22

 

Fourth Session, 44th General Assembly

51 Elizabeth II, 2002

BILL 22

AN ACT TO AMEND THE TEACHERS' PENSIONS ACT

Received and Read the First Time

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

HONOURABLE JOAN MARIE AYLWARD

Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Clause 1 of the Bill would amend section 2 of the Teachers' Pensions Act by adding definitions to that section for the terms "consumer price index" and "pensioner".

Clause 2 of the Bill would amend the Act to require a 0.85% increase in the contributions of teachers and the government of the province to the teachers' pension plan.

Clause 3 of the Bill would amend the Act to allow teachers to purchase pensionable service for a period of service lost due to a work stoppage or lockout.

Clause 4 of the Bill would amend the Act to provide for the indexing of pension benefits for pensioners who have reached the age of 65 years and who retire after August 31, 1998.

Clause 5 of the Bill is a retroactive commencement clause that would have clauses 1, 2, and 3 commence on September 1, 2002, a date negotiated under the teachers' collective agreement, and would have clause 3 commence on the September 1, 2001 commencement date of that agreement.

 

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE TEACHERS'
PENSIONS ACT

Analysis

1. S.2 Amdt
Interpretation

2. S.6 Amdt.
Contributions by teachers

3. S.12.1 Added
Strike and lockout

4. S.26.1 Added
Indexing

5. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:


SNL1991 c17
as amended

1. (1) Subsection 2(1) of the Teachers' Pensions Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (a.1) the following:

(a.2) "consumer price index", with respect to a year, means the average for each month of that year of the Consumer Price Index for Canada as published by Statistics Canada;

(2) Paragraph 2(1)(j) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(j) "pensioner" means a person in receipt of a pension under this Act;

 

2. Paragraph 6(2)(a) of the Act is amended by deleting the figure "8.5%" and substituting the figure "9.35%".

 

3. The Act is amended by adding immediately after section 12 the following:

Strike and lockout

12.1 (1) A teacher who has a period of absence due to a lawful strike or lockout may have that period of absence credited as pensionable service.

(2) Where a teacher has had a period of absence due to a lawful strike or lockout that occurred before September 1, 2001, and wishes to purchase pensionable service for that period of absence, that teacher must, not later than July 31, 2002, elect to have that period of absence credited as pensionable service.

(3) Where a teacher has a period of absence due to a lawful strike or lockout after September 1, 2002, and wishes to purchase pensionable service for that period of absence, that teacher must elect to purchase that service not later than 3 months after the first of the month immediately after the collective agreement relating to that strike has been ratified.

(4) The cost of the purchase of pensionable service under this section shall be twice the contributions that the teacher would have made had that teacher not had the period of absence together with interest at a rate prescribed by the minister from the date on which the period of absence ceases until the date of the payment of the cost by that teacher.

(5) A payment made by a teacher under subsection (4) shall be a lump sum payment.

 

4. The Act is amended by adding immediately after section 26 the following:

Indexing

26.1 (1) On September 1 in a year, the amount of pension or survivor benefit being paid to a person who has reached the age of 65 years shall be adjusted by multiplying

(a) the annual amount of the pension or survivor benefit;

by

(b) 60% of the ratio that the consumer price index for the previous calendar year bears to the consumer price index for the calendar year immediately before that previous calendar year,

but the amount of an increase shall not exceed 1.2% of the annual pension or survivor benefit.

(2) Subsection (1) only applies to a pension or survivor benefit where the teacher to whom that pension or benefit relates retires after August 31, 1998.

(3) The amount of a pension or survivor benefit being paid to a person shall not decrease by reason only of an adjustment under subsection (1).

Commencement

5. (1) Sections 1, 2 and 4 of this Act is considered to have come into force on September 1, 2002.

(2) Section 3 of this Act is considered to have come into force on September 1, 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer