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 Staff Plan. Each year, Pension Services will provide you with an annual statement providing you with additional information on the benefits you have earned.
The Staff 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.
Your contributions
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.
There are different types of pension plans; the Staff Pension Plan is a defined benefit pension plan, which means that the amount you will receive when you retire is determined by a formula based on your salary, age at retirement, years of credited service, and an applicable percentage set in the Plan Document. In defined benefit plans, contributions and investment returns DO NOT determine the final benefit.
The rate of contribution is a percentage of your basic salary, and is determined through an actuarial valuation, which is completed at least once every three years.
What you contribute
As of August 1, 2023, you contribute 4.78% of your salary up to the YMPE (Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings); and 6.53% of your salary in excess of that amount. This includes a contribution of 0.25% of your salary toward the Supplementary Retirement Benefit Account1.
Additional voluntary contributions are not currently permitted.
What the University contributes
The University contributes 11.09% of your basic salary, including a contribution of 0.25% of your salary toward the Supplementary Retirement Benefit Account1.
1 The Supplementary Retirement Benefit Account is used to provide cost of living increases to eligible pensioners if it exceeds the basic increase limit of 3%.
Changes to your employment
Changing position
If you move to a new position at the University, your eligibility for membership in the Staff 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 retire.
If you continue to participate in the Staff 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.
Survivor benefits before retirement
Survivor benefits are paid to a spouse or beneficiary 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 benefits, and can select either:
1) an immediate pension: (a lifetime pension with 10 year guarantee); or
2) the lump sum commuted value of that pension transferred to a locked-in retirement account (LIRA), life income fund (LIF), or another registered pension plan.
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 completed 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 beneficiary would receive a lump sum payment, less withholding tax. The lump sum, before tax, is equal to the commuted value that would have been payable to you if you had left your employment on your date of death.