(Consolidated up to
313/2006)
ALBERTA REGULATION 203/95
Teachers’ Pension Plans Act
TEACHERS’ AND PRIVATE
SCHOOL
TEACHERS’ PENSION PLANS
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Division of
Regulation
4 Commencement
Schedule 1
Teachers’ Pension Plan
1 Interpretation
generally
2 Interpretation
- Related Plan
3 Interpretation
- employee
Part 1
Administration
4 Administration
of Plan
5 Fiscal year of
Plan
6 Forms
Part 2
Participation
7 Active
membership participation
8 Participation
through substitute service
9 Exceptions to
participation
Part 3
Funding
10 Current service
contributions
11 Members’ contributions for post-August 1992 liabilities
12 Members’ additional contributions
13 Employer-contributors’ contributions
14 Employers’ liability to remit
15 Interest on
unremitted contributions
16 Exclusive
funding by members
17 Contributions
giving no pensionable service
Part 4
Pensionable Service
18 Rules for
computing pensionable service
19 Substitute
service
20 Calculation of
current service
21 Requirement to
apply and observe conditions
22 Prior service
contributions
23 Status of
reciprocal service
24 Reacquisition
for simultaneous transfer
Part 5
Benefits
25 Interpretation
Division 1
Retirement Benefits
26 Tax rule
limitation on benefits
27 Normal pension
based on age or age and service
28 Pension partner
protection
29 Alternative
forms of pension
30 Early
retirement pension
31 Pension after
reaching 71
Division 2
Benefits on Death Before Pension Commencement
32 Application and
interpretation of Division
33 Surviving
pension partner’s benefits
34 Children’s benefits where no pension partner
35 Benefits where
no pension partner or children
36 Effect of
matrimonial property order
Division 3
Benefits on Termination Before Pension Eligibility
37 Application of
Division
38 Termination on
vested basis
39 Termination
before vesting
40 Frequency of
payments
Division 4
Benefits Generally
41 Failure to
select pension
42 Postponement of
pension
43 Application for
benefits
44 Exercise of
benefit choice
45 Change in
pension form
46 Locking in
47 LIRA, etc.,
transfers
48 Cost‑of‑living
increases
49 Co‑ordination
of certain pensions with C.P.P.
Division 5
Miscellaneous
50 Pension
commencement
51 Commencement of
guaranteed term of years
52 Pension payment
provisions
53 Interest
allowances
54 Beneficiaries
55 Pension
commutation after death
56 Pension off-set
on re‑employment
57 Continuation of
existing pension rights
Part 6
Miscellaneous
58 Reciprocal
agreements
59 Evidence requirement
60 Calculation of
service, etc.
61 Advance against
pension
62 Prohibition
against assignment, etc.
63 Recovery of
money due
64 Payment of
money due
65 Exceptions to
sections 63 and 64
66 Retentions for
debt
Part 7
Transitional Provisions
67 Disabled status
68 Contribution
arrangements under former Act
69 Pension on
termination after age 65
70 Spousal
protection
71 Cost‑of‑living
increases
72 Interest on
refunded contributions
Subschedule 1 to
Schedule 1
Form
Subschedule 2 to
Schedule 1
Interest Allowances and Employee
Contributions and Commuted Value Determinations
1 Definitions
4 Interest with
effect as at end of subsequent fiscal years
5 Interest on
actuarial acquisition contributions
6 Interest credit
on death or termination
7 Payment of
refunds or transfers
8 Payments or
transfers not received
9 Commuted value
Schedule 2
Private School Teachers’ Pension Plan
1 Interpretation
generally
2 Interpretation
- Related Plan
3 Interpretation
- employee
3.1 Interpretation
- employer
Part 1
Administration
4 Administration
of Plan
5 Fiscal year of
Plan
6 Forms
Part 2
Participation
7 Active
membership participation
7.1 Employer
participation
8 Participation
through substitute service
9 Exceptions to
participation
Part 3
Funding
10 Current service
contributions
11 Members’
contributions for post‑August 1992 liabilities
12 Non‑applicability
of additional contributions
13 Employer-contributors’ contributions
14 Employers’ liability to remit
15 Interest on
unremitted contributions
16 Exclusive
funding by members
17 Contributions
giving no pensionable service
Part 4
Pensionable Service
18 Rules for
computing pensionable service
19 Substitute
service
20 Calculation of
current service
21 Requirement to
apply and observe conditions
22 Prior service
contributions
23 Status of
reciprocal service
24 Reacquisition
for simultaneous transfer
Part 5
Benefits
25 Interpretation
Division 1
Retirement Benefits
26 Tax rule
limitation on benefits
27 Normal pension
based on age or age and service
28 Spousal
protection
29 Alternative
forms of pension
30 Early
retirement pension
31 Pension after
reaching 71
Division 2
Benefits on Death Before Pension Commencement
32 Application and
interpretation of Division
33 Surviving
spouse’s benefits
34 Children’s benefits where no spouse
35 Benefits where
no spouse or children
36 Effect of
matrimonial property order
Division 3
Benefits on Termination
Before Pension Eligibility
37 Application of
Division
38 Termination on
vested basis
39 Termination
before vesting
40 Frequency of
payments
Division 4
Benefits Generally
41 Failure to
select pension
42 Postponement of
pension
43 Application for
benefits
44 Exercise of
benefit choice
45 Change in
pension form
46 Locking in
47 LIRA, etc.,
transfers
48 Cost‑of‑living
increases
49 Co‑ordination
of certain pensions with C.P.P.
Division 5
Miscellaneous
50 Pension
commencement
51 Commencement of
guaranteed term of years
52 Pension payment
provisions
53 Interest
allowances
54 Beneficiaries
55 Pension
commutation after death
56 Pension off-set
on re‑employment
57 Continuation of
existing pension rights
(2) Section
3(d), insofar as it repeals section 2 of Subschedule 2 to Schedule 1, comes
into force on September 2, 1995.
(3) Section
3(a) and (b) and section 3(d), insofar as it repeals section 3 of Subschedule 2
to Schedule 1, come into force on December 31, 1995.
(4) Section
3(c) and (e) and section 3(d), insofar as it repeals section 4(3) of
Subschedule 2 to Schedule 1, come into force on December 31, 1996.
Schedule 1
Teachers’ Pension Plan
Interpretation
generally
1(1) In these plan rules,
(a) “acquire”,
used in relation to service, means acquire as pensionable service
(i) in the case of current service other than that referred to in
section 23(2)(b), by having performed it, and
(ii) in the case of prior service and service referred to in section
23(2)(b), by having complied with the applicable provisions of Part 4,
including paying for it;
(b) “Act”
means the Teachers’ Pension Plans Act, so far as it affects the Plan;
(c) “active
member” means a member who participates in the Plan as an active member of it
by virtue of section 7 and, with respect to any period before commencement,
includes a person who, during that period, was contributing on a current
service basis under the former Act;
(d) “actuarial
equivalent” means the equivalent in actuarial present value, determined on the
basis recommended by the Plan’s actuary but using a mortality table that does
not differentiate on the basis of any person’s sex, and approved by the Board;
(e) “actuarial
reserve” means the actuarial present value, as at the relevant date, of
benefits, including the portion of those benefits relating to expected future
salary increases, determined as if the member were entitled to a pension
commencing at the earliest date allowed by the Plan and on the basis
recommended by the Plan’s actuary but using a mortality table that does not
differentiate on the basis of any person’s sex, and approved by the Board;
(f) “additional
contributions” means additional contributions under section 19 of the Act;
(g) “benefit”
means a retirement benefit, a death benefit or a benefit on termination before
a member becomes eligible to receive a pension, under Part 5, and includes any
benefit under the former Act;
(h) “combined
pensionable service”, subject to clause (i), means
(i) pensionable service, and
(ii) pensionable service (if any) recognized under the Related Plan;
(i) “combined
pensionable service in the Related Plan” means combined pensionable service
described in clause (h)(ii);
(j) “commencement”,
except where it relates to a pension, means September 1, 1995;
(k) “commuted
value” means, in relation to benefits to which a member has a present or future
entitlement, the actuarial present value of those benefits determined, as at
the relevant date, using actuarial assumptions and methods recommended by the
Plan’s actuary in accordance with the recommendations of the Canadian Institute
of Actuaries but using that mortality table used in the latest actuarial
valuation of the Plan that does not differentiate on the basis of any person’s
sex;
(l) “contributing
active member” means an active member who is not a disabled member, not on a
leave of absence and not on strike;
(m) “contributions”
means contributions, including additional contributions, under the Plan, and
includes any payment referred to in section 18(1)(c) and contributions under
the former Act that are of a nature corresponding to those in question;
(n) “current
service contributions” means a contributing active member’s contributions under
section 10(1), and includes corresponding contributions paid by a member on a
current service basis under the former Act;
(o) “disabled
member” is to be construed in accordance with subsection (2);
(p) “employee”
means
(i) a person who is employed
(A) subject to subsection (2.1), under a
contract of employment that is in accordance with section 97 or 114 of the School
Act,
(B) subject to subsection (2.1), under section
96 of that Act,
(C) in a chartered school under a contract of
employment that is in accordance with section 36, as it incorporates section
96, 97 or 114, of that Act,
(D) by the Association,
(E) by a local of the Association, or
(F) by the Lloydminster Public School District
or the Lloydminster Roman Catholic School Division under circumstances
equivalent to those covered by paragraph (A), (B) or (C), if he has not opted
to become an active participant of an equivalent pension plan in Saskatchewan,
and who holds a certificate of qualification as
a teacher issued under that Act, the holding of such a certificate being
a condition of that person’s employment with the employer and being a normal
vocational requirement in Alberta for work of the general class or category
into which that employment falls,
(ii) any other person who was, immediately before commencement, contributing
as a member on a current service basis under the former Act and has not
subsequently ceased to participate in the Plan by virtue of ceasing to
participate on the basis that applied immediately before commencement, or by
virtue of death, or
(iii) a person to whom section 3 applies;
