The general rule is that contributions (other than union dues) withheld from an employee's wages or paid to the employer by a participant must be sent to the plan on the earliest date these contributions can reasonably be separated from the employer's general assets. This means that if you know how much should be sent to the plan three days after the pay date and it takes you another day to prepare the check, you must submit employee contributions four days after the pay date.

No. But there are two broad categories of plans, and within each category there are important common features. In a defined-benefit plan, once you qualify for a benefit, the amount of your benefit is determined by a set of factors such as your years of service, your salary, and your age at retirement.

No. The employer sends his contribution as well as the employee's contribution directly to the Custodian.

You may not withdraw pension contributions if you are vested. However, if you are not vested and have Employee Contributions (including UV & HP plus any interest accrued) in the Pension Plan, you may withdraw these contributions plus interest if you leave the Industry for a minimum of three months or if you have a Break in Service. The withdrawal requires submission of a completed Withdrawal form to the Plan Office. Under certain circumstances you may withdraw UV & HP even if you are vested.

Your pension contributions are calculated as a percentage of your regular earnings and deducted directly from your pay. Your OPTrust pension is integrated with the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). This means that you pay lower contributions to OPTrust for the part of your earnings that is also covered by CPP. The lower contribution rate applies to earnings below Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE). For 2005 the YMPE is $41,100.

Yes. Your employer will keep track of your contributions and report them on your T4 slip as contributions to a registered pension plan. Your T4 will also show a "pension adjustment" amount. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uses the pension adjustment to calculate the amount of RRSP contribution room you will have in the following year. The CRA will notify you of your RRSP room for the following year on your annual Notice of Assessment.

Your contributions are currently deducted from your pay after taxes. The City does not report the refund of your pension contributions as taxable income to you. If you contributed to the City Employees' Pension Fund for at least five years, you are eligible for interest on your contributions. Interest paid to you on a refund is generally taxable, but may be rolled over to a pre-tax investment vehicle. Please consult your tax advisor.

Employers must make the non-elective employer contributions that would have been made during the military service period. Return to List of FAQs

There is no single best way to divide pension benefits in a QDRO. What will be best in a specific case will depend on many factors, including the type of pension plan, the nature of the participant's pension benefits, and why the parties are seeking to divide those benefits.

Generally speaking, there are two types of pension plans: defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. A defined benefit plan promises you a specified monthly benefit at retirement. The plan may state this promised benefit as an exact dollar amount, such as $100 per month at retirement.

SEPs are relatively uncomplicated retirement savings vehicles that allow employers to make contributions on a tax-favored basis to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) owned by the employees. SEPs are subject to minimal reporting and disclosure requirements. Under a SEP, you as the employee must set up an IRA to accept your employer's contributions. As a general rule, your employer can contribute up to 25 percent of your pay into a SEP each year, up to a maximum of $40,000.

The U.S. Department of Labor enforces Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which, in part, establishes participants' rights and fiduciaries' duties. However, certain plans are not covered by the protections of Title I. They are: Plans maintained solely to comply with state workers' compensation, unemployment compensation or disability insurance laws.

Pension plans registered in Ontario are required to comply with the Ontario Pension Benefits Act. FSCO regulates compliance with the Act. This includes oversight of the requirements for plan documents and amendments, annual filings, disclosure to members, financial reporting and other compliance matters.

These plans provide a promise to pay participants specified benefits that are determinable and are based on such factors as age, years of service, and compensation. These plans may be funded through accumulated contributions and investment income (self-funded plans), insurance contracts (insured plans), or a combination of both (split-funded plans). Contributions may be required from both employers and participants (contributory plans) or from employers only (noncontributory plans).

Defined Contribution Pension Plans provide an individual account for each participant and provide benefits that are based on (a) amounts contributed to the participant's account by the employer or employee, (b) investment experience, and (c) any forfeitures allocated to the account, less any administrative expenses charged to the plan.

There is a defined benefit pension scheme, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). There is no health care plan since all employees are covered by the National Health Service. There is a university medical centre.

A defined benefit plan typically expresses the participant's accrued benefit as a monthly payment for life; it starts at a specified age and all trust monies are kept in one large pool. A defined contribution plan resembles a savings account, maintaining individual account balances into which a specified sum of money is contributed each year. Defined contribution plan participants shoulder the risk by choosing their investments.

A member may make extra contributions by waiving the ITHP (Increased-Take-Home-Pay), currently at 5%, tax deferred. This form is available from the Police Pension website or you can click here to access it.