Plan administrator

The Plan is administered by a pension committee, which acts as Plan trustee. The pension committee manages the Plan and invests its assets with the assistance of various service providers. Its responsibilities include ensuring the growth of pension fund and keeping you informed of your rights under the Plan.

The pension committee delegated many of its day-to-day Plan administration tasks and duties to TELUS Health. Generally, whenever you need to contact the Plan administrator, you will get in touch with TELUS Health.

Pension committee make-up

The pension committee is made up of 14 voting members as follows:

• four members are appointed by the ministère de la Famille (Ministère)
• three members are appointed by the ministère de la Famille (Ministère) after consultation with the representative associations of all employers
• two members are appointed by the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN)
• one member is appointed by the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ)
• one member is appointed by the Association du personnel cadre des centres de la petite enfance du Québec
• one member may be appointed at the annual meeting by the group made up of active Plan members
• one member may be appointed at the annual meeting by the group made up of non-active Plan members and beneficiaries
• one member who is neither a party to the Plan nor a third party who is prohibited by the Supplemental Pension Plans Act from receiving a loan is appointed by the other pension committee members.

If the members or beneficiaries do not exercise their right to appoint a voting member at an annual meeting, the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) may agree to appoint a member to the pension committee until such time as the members or beneficiaries exercise their right.

At the annual meeting, the group made up of active Plan members and the group made up of non-active Plan members and beneficiaries may each appoint one (1) additional non-voting committee member.

A member's appointment must not exceed a period of three years.

Annual meeting

A general meeting, during which the pension committee and the appointed administrator report on the Plan's administration, is held each year. The notice of meeting will be enclosed with your personalized annual statement and sent no later than June 30 of each year.

Viewing documents

The following documents may be viewed either at the pension committee’s office or on the My Retirement portal:

• Plan text
• financial reports
• actuarial valuation reports

The following documents may also be viewed, with a written request, at the pension committee’s office:

• annual information statements filed with Retraite Québec
• the investment policy adopted by the pension committee
• delegation instruments issued by the pension committee
• correspondence between Retraite Québec and the pension committee during the previous five years (excluding correspondence regarding another worker, member, or beneficiary)

Date of coming into force and Plan year

The Plan came into force on April 1, 2003. Its fiscal year is from January 1 to December 31 of each subsequent year after 2003.

Undistrainability of rights

Plan contributions (past and future) and interest are exempt from seizure and non-assignable, as are the sums reimbursed by the Plan, the benefits payable under the Plan, and the sums payable to your former spouse following a partitioning or transfer of benefits provided for under the Plan or by law. This does not apply, however, to any share of the surplus assets allocated to members following a Plan termination.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, according to law, exemption from seizure only applies to half (50%) of the accrued benefits as regards the partition of benefits or child support payments.

Plan amendments

The following persons, organizations, or groups must agree on any proposed Plan amendment:

• the Minister of the ministère de la Famille (Ministère), after consulting the Association québécoise des centres de la petite enfance and the Association des garderies privées du Québec
• the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).

The amendments may not result in a reduction or cancellation of your vested rights, unless the applicable tax regulations so require. You will be informed of any proposed amendment before it is submitted for registration to Retraite Québec.

Should the Plan be in a surplus or deficit position

Since your Plan is a defined benefit plan, it is subject, at least every 3 years, to an actuarial valuation to determine whether the Plan shows a surplus or deficit position. The Plan text contains very specific rules to be followed in the event of a surplus or a deficit. These rules are summarized below. Please note that the following rules apply to the Plan on a going-concern basis and not in case of Plan termination.

Surplus
The use of the Members’ Account and the Employer’s Account is regulated by the Plan’s provisions. For additional information on this matter, please refer to the Plan text.

Deficit

The employer is responsible for making up any Plan deficits. In the event of a Plan deficit, the employer must make additional contributions, over and above the regular employer contributions, to amortize the deficit.

Investment of contributions

The pension committee has set up an investment policy specifically for your Pension Plan's fund.

Personalized statement

Each year, you will receive a statement showing the amount of contributions you have accumulated, your pension credits, and an estimate of your pension at ages 60 and 65. It will also inform you on the benefit payable under the Plan in the event of termination of employment or death, and on Plan amendments, if applicable. This statement will be sent no later than June 30 of each year and will be dated as at December 31 of the previous year.

Plan termination

The same entities that are entitled to amend the Plan may also terminate it. Should the Plan be terminated while in a surplus position, the surplus will be allocated between the members, retirees, beneficiaries, and employers, as provided for in the Plan text. For members who terminated their employment, only those whose rights have not been settled as at the Plan termination date and those whose employment ended less than three years before that date will be considered members for any allocation of the Plan surplus upon termination.