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Important
To ensure you receive important information about the transition to UPP, please update your contact information including your mailing and email address with Laurier.
Tip: bookmark this page
This is a dedicated page for Laurier pension plan members, with the latest information and resources about UPP. We recommend you bookmark this page to get to know us and stay up to date.
Resources
“We are incredibly grateful for the trust and confidence that you, Laurier pension plan members, have placed in us by consenting to join UPP. We look forward to supporting you with the information and resources you need throughout this transition and delivering on our pension promise to provide you with secure, lifelong retirement income.”
Barbara Zvan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Transition update
Your move to UPP is underway—here’s what you need to know.
In January 2025, Laurier received consent from active, retired and deferred pension plan members to join UPP. Accordingly in May 2025, Laurier applied to the pension regulator, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), for approval to proceed with the transition to UPP. Once approved, UPP will become the administrator and service provider of your pension as of January 2026.
More information about the conversion of the Wilfrid Laurier University Pension Plan to UPP will be shared in the coming months. UPP and Laurier will keep you informed at each stage of the process. Please bookmark this page and check back regularly for updates and stay tuned for more information to come.
We look forward to introducing you to the full advantages of becoming a UPP member.
Stay connected: keep your contact info up to date
To ensure you receive important information about the transition to UPP, please make sure your contact information, including your mailing and email addresses, is up to date with Laurier:
- Active members: by reviewing in Laurier’s LORIS Employee Dashboard
- Deferred members: by emailing your update to [email protected]
- Retired members: by reviewing in the Laurier Pension Portal or by emailing [email protected]
Your UPP Benefits
As a UPP member, you benefit from a secure and predictable retirement income for life, personalized support, and expert investment management.
Here are some of the many advantages of being a UPP member. For all members, including retirees:
- Longevity: Members don’t have to worry about outliving their UPP pension—it is paid for life.
- Inflation protection (indexation): A valuable benefit designed to increase the amount of a monthly pension in retirement through cost-of-living adjustments. For the pension earned before joining UPP, the indexation provisions of the prior plan are honoured. The pension earned after joining UPP is subject to UPP’s funded conditional indexation.
- Survivor benefits: An important plan feature, these benefits help provide for members’ loved ones if they pass away, whether before or after retirement. For retirees, the survivor benefit pension option chosen under the prior plan will remain the same.
- Pension sustainability and transparency: UPP is committed to responsible investment practices and transparency in managing the plan.
- Expert member services: Members have access to a team of local pension experts who provide dedicated, personalized support.
- Online tools: Members benefit from additional services through the myUPP Member Portal, a secure, self-service platform where they can access pension information, communicate with UPP, view and submit documents, and more.
In addition, for active and deferred members:
- Matched contributions: After joining the Plan, UPP employers match 100% of members’ contributions.
- Career flexibility: Eligible members can move between participating employers and continue to build their pension without losing years of service.
How UPP works
Your plan is custom-built for the university sector, including special features to support you along your pension journey.
Thousands of members at universities across the province are working towards a common goal: lifelong, dependable retirement income with UPP. Watch this short video to learn how the Plan works and what it offers you as a member.
Get to know UPP
Get to know UPP—your pension partner for life
At University Pension Plan (UPP), we are committed to providing a sector-wide defined benefit pension plan that ensures lifelong retirement income for members, now and for generations to come. With over 41,000 members across five universities and 14 sector organizations, UPP is delivering on our mission of a secure, predictable pension for life—so members can retire with confidence. For more information about UPP’s rate of return explore our 2024 annual report here.
Strong value starts with good governance
UPP is jointly sponsored by representatives of our participating universities in equal partnership with member, union and faculty association representatives. Guided by clearly defined mandates, UPP’s Joint Sponsors, Board of Trustees, and Management work in concert to ensure the Plan is run efficiently, strategically, prudently, and in the best interest of all Plan members.
