITY OF PENSIONABLE SERVICE BETWEEN CERTAIN PENSION PLANS GUARANTEED BY THE PROVINCE Analysis 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 2.1 Application 3. Portability election 3. Re-transfer of service 4. Transfer of employee and employer contributions 4. 1 Transfer on an actuarial basis 5. Crediting of service 6. Deficiency and surplus 6.1 Deficiency 7. War service 8. Adding to Schedule Schedule Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Portability of Pensions Act. 1983 c11 s1 Back to Top Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act (a) "actuarial cost" means the cost of the service to be credited as determined at the date of the election and calculated with reference to the assumptions from the most recent actuarial valuation for funding purposes; (a.1) "pension plan" means a pension plan, retirement benefit or arrangement (i) as constituted under the authority of, or (ii) as set out in, an Act listed in the Schedule or added to the Schedule by order; and (b) "employee" means (i) an employee who transfers immediately from one pension plan to another without taking a refund, (ii) a former employee who has left his or her pension contributions on deposit in a pension plan, or (iii) a deferred pensioner, and includes a person to whom an Act listed in the Schedule, or added to the Schedule by order, applies. (2) This Act shall be read as one with the Acts listed in the Schedule, or added to the Schedule by order. 1983 c11 s2; 2010 c18 s1 Back to Top Application 2.1 (1) This Act does not apply to an MHA or a minister who was elected for the first time on or after November 30, 2015. (2) In this section, "MHA" and "minister" have the meaning assigned to them in the Members of the House of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act . 2017 c25 s6 Back to Top Portability election 3. (1) An employee, covered under a pension plan, who transfers his or her employment to another body whose pension plan is established under one of the pension plans may elect to have the pensionable service transferred to that other pension plan where the employee has not received a termination benefit from the exporting pension plan. (2) An employee covered under a pension plan who elects to transfer his or her pensionable service under subsection (1) before January 1, 2011 may elect to do so under section 4 or section 4.1, and on or after that date, section 4.1 shall apply. (3) An election made under this section is irrevocable. 2010 c18 s2 Back to Top Re-transfer of service 3.1 (1) A person who elected under section 3 to transfer pensionable service from a pension plan, other than the plan established under the Members of the House of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act , to the pension plan established under that Act, who is not eligible to receive a retiring allowance under that plan, may elect to transfer that pensionable service back to the pension plan from which it was transferred notwithstanding that the person is not an employee to whom this Act applies. (2) Sections 4, 4.1, 6 and 6.1 do not apply to an election under subsection (1). (3) Where a person who elected to transfer pensionable service to the pension plan established under the Members of the House of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act elects to transfer that pensionable service back under subsection (1), the amount transferred shall be returned, together with interest, to the pension plan from which it was transferred, and a deficiency that was paid by the person shall be returned to the person, together with interest. (4) The rate of interest referred to in subsection (3) shall be, (a) with respect to an election that was made under section 3 and a transfer of pensionable service under section 4, the rate of interest applicable to refunds of the pension plan established under the Members of the House of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act ; and (b) with respect to an election that was made under section 3 and a transfer of pensionable service under section 4.1, the same rate of interest that was used in the calculation of the actuarial value. 2010 c18 s3 Back to Top Transfer of employee and employer contributions 4. (1) Upon an election being made under section 3 before January 1, 2011, the exporting pension plan shall pay to the importing pension plan the employee and employer contributions to the pension plan with respect to the employee together with interest. (2) The rate of interest referred to in subsection (1) shall be the rate of interest applicable to refunds of the exporting pension plan. (3) For the purposes of this section, employee contributions shall include contributions considered to have been made where the service was initially credited under a non-contributory pension plan superseded by a pension plan at the same contribution rate as if the pension plan had applied throughout the non-contributory period. (4) For the purposes of this section, employer contributions shall include contributions considered to have been made by the government of the province when all contributions were paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund or where the service was initially credited under a non-contributory pension plan superseded by a pension plan. (5) The amount of the contributions considered to have been made under subsection (4) shall be equal to the amount, together with interest, paid or considered to have been paid by the employee throughout the period of service being credited. 