Periods of reduced pay

Find out how to buy service if you worked less than your full assignment for a period of time.

If you worked less than your full assignment for a period of time, you may be able to buy the difference between your normal, full assignment and the amount you actually worked.

Eligibility

To buy service for a period of reduced pay, you must have:

Been employed by your employer for three years before the period of reduced pay
Worked at your full assignment at some point before the period of reduced pay
Continued working for the employer during the period of reduced pay

For 2020 and 2021 only: If you worked a period with reduced pay in 2020 and/or 2021, you may be eligible to buy service even if you worked for your employer for less than three years. The federal government temporarily suspended this requirement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Active members who experienced a period of reduced pay in 2020 and/or 2021 have 5 years from the end of this period, to apply to purchase this service.

If you normally work less than 100 per cent full time, you can only buy enough service to bring you up to the amount of your normal full assignment.

Examples

Dan has worked full time for the City of Vancouver for the past 10 years. This year, he and his partner adopted a child, and Dan wants to reduce his hours at work so he can spend time bonding with his new daughter. With his employer’s permission, he reduces his workload to 50 per cent of full time for the next six months. During this time, Dan earns only half his normal salary, which means he makes half his normal pension contributions and earns half his normal pensionable service. At the end of this six-month period of reduced pay, Dan will be eligible to top up his service by buying back the difference between his normal assignment (full time) and the hours he actually worked (50 per cent of full time).
Muhammad and Brenda have worked for the City of Kelowna for the