Steps to Retirement

Steps to Your Online Retirement Application through PensionEase

Step 1: Confirm and Update Your Personal Information & Details through Your Pension Profile (YPP)

The first step to applying for Your Retirement is to confirm or Update Your Information, such as your contact information, review the People in Your Life including your pension partner and beneficiaries.

**If the information on your file is out of date, your pension estimate may not be correct, and the retirement application process may be delayed.

Step 2: Research, Resources, and Tools

Do some research and planning. Use the links provided below to help you better understand and to prepare you for your retirement with PSPP.

Attend: Steps to Retirement webinar.

Watch: Your Pension Options video

Read:

Do: Run your pension estimate(s) using the Pension Projection Calculator.

Step 3: Determine a Retirement Date

If you’re still participating in PSPP, work with your employer’s Human Resources area to select your retirement date. They can help you manage considerations such as vacation time, payroll periods and other factors that could affect the date you select. You don’t have to retire on your birthday, work anniversary, or a specific day of the month.

If you aren’t currently participating in PSPP, you can select any date to start your pension provided it follows the Plan guidelines, as shown at the link below.

**The date you choose should be at least three months away to allow enough time to complete the next Steps.

Step 4: Three months before retirement-Submit Your Online Retirement Application

Three months before you want your pension to begin, submit your retirement application.

To complete the application process, submit your application online using the PensionEase application tool in Your Pension Profile.

If you are still participating in the Plan, your employer will be required to complete this step with you, and they need to fill out a specific part of the application form. Once your employer has completed their portion of the form, you will upload the form back into PensionEase. Once uploaded you will then complete your online application by completing the following online forms:

Do: Select your Pension Option
Do: Complete Request for Direct Deposit form
Do: Complete Tax Credit form

Depending on how much information we have from you, and how up to date YPP is, you may be required to upload the following personal documents:

  • Birth Certificate
  • Marriage Certificate
  • Pension Partner’s Birth Certificate
  • Declaration of Pension Partner Status form

You may also be required to complete the following form online, depending on your personal Retirement and Estate Planning:

  • Declaration of Pension Partner Status form | Download
  • Pension Partner Waiver of Entitlement to a Death Benefit After Pension Commencement | Download
  • Pension Partner Waiver of Entitlement to a 60% Joint and Survivor Pension | Download
  • Once your online application is processed, you will receive a Retirement Benefit Statement  through your Secure Messages application in YPP

**If you are no longer participating in the Plan, you can ignore the employer’s section and submit the application online in Your Pension Profile.
**If you have combined pensionable service (CPS), you will also need to complete an application for the related plan in order to start that pension.

Step 5: Complete Your Buyback

If you are currently paying for a buyback, you must complete the payments for buying service prior to your pension commencement date. If the buyback is not paid in full before your pension commencement date, the buyback will be prorated, and your service will be prorated to reflect the payments that have been made.

**If you have no buybacks in progress or choose not to buy your prior service, you can skip this step.

Step 6: Receiving Your Pension Payment

Our goal is for you to receive your first pension payment within 30 days of your selected pension start date. Completing your online retirement application through PensionEase 90 days prior to your retirement date is critical in order to ensure your first payment is on time.

Pension payments are made on the second-last business day of each month, except in December when payment is made before December 25.


What if I Change My Mind?

If you decide to change the date of your retirement, the pension option you chose, or even decide to stop the retirement process at any point after you have completed your online Retirement Application, contact us immediately—before your first pension payment commences. You will also need to inform your employer of this change, if you are still participating in PSPP.

If you have already received your first pension payment, you cannot change your pension option, nor can you stop receiving your pension. You can go back to work, even for a PSPP employer, but you can no longer participate in PSPP.