The 2020 MPP Member Benefit Statements will be distributed in June and are available in the confidential “My Account” found on the Municipal Pension Plan website.
It’s important to carefully review the statement, including pensionable service, which your employer reports to the MPP. Problems that arise from different payroll start/end dates, rotating shift schedules and automated payroll systems can have an impact on your lifetime pension amount when you retire.**
Pensionable service is the total months paid to you for time worked, vacation time, paid sick time, time on WCB but paid by your employer, time on LTD, and overtime taken as time off. The maximum pensionable service for one year is 12 months.
If you worked full-time, your statement should show 12 months of pensionable service. It would only be less if you:
- took an unpaid leave (even for a few days),
- worked part-time for part of the year,
- or joined the MPP in 2020.
Why is pensionable service important?
Every year’s pensionable service will help determine the pension amount available to you.
Your MPP pension amount is determined by this formula:
the average of your five highest years (60 months) of pensionable salary (also called HAS)
multiplied by
your total years and months of pensionable service
multiplied by
1.3 % up to the YMPE ($58,700/year in 2020) and 2.0% on earnings higher than $58,700
up to Dec 31, 2021. After January 1, 2022, this changes to 1.9% on all earnings.
What should I do if I believe there is an error?
First, contact your payroll department and ask them to provide clarification and/or correct the error. If you cannot get this done, contact your HEU Staff Representative.
How do I find out more?
For questions on your pension estimates in the Benefit Statement, your past data in the Municipal Pension Plan, setting up “My Account,” or more details about the pension plan: contact the MPP at mpp.pensionsbc.ca or phone 1-800-668-6335 toll-free.
For questions on the MPP changes effective January 1, 2022, or clarification on employer responsibilities: call HEU’s pension hotline at 1-877-476-7184 or email plandesign@heu.org.
**The MPP’s reporting year is from January 1 to December 31. But an employer’s pay period might begin January 8 or end on December 23. Reporting this way would mean a full-time employee would have 11.54 months of pensionable service, not the correct amount of 12 months.