Our purpose-driven investment strategy
Our investment program has one goal – to deliver secure, stable pension income to our members today and tomorrow. We invest with sustainable pension security at the core of all we do.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Who do I contact, and when, if I have question about my pension: Laurier or UPP?
Until Jan 1 2026, please contact Laurier’s Human Resources team if you have questions about your pension.
I need to update my contact information, who should I speak to?
To ensure you receive important information about the transition to UPP, please make sure your contact information, including your mailing and email addresses, is up to date with Laurier:
- Active members: by reviewing in Laurier’s LORIS Employee Dashboard
- Deferred members: by emailing [email protected]
- Retired members: by reviewing in the Laurier Pension Portal or by emailing [email protected]
I’m planning to retire, who do I contact?
For now, and during the transition to UPP, you can continue to contact Laurier’s Human Resources team if you have questions about your pension. Until the transition is complete, Laurier remains your primary contact for your pension services.
If you are an active member, the first step of starting your pension whether before or after the transition to UPP, is to notify your employer of your decision to retire. Documentation and notice requirements vary by employee group, and you should consult Laurier’s Human Resources team on what these are.
Where can I get more information about the transition to UPP?
During the consent process you received notices from Laurier with details about the transition to UPP. Please refer to these notices for more information and be sure to bookmark and visit this page to stay up to date as the conversion planning continues.
How your plan works
What contributions are required under UPP?
The amount you contribute to the plan each year is based on your pensionable earnings, the average YAMPE (a threshold set each year by the federal government) and UPP’s contribution rate. Your employer contributes an equal amount. Contributions flowing into the plan are invested by investment professionals bound by fiduciary duty to act in your best interests.
Learn more about how contributions work and explore the formula.
Can I make additional voluntary contributions to UPP?
No, UPP does not allow for additional voluntary contributions. Any members who have prior additional voluntary contributions and/or special lump-sum voluntary contributions held under the Laurier pension plan will have those amounts transferred to UPP. These amounts will be credited with interest based on UPP’s fund earnings after Laurier has joined UPP. The balance of your account(s) at termination of plan membership will be available as a one time lump sum, or be used to provide you with additional pension if you are retirement eligible.
How is my UPP pension calculated?
As a member of UPP, your pension is paid for life. The pension you receive is based on a formula that considers a few key components: Your best average earnings: average of your highest 48 months of pensionable earnings (which do not have to be consecutive) as a member, up to the maximum pension limit under the ITA.
Average YAMPE: average of the YAMPE established by the federal government in the last 48 months before you retire. For service earned on and after January 1, 2025, the YAMPE is used. Your years of Pensionable Service: the amount of continuous service during which you’ve contributed to UPP, including any service you transferred in.
Please note: your pre-conversion pension is calculated using the terms of your prior pension and added to the pension accrued with UPP.
I work part-time. Is my UPP pension calculated differently?
Your pension is calculated using the same formula as a full-time member. The pension formula uses your average annualized pensionable earnings and your pensionable service.
Annualized earnings are earnings that you would earn in a year if you were working on a full-time basis. Learn more about calculating your pension.
Does UPP offer inflation protection?
Inflation protection is a valuable benefit designed to increase the amount of your monthly pension through a cost-of-living adjustment based on the increase in the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Laurier pension plan – The indexation provisions of the Laurier pension plan will still apply to your benefits earned under the Laurier pension plan. Please contact Laurier human resources for details.
UPP – When you retire and begin receiving your pension, the portion attributable to UPP benefits will be subject to funded conditional indexation. This means that any indexation adjustments will be determined by UPP’s Joint Sponsors. UPP’s target funded conditional indexation is 75% of the increase in CPI for Canada but may be less based on the Plan’s overall financial health and Funding Policy. Indexation of your UPP benefits is not guaranteed, meaning if an indexation adjustment is made in any given year, it does not necessarily mean an adjustment will be made in any future year.
- © 2025 University Pension Plan