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UPP and your prior plan
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- UPP and your prior plan
Understanding how UPP and your prior plan work together
If you’re a member of a pension plan that joined UPP, you may have earned service under both plans. This page explains what happens to the pension you earned before conversion ("your prior plan pension") and the pension you earn after joining UPP ("your UPP pension"). Here's how it works.
Your prior plan pension keeps its original rules
The pension you earned before joining UPP continues to follow your former plan’s rules, which might include when you can start that portion of your pension, the survivor benefits it offers, and how its cost of living adjustment is calculated. In some cases, certain rules were updated before joining UPP so they work smoothly within the Plan, but these updates never reduce the benefits you already earned.
Your UPP pension follows UPP’s rules
As a member of UPP, you’re part of a secure, dependable defined benefit pension plan. Your UPP pension is designed to preserve your earned benefits, integrate seamlessly with your prior plan, and, in many cases, provide additional advantages throughout your retirement journey. Here are a few examples of how this works:
Your eligibility for an early unreduced pension looks at both plans together
Eligibility for an early unreduced pension is generally based on your age and total years of service. To determine whether you qualify, UPP adds together your prior plan service and your UPP service. This combined service usually helps you meet the age-and-service requirements sooner.
Your Annual Statement and pension estimates show how your service is counted and can help you see when you may qualify.
At retirement, you choose options for each portion
Because each portion follows its own rules, you will make retirement choices for both. This may include different pension payment guarantee periods or levels of survivor protection for your spouse, dependent children, or beneficiaries.
Your retirement options package describes your choices in detail, and UPP’s pension experts are always available to walk through them with you.
You receive one combined monthly pension payment
When you retire, UPP calculates each portion of your pension based on its applicable rules and the options you choose. Once those amounts are determined, they are added together and paid to you as one monthly pension, with income tax applied to the total. Your Annual Statement and other UPP documents show the amounts separately, so you can see how they were calculated.
Both portions begin on the same retirement date.
Indexation is applied separately, but you’ll be notified for each portion
Each pension portion may receive annual indexation increases based on its applicable plan rules. That means the timing or amount of indexation may differ between your prior plan pension and your UPP pension. You’ll receive separate notices when indexation is applied to each portion.
Here is the indexation schedule for select prior plans:
- University of Toronto – July 1
- Trent University – July 1
- Victoria University – July 1
- University of Guelph – September 1
- Queen’s University – September 1 (paid retroactively on December 1)
- UPP indexation – January 1
Making informed, confident decisions
Understanding how your two pension portions work together can help you plan ahead and avoid surprises. These tools and resources can support your retirement planning and help you make decisions that feel right for you and your loved ones.