During your career
Your pension may be only one piece of your retirement planning puzzle; therefore, knowing and understanding how your pension works as early as possible in your career can help you plan and prepare for a better retirement.
If you are eligible, you will be automatically enrolled in the Combination Plan. Each year, Pension Services will provide you with an annual statement providing you with additional information on the benefits you have earned.
To find out more:
Your contributions
What you contribute
During your career, you and the university will contribute to the plan's funds through contributions, which are paid through payroll deductions and reported on your pay stub. The rate of contribution is a percentage of your earnings. For more information, as well as an example of total annual contributions, please refer to the Contributions fact sheet.
Voluntary contributions
You can also choose to make additional voluntary contributions1 through payroll deduction or by transfer from other registered vehicles. These are invested with the plans’ other assets and earn the same investment returns; however, the University does not match these contributions.
Please refer to the Forms section of this website for an application form.
Transfers from spousal RRSPs are not permitted.
1 Subject to the Income Tax Act maximums. Some conditions apply during leaves and other situations. Please contact us for more information.
Changes to your employment
Changing position
If you move to a new position at the University, your eligibility for membership in the Combination Pension Plan might be affected. Please contact the Human Resources (compensation and benefits) department for more information.
If you start contributing to another UVic Plan as a result of moving to a new position, the benefits you have earned prior to that change will continue to be available for a separate pension when you retire1.
If you continue to participate in the Combination Plan, your contributions will be adjusted based on your new salary and terms of employment.
Leaves and other changes to your employment
Please contact the Human Resources (compensation and benefits) department to discuss your situation.
Leaving UVic
If you leave your employment at UVic, you will have a number of options in regards to the benefits earned to date. Please visit the Leaving UVic section of this website for more details.
1 At retirement, a member with a Money Purchase Contribution Account and a Combined Contribution Account can choose to amalgamate them into a single Variable Benefit Account. Please refer to the Retiring from UVic section of this website for more information.
Survivor benefits before retirement
Survivor benefits are paid to a spouse, beneficiary, or estate in the event of a member's death.
If you have a spouse
If you have a spouse (as defined in the Pension Benefits Standards Act), your spouse is automatically entitled to the survivor benefit, which is 100% of the value of the benefit earned by the member, as well as any of the options that are available to the member1.
A spouse can waive this entitlement by filing a spousal waiver (Form 4) with Pension Services.
If you do not have a spouse
If you do not have a spouse (as defined in the Pension Benefits Standards Act) or if your spouse has submitted a waiver, the survivor benefits are paid to:
- Your estate (default); or
- Your beneficiary(ies).
Please file a Beneficiary information form to designate one or more beneficiary(ies) with Pension Services.
In this case, the survivor benefit is the balance accumulated in the Combined Contribution Account and, if applicable, Voluntary Contribution Account(s). Please refer to the Contributions fact sheet for more information on these accounts.
1 The spouse need not have attained 55 years of age to commence a monthly benefit. Please refer to the Retiring from UVic section of this website for more information.
The Combination Pension Plan Document provides a complete description of the plan, membership eligibility and enrollment, contributions, benefits, and other relevant topics.
Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure that all information on this website is accurate and complete. Should any discrepancy exist, the Plan Documents, statutes, or regulations shall apply.