Over the past two years, the York University All-Union Pension Group (YUPG) has engaged in negotiations with the University on changes to the York University Pension Plan (the “Plan”). During these negotiations, YUPG sought to obtain an agreement that would reduce current Plan deficits, would be affordable, would be structured to maintain acceptable levels of risk and, at the same time, would achieve the savings target defined by the Ontario Government so as to render the Plan eligible for solvency relief.
“Solvency relief” is a recent government program designed to extend the time period available to re-establish plan solvency. Under pension law, a solvency deficit gives rise to an obligation to make special payments to retire the deficit. Normally, these special payments are amortized over five years. Under solvency relief, if a plan demonstrates meaningful progress towards attaining the savings target, the special payments required to retire the deficit can be extended to ten years.
If eligible, the University would be able to extend the time period so as to reduce the amount of the annual special payment. Based on the 2011 actuarial valuation, the Plan’s solvency deficit is $386.5 million. Consequently, obtaining solvency relief would result in a substantial reduction in the additional contributions the University would be required to make to the Plan.
Read the Backgrounder (PDF) from the York University All Union Pension Group (YUPG)
Read the YUPG Proposal for Memorandum of Agreement (PDF)
Webcast Recording
The following are recordings of the webcasts of the Pension Plan Meeting for YUSAPUY 1 from Friday, November 1, 2013.
