Returning to work after retirement
If you decide to return to work after you’ve retired, it’s important to keep in mind that returning or starting to work for an employer who contributes to the PSPP could impact your pension. The Plan includes rules about re-employment, so it’s important that you’re aware of how these rules could affect you.
Key questions
If I return to work for an employer who contributes to the PSPP, do I have to rejoin the Plan?
If you’re under 65 and you return to, or start working with, an employer who participates in the PSPP, you may need to rejoin the Plan. Please speak with your employer to learn about any rules that may apply to you.
If you’re over 65 when you return to work, you have an option to either rejoin the Plan or not. If you rejoin the Plan, your pension payments will stop until you end your employment, or in December of the year you turn 71 if earlier.
When your pension payments resume, they will have been adjusted to take into account the additional pension credit and new average annual salary you earned while re-employed.
How is my pension affected if I return to work for an employer who doesn’t contribute to the PSPP?
If your employer does not contribute to the PSPP, your PSPP pension will not be affected.
What are the re-employment earnings rules and do they affect me?
If you return to work for a PSPP employer and you don’t rejoin the Plan, there are limits on the amount you can be paid in any calendar quarter before your pension is affected. This is referred to as the quarterly re-employment earnings limit. Simply put, if your gross earnings in any calendar quarter exceed your quarterly re-employment earnings limit, you’ll need to repay a portion, or all, of your pension for the period to OPB. We refer to the amount you must repay as a “pension overpayment."
To see what your re-employment earnings limit amount is, revisit your Confirmation Statement that we sent you when you retired. Your employer is responsible for reporting your earnings for each calendar quarter.
If you are hired on a fee-for-service basis, you are responsible for providing OPB with proof of your re-employment earnings (i.e., invoices and pay statements).
Note: if you're a Justice of the Peace (JP), different rules apply to you. To find out more about your specific situation, please call us.
Takeaways and advice
If you’re considering returning to work for a PSPP employer, it’s important to understand how this may impact your pension.
We can help walk you through the information in your Confirmation Statement as well as answer any other questions you may have about how your pension could be affected. Please give us a call at 416-364-5035 or toll-free at 1-800-668-6203.
Helpful links
Check out the list of PSPP participating employers (PDF).