Joining the Plan
Eligible Organizations
Community and women’s groups, social economy enterprises, cultural non-profit organizations and foundations can join the plan and are defined as follows:
- Must be a community action group, an autonomous community action group, or a social or cultural group
- Must be a group whose mission focuses on or includes social transformation
- Must be a group whose whole mission is not dependent on the government
- May hold an episcopal charter; in which case, the group must demonstrate to the retirement committee that it has a social or cultural mission aligned with community values and that its mission aims for or includes social transformation
- Can be a foundation; in which case, it must demonstrate that its function is not solely to finance a public institution and that a significant portion of its donations provides funding to one or more community and women's groups, social economy enterprises or cultural groups. The retirement committee approves membership in the plan based on these criteria.
- Organizations with a Canadian charter can also join the plan.
Benefits of the Plan
By participating in the plan:
- You contribute to improving working conditions in the community sector, which facilitates staff recruitment and retention
- You choose a security-focused plan, as benefits are guaranteed, which is not the case for those from RRSPs and VRSPs
- You choose a plan administered according to values that promote respect for democracy and the defense of rights; our investments aim both to generate the returns required to pay promised pensions and to invest while taking into consideration as much as possible community social, environmental, and governance values
- You choose a plan that offers flexibility, as each group determines its total contribution level, which ranges from 2% to 18% of salary, and which can be adjusted upwards or downwards at any time
Steps to Join
Joining the retirement plan is a collective decision and requires collective reflection. A simple way to start this reflection is to invite us. We offer free training sessions on the retirement plan and its terms. These training sessions provide employees and board members with the same information and enable them to ask their own questions in order to make an informed decision.
1.
Joining the plan is a decision that requires collective reflection.
2.
The Board of Directors informs employees and initiates the consultation process. Membership must be accepted by a majority of at least 70% of non-unionized workers or by the union, if applicable.
3.
Employees decide the amount of their contribution.
4.
The organization fills out the Membership Guide and contacts the plan’s secretariat.
5.
The retirement committee approves membership to the retirement plan.
6.
The plan provides the information for the administrative implementation of the plan.
Membership Rules for Employees
Rule #1
Rule #2
A person already participating in the plan MUST join upon hiring.
A non-regular employee is a person who holds a position defined as exceptional, casual, temporary, contractual, on call or substitute within a group.
Rule #1
When they have accumulated 700 hours with 1 or more employers participating in the plan in a calendar year, the employee MAY join as of January 1st of the following year. In this case, the employer must enroll this person in the plan. If they have not reached 700 hours, the counter resets to 0 at the beginning of the following year.
When they obtain more than 35% of the YMPE (year’s maximum pensionable earnings) with 1 or more employers participating in the plan in a calendar year, this person MAY join as of January 1st of the following year. In this case, the employer must enroll this person in the plan. If they have not earned 35% of the YMPE, the counter resets to $0 at the beginning of the following year.
Rule #2
A person already participating in the plan MUST join upon hiring even if they have a non-regular status.
- A participating individual must continue to contribute, regardless of changes in their working hours or status.
