4.5 Questions and answers about your contributions

May I make additional Plan contributions?
No. Additional voluntary contributions may not be made and amounts may not be transferred from another pension plan, RRSP, deferred profit-sharing plan (DPSP), or Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) into the Plan.

May I withdraw my contributions while still working for an employer?
No. These contributions are required to provide you with a retirement income later on. Take note that both employer and member contributions are used to replenish the pension fund from which your retirement pension will be withdrawn, calculated according to a pre-established formula. You may withdraw the value of the benefits you accumulated in the Plan upon termination of employment, retirement, or serious illness, subject to certain conditions. However, this value will not be equal to the sum of your contributions, but rather to the portion of the retirement pension you accumulated at the date of the event. For additional information, please refer to the Retirement and Termination of employment sections.

What if my contributions exceed the maximum contribution?
Should you make excess contributions during a given Plan year, the excess will be refunded to you and will bear interest at the pension fund’s net rate of return, calculated on the market value of the assets, net of management and administration fees.

This could happen, for instance, when you work for more than one employer. To check whether your total contribution amount exceeds the maximum contribution, add up your contributions made for the week or year, and compare the sum obtained with the applicable limits. Should you note that you have exceeded the allowable maximum, you can ask the appointed Plan administrator to authorize your employers to stop withholding or place a limit on contributions for the remainder of the year.

Please note that the maximum contribution for 2024 is $109.80 per week, or $5,709.40 per year.

What if contributions are withheld for overtime hours exceeding the 1,664 hour threshold?
Should you make contributions based on overtime hours in excess of the 1,664 hour threshold, the excess will be refunded to you annually by the Plan administrator and will bear interest at the pension fund’s net rate of return, calculated on the market value of the assets, net of management and administration fees.

This could happen, for instance, when your eligible hours have reached the 1,664 hour threshold and your employer has declared overtime hours for you and withheld the related contributions.