1983 c11 s5; 1986 c47 s1; 2010 c18 s4 Back to Top Transfer on an actuarial basis 4.1 Upon an election being made under section 3, the exporting pension plan shall transfer to the importing pension plan the amount that is the lesser of (a) the amount available from the exporting plan, which is the greater of (i) the actuarial cost of benefits in respect of the service under the exporting plan in accordance with the terms and conditions of that plan as at the termination date, increased with interest to the date of payment using the same rate of interest that was used in the calculation of the actuarial value; and (ii) the value of the employee's termination benefits at the date of termination; and (b) the actuarial cost of benefits calculated as at the date of the election to transfer that would be created in the importing plan in accordance with the terms and conditions of that plan, in respect of the credited service in the exporting plan. 2010 c18 s5 Back to Top Crediting of service 5. Notwithstanding the nature of the previous pension plan of the employee, the period of pensionable service to be credited under the importing pension plan is the period of pensionable service credited under the exporting pension plan. 1983 c11 s6 Back to Top Deficiency and surplus 6. (1) Where there is a deficiency in the amount of contributions paid under section 4, the employee may elect to pay the amount required to make up the deficiency. (2) Where an employee does not elect to pay the amount of the deficiency, the period of pensionable service to be credited under the importing plan shall be proportionately reduced by the ratio of the amount of contributions paid under section 4 to the amount calculated under paragraph (3)(b). (2.1) Where there is a surplus in the amount of contributions paid under section 4, one-half of the surplus shall be paid to the employee and one-half shall be paid over to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. (2.2) An amount of a deficiency shall be repaid in the manner directed by the minister. (3) The amount of the deficiency or surplus for the purposes of this section shall be the difference between (a) the amount transferred under section 4; and (b) an amount to be calculated on the basis of twice the beginning salary of the affected employee, times the total period of pensionable service credited to the employee under the exporting pension plan times the rate of contributions for an employee in the importing pension plan. (4) The beginning salary of the affected employee in subsection (3) is the salary at the time that the employee joins the employer who is covered under the importing pension plan. 1983 c11 s7; 1986 c47 s2; 1996 c7 s1 Back to Top Deficiency 6.1 (1) Where the amount transferred under section 4.1 is insufficient to finance the actuarial cost of the full period of pensionable service that has been transferred under that section, the employee may elect (a) to pay the amount required to make up the deficiency; or (b) to be credited with the proportionate period of pensionable service that can be financed by the amount transferred from the exporting plan. (2) The amount of a deficiency shall be paid in the manner directed by the minister. 2010 c18 s6 Back to Top War service 7. (1) Where an employee retires from an importing pension plan and has not been credited with 10 years of pensionable service under that importing pension plan but has sufficient pensionable service when combined with pensionable service transferred from the exporting pension plan, that combined pensionable service shall apply for the purposes of qualifying for war service under section 3 of the War Service Pensions Act. (2) Where the combined pensionable service is necessary to qualify for war service under subsection (1), there shall be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the importing pension plan an amount for that pensionable service necessary from the exporting pension plan to enable the employee to be credited with 10 years of pensionable service. (3) The amount paid into the importing pension plan under subsection (2) shall be calculated as being twice the employee's beginning salary with the importing pension plan multiplied by the contribution rate for each year of service together with interest at the importing pension plan refund rate from the date of the beginning of employment to the date of retirement. 1983 c11 s8 Back to Top Adding to Schedule 8. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by order, add to the Schedule to this Act. 1983 c11 s9 Back to Top Schedule 1. The Members of the House of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act. 2. The Memorial University Pensions Act. 3. The Uniformed Services Pensions Act, 1991. 1996 c7 s2 ; 2018 cT-4.01 s30 ; 2019 cP-44.01 s44