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Part X: Pension And Insurance

49 LIFE INSURANCE
49.1 The benefits and terms and conditions of benefit entitlement for group life, living benefit and spousal life insurance for employees are as described in: the Collective Agreement; the brochure entitled "Group Life Insurance, Living Benefit and Spousal Life Insurance, updated April 10, 2000' and, group policies on group life insurance and living benefit and spousal life insurance dated April 1, 1999 between the company and the carrier. These documents, by reference, form part of the Collective Agreement. The benefits and terms and conditions of benefit entitlement as described in the above documents can be changed by mutual consent only.
49.1.1 The cost of basic term insurance for employees will be paid by NSS.
49.1.2 The cost of additional term insurance for employees will be paid by the employees.
49.1.3 Upon retirement, term insurance equal to 50% of final base annual earnings will be provided, reducing to 25% ten years after retirement.
49.1.4 An employee will become eligible for membership in the plan upon being assigned regular status.
49.1.5 In the event that an employee does not make an election, Option I (see 49.2 below) will automatically be designated.
49.1.6 After the initial election period, a re-election of option will be permitted only once a year during the month of December.
49.1.7 The employee will be required to submit evidence of insurability if a re-election results in total increased insurance coverage.
49.1.8 Any re-election shall become effective on the January 1st following the year in which the re-election is made or on the date of approval by the insurer of any required evidence of insurability, whichever is later.
49.2 Life Insurance Options

Option Basic Term Insurance 3 Additional Term Insurance4
I Two Times Base Salary Nil
II Two Times Base Salary One Times Base Salary
3  Basic Term Insurance is composed of term insurance equal to base annual earnings raised to the next $500.00 and multiplied by 2.
4  Additional Term Insurance is the optional term insurance which an employee may elect in addition to the basic insurance coverage. It is equal to base annual earnings raised up to the next $1,000.00.
49.3 The maximum additional term insurance that may be purchased by an employee shall be referred to a tripartite (Society, Management and CUPE 1000) forum for further consideration.
49.4 An employee who meets the following criteria shall be eligible to cash out 50% of his/her total claim value to a maximum of $50,000.
Criteria:
  • the illness must be terminal with death likely to occur within 24 months;

  • NSS's consent is required;

  • the consent of the employee and his/her beneficiary is required;

  • the beneficiary must have reached the age of majority; and

  • the employee must be competent and able to understand a transaction of this nature.
Payments must be processed as a loan and interest charged to avoid making the payment a taxable benefit to the employee.
When death occurs, the advance payment plus accrued interest is deducted from the claim value.
49.5 Spousal Insurance
49.5.1 Only spouses of active employees are eligible.
49.5.2 The amount will be limited to 50% of the employee's basic coverage.
49.5.3 The entire cost, including administration costs, will be paid by the employee. The employee will pay by payroll deduction.
49.5.4 The participation rate will have to be 20-30% otherwise proof of insurability will be required.
49.5.5 The premium rate will be different from the rate for employees, and will be experience rated. The premiums would then vary from year to year based on the experience of the previous year.

