Employer Manual

A practical tool for employers

Table of contents

About this Manual

Overview

Welcome to OPTrust’s online Employer Manual. This manual reflects our commitment to providing timely and efficient service – both to participating employers and, together with them, to our over 100,000 members and retirees.

Member-focused service

OPTrust follows a member-focused service model. As part of this approach, we have reduced the demands placed on employers for administering various aspects of the OPSEU Pension Plan. At the same time, we have assumed the primary and direct responsibility for the processing and verification of individual pension transactions. As a result, for many transaction types, the employer’s role has changed to initiating the transaction and providing any employment-related data and/or documentation that may be required. In other cases, members are able to deal directly with OPTrust to initiate and complete certain transactions. This model allows OPTrust to provide prompt, efficient and consistent service to all plan members and employers.

A practical tool for employers

The Employer Manual has been developed to provide employers that participate in the OPSEU Pension Plan – and their human resources, benefits and payroll staff – with the information and resources they need to fulfill their roles in administering the Plan. In the manual, employers will find:

  • An overview of the OPSEU Pension Plan and OPTrust’s administrative policies and procedures.

  • Descriptions of the employer’s responsibilities for administering each pension transaction, as well as the responsibilities of OPTrust as Plan administrator.

  • Practical information about specific pension transactions, presented in an easy-to-use format.

  • Concise, up-to-date procedures and guidelines on each major transaction type.

  • Forms, checklists and other tools that employers need to initiate each pension transaction.

Disclaimer

OPTrust's Employer Manual is intended to provide participating employers with information about the OPSEU Pension Plan and its administration. Like other information on the OPTrust website, this manual does not create any rights to benefits not provided for in the actual terms of the Plan. For more information please see the site's legal disclaimer. A copy of the OPSEU Pension Plan Text is also available on the OPTrust website.

Version dates and content updates

The contents of this manual are subject to change. In addition to periodic updates to the manual as a whole, individual sections may be revised as needed to reflect changes in the Plan’s provisions or in OPTrust’s policies and/or administrative procedures. Employer representatives should therefore use the online version of the manual posted on this site, rather than relying on printed versions of the manual contents, which may become out of date.

Previous administration manuals

In the past, OPTrust published a Pension Administration Manual for employers: in print in 1997 and 1999, and in PDF format in 2001. These manuals are now obsolete. Printed copies of previous manuals should be withdrawn from use or destroyed.

For more information

If you have any questions about this manual or the OPSEU Pension Plan, you can contact us via the Secure Employer Portal.

Updates and revisions

Important! The content of the Employer Manual is subject to change. As well as posting new sections as they are developed, periodic updates and revisions may affect individual sections or the manual as a whole. Revisions may be required to reflect changes in pension legislation, the Plan’s provisions or OPTrust’s administrative policies and procedures.

We therefore recommend that you use the online version of the manual available on OPTrust’s website every time you refer to the manual. While it may sometimes be helpful for you to print certain sections of the manual, it is important to remember that previously printed material may be out of date.

In the event of any conflict between this manual and the OPSEU Pension Plan Text, the Plan Text will govern.

Revisions

March 2010 - Introduction, Enrolment, Buyback sections updated

December 2009 - Pension Data sections updated

August 2009 - Divestment and Retirement sections updated

June 2009 - Secure Employer Portal and Termination sections updated

March 2009 - Introduction and Pension Data sections updated

September 10 , 2007 - two sections updated:

  • Enrolment - to clarify Plan Membership Date (PMD) and list of acceptable proof of age documents

  • Retirement - to reflect change to age 71 as end age for contributing to the pension plan

April 26, 2007 - Reporting Pension Data sections updated

October 13, 2005 - Secure Employer Portal section added

October 6, 2005 - Disability section added

September 26, 2005 - Death section added

June 24, 2005 - Divestments section added

January 28, 2005 - Tax Reporting and Pension Adjustments section added

December 24, 2004 - Four updates to the manual released:

October 12, 2004 - The following pages of the Enrolling a Member section were updated to reflect the introduction of the Transfer of Membership Between the OPSEU Pension Plan and the Public Service Pension Plan (OPTrust 1040) form:

September 3, 2004 - Two updates to the manual released:

March 31, 2004 - Reporting Pension Data section added

January 30, 2004 - Employer Manual launched

About the OPSEU Pension Plan