University of Saskatchewan, Community Living Toronto join CAAT’s DBplus pension
Two more organizations are joining the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan’s DBplus.
The University of Saskatchewan and Federated Colleges Non-Academic Pension Plan, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1975, has joined the plan as part of its latest collective agreement. Effective Sept. 1, 2019, 1,300 plan members will join the CAAT plan on a go-forward basis.
“The CAAT DBplus plan has proved to be a timely solution to the long-term financial sustainability challenge we were facing with our non-academic defined benefit pension plan,” said Cheryl Carver, associate vice-president of people and resources at the University of Saskatchewan, in a press release.
Read: The Canadian Press and Postmedia join CAAT’s DBplus plan
“DBplus ‘ticked all the boxes’ for us as an employer in terms of cost certainty for our institution while providing our employees with a competitive pension plan. The team at CAAT has been there every step of the way through the implementation process and we are looking forward to working with them for years to come.”
Community Living Toronto also intends to merge its previous defined benefit pension plan into the CAAT’s DBplus plan, pending regulatory approval. Its 700 employees will be part of the the plan as of Oct. 1, 2019, after an overwhelmingly majority voted to join.
“We are so pleased to be joining the CAAT DBplus plan. This will allow us to provide a sustainable, predictable retirement benefit for our employees and reduce the significant effort associated with providing our own plan,” said Brad Saunders, chief executive officer of Community Living Toronto.
These organizations join other employers that have moved over to the DBplus plan, including the Canadian Press, Postmedia Network Inc. and the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre.
Read: Governance at core of success in CAAT plan’s shift to private markets
The DBplus plan is actively growing its membership, seeking mutually beneficial arrangements with other public, private or not-for-profit sectors in Canada, including DB, defined contribution and group registered retirement savings plans, as well as with employers with no current retirement plan, noted the press release.
“I am grateful that our newest members from the University of Saskatchewan and Community Living Toronto have endorsed our DBplus plan,” said Derek Dobson, CEO and plan manager of the CAAT pension plan. “This innovative pension design provides secure, predictable retirement income for life at a fixed contribution rate — meeting essential needs and eliminating key risks for both employees and employers.”