(q) “employee
contributions” means the following, so far as they have not previously been
returned or paid or transferred out of the Plan, namely
(i) current service contributions,
(ii) contributions paid under section 11,
(iii) additional contributions paid under section 12,
(iv) any part of a sum paid into the Plan under a reciprocal agreement
that is recognized by the Board pursuant to that reciprocal agreement as
employee contributions, and
(v) contributions for prior service made by a member,
and includes interest on
those amounts credited under section 53;
(r) “employer”
means a person who employs a plan employee or a substitute teacher or otherwise
occupies an employer or former employer relationship in relation to a person
who is or was a plan employee or a substitute teacher;
(s) “employer-contributor”
means,
(i) subject to subclause (ii), the Crown, and
(ii) employers relative to
(A) plan employees covered by clause (p)(i)(E),
(B) plan employees described in clause (p)(ii),
and
(C) persons who were any such plan employees;
(t) “fiscal
year” means the fiscal year of the Plan provided for in section 5;
(u) “former
Act” means the former Act within the meaning of the Act, to the extent that it
affects the Plan and does not exclusively affect the Related Plan;
(v) “full‑time
basis” means, in relation to employment, the basis where the regularly
scheduled periods of work in the employment are at least equal to the total
time contemplated by the latest report referred to in section 9(6)(b) of the
Regulations, and “full‑time actual basis” means the basis where all those
regularly scheduled periods on all the working days in a given month are
actually worked in that month;
(w) “inactive
member” means
(i) a person who was, but has ceased to be, an active member, is not
an active member of the Related Plan and remains a living member, or
(ii) any other living member, other than an active member or an active
member of the Related Plan, who has acquired substitute service;
(w.1) “latest
pension commencement date” means, in relation to a member whose pension has not
yet commenced, the last moment as of which that person is allowed to commence
to receive the pension under the tax rules;
(x) “leave
of absence” means a period
(i) during which a member who was an active member immediately before
the period commenced was on an unpaid leave, or on a paid paternity, adoption
or sabbatical leave or on a paid non‑health‑related portion of a
maternity leave, from the regular duties of the member’s employment with the
employer’s authority, and
(ii) respecting which that member proves to the Board’s satisfaction
that the period complies with subclause (i);
(y) “locked‑in
retirement account” means a registered retirement savings plan that meets the
conditions referred to in section 1(1)(x) of the Employment Pension Plans
Act;
(z) “matrimonial
property order” means a matrimonial property order within the meaning of the Matrimonial
Property Act, or a similar order enforceable in Alberta of a court outside
Alberta, that affects the payment or distribution of benefits;
(aa) “member”
means any person who, in the normal course of events, has a present or a future
entitlement to apply for and receive any benefit as a result of the acquisition
of service by him or by a deceased person through whom the entitlement derives;
(bb) “month”
means a calendar month;
(cc) “monthly
rate of salary” or “MRS” means the annual rate of current pensionable salary
that is or would be payable on a regular basis to a contributing active member
who is employed or if he were employed on a full‑time basis and if he
works or worked on a full‑time actual basis for the whole school year,
divided by 12;
(dd) “new
reciprocal agreement” means a reciprocal agreement in respect of which all the
conditions specified in section 58(2) had been fully met at the time in
question;
(ee) “old
reciprocal agreement” means a reciprocal agreement that is not a new reciprocal
agreement, including the 1974 agreement referred to in section 58(2);
(ff) “on
strike” means engaged in a strike within the meaning of the Labour Relations
Code;
(gg) “pension”
means a pension under the Plan;
(hh) “pension
commencement” means the time established by section 50 that constitutes the
effective time for the commencement of the relevant pension;
(hh.1) “pension
partner”, in relation to a member, means
(i) a person who, at the relevant time, was married to that member
and had not been living separate and apart from that member for 3 or more
consecutive years, or
(ii) if there is no person to whom subclause (i) applies, a person
who, as at and up to the relevant time, had lived with that member in a
conjugal relationship for a continuous period of at least 3 years and was, during
that period, held out by that member in the community in which they lived as
being in that conjugal relationship;
(ii) “pensionable
salary” means, subject to clause (jj) and section 25(3) and (4),
(i) in respect of a calendar year before 1992, salary, and
(ii) in respect of any calendar year after 1991, salary that is
compensation within the meaning of the tax rules, subject however to such
limitation as is necessary to ensure that no benefit accrual exceeds the
defined benefit limit that was contemporaneously in force in that year under
the tax rules for that year (disregarding any subsequent retroactive change);
(jj)