50 PENSION PLAN
The Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation Pension Plan (Registration #0352377) and the successor pension plan of Ontario Power Generation Inc. constitute the present Pension Plan and form part of this collective agreement. The provisions of the Pension Plan are generally described in the brochure Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan - Effective January, 2000. Changes to the Pension Plan affecting Society-represented members of the plan, other than legislative changes, shall be made only upon mutual consent.
50.1 All the changes to the Pension Plan heretofore agreed to between The Society and OPGI have been incorporated into the Pension and Insurance Regulations/Rules.
50.2 The employer shall not request legislation, regulations, or Order-in-Council approval or make rules which would change pension benefits, unless upon mutual consent. Moreover, the employer will not unilaterally seek legislation to change access to surplus unless upon mutual consent.
50.3 Probationary Employees
Probationary employees shall be eligible to become members ofthe Pension Plan from their first day of service. A new employee who completes his/her probationary period after January 1, 1999 and who is a contributor to the Plan may irrevocably elect and pay the required contribution within three months immediately following completion of the probationary period, to buy credited service for his/her probationary period, failing which there shall be no subsequent right to elect.
50.4 a) Pension Indexing and the Notional Account
The Notional Account will be eliminated in respect of all employees, former employees and beneficiaries of the Plan.
Effective on the date the Notional Account is eliminated, the Plan shall be amended, in respect of employees and former employees who immediately prior to termination of employment were members of The Society, to increase pension benefits on January 1 of each year by 100% of the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), up to a maximum of 8% per year. In the event that the increase in the CPI exceeds 8%, the increase shall be carried forward to future years. In the event that the CPI decreases, the percentage decrease shall be applied in determining subsequent increases in pension benefits. A decrease in the CPI shall not reduce pension benefits in payment.
Changes to indexing as described in this section are subject to the condition precedent that the Notional Account will be eliminated for all members and former members and confirmation thereof.
In the absence of such an amendment and elimination of the Notional Account, the pensions of members and former members who immediately prior to termination of employment were members of The Society will be increased by 100% of the increase in the CPI effective January 1, 1999 and January 1, 2000 and the cost of such indexing shall be charged to the Notional Account in the same way as was done in respect of the increase on January 1, 1998.
b) The Society will withdraw all outstanding litigation, including grievances #512, #533 and proceedings before the Financial Services Commission of Ontario regarding the PWU settlement, dual valuation and partial plan wind-up and the 7th amendment rules objection but not individual benefits issues including #515.
50.5 Buy-Back of Service
The following shall apply after the Pension Rules are changed.
a) Employees will be able to purchase the following service on an actuarial basis at no cost to NSS, provided the employee provides evidence of such service satisfactory to NSS:
i) summer and co-op students;
ii) casual construction;
iii) temporary employees;
iv) leaves of absences;
v) pregnancy/parental leaves;
vi) broken service;
vii) external service (see (b) below)
(iv), (v) and (vi) above are enhancements to current provisions.
b) This provision will be subject to restrictions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and all applicable provincial or federal pension legislation. (For example, external service prior to 1992 can only be purchased if there was a reciprocal Agreement with the former Employer in existence at the time and still exists.)
c) For the purposes of this section, "service" shall mean service with Ontario Hydro prior to April 1, 1999 or service with Ontario Hydro's successors after April 1, 1999.
50.6 Spousal Benefit
Effective July 1, 2000 the survivor benefit maximum shall be increased from 64% to 66 2/3rds. This improvement will apply to members whose pensions commence on or after July 1, 2000 and also to pensioners and surviving spouses in receipt of pensions.
50.7 Bridging Benefit
1. This benefit is payable to eligible employees who retire after January 1, 1997 and this benefit replaces the existing bridge benefit.
This amendment does not change the amount of pension payable after age 65. The purpose of the amendment is to pay the bridge benefit now payable to members who retire before age 65 with 35 years of credited service to a member retiring after January 1, 1997 before age 65 with 30 years of credited service. For members who retire before age 65 with less than 30 years of credited service, the bridge benefit will be prorated in proportion to credited service.
The bridge benefit will be reduced by the same percentages as is applied to the lifetime pension if a member retires prior to qualifying for an unreduced pension.
2. For people retiring on or after January 1, 1997 the bridge benefit payable when a member eligible for an unreduced pension retires will be increased from:
A x B x C
where:
A equals 0.625%
B equals post 1965 credited services to a maximum of 35 years
C equals the lesser of the member's average earnings in the 60 consecutive months when the earnings were the highest and the average of the YMPE's during the 60 consecutive months when the earnings were the highest.
to;
A x D x C
where A and C are as above and
D equals 35 times the lesser of 1 and the member's years of credited service divided by 30.
50.8 Rule of 82
Employees may retire without discount when their age and years of continuous service equals 82 or more.
50.9 Continued Contribution
Contributions are now allowed beyond 35 years.
50.10 Employee Contribution Holiday
Employees will be permitted to take a 9-month contribution holiday. The holiday will be for fiscal weeks 011 (2001) up to week 094 (2001) inclusive.
50.11 Plan Formula
Effective October 1, 2001 there will be a Reduction of CPP integration adjustment factor from .625% to .500%. The employee's contributions will increase by .5% if and when the assets fall below 106% of the liabilities based upon a solvency valuation.
50.12 Supplementary Plan
The following language will be included in the supplementary plan:
"Society members of the NSS Pension Plan, whose pension income as a pensioner will exceed the limits prescribed by the Income Tax Act (ITA) for pension paid from a registered pension plan, are eligible for the Supplementary Payment Schedule (SPS). The SPS tops up the amount one receives from the NSS registered pension plan to the amount one would receive if there were no ITA limits."
50.13 Reciprocal Transfer Agreements
NSS will seriously consider reciprocal transfer agreements with respect to any Change of Employer situations, where the new employer is not a competitor of NSS, and where the new employer agrees to a reciprocal transfer agreement.
50.14 Fund Transfer
The Society shall continue to have access to reasonable pension plan and pension fund information, which shall include reasonable information related to the allocation and transfer of pension funds to a successor pension plan. The Society will have the opportunity for input prior to the filing of any transfer report on new plan text with FSCO. In the event that pensioners or deferred pensioners are to be transferred, the Society will also have access to and input on, such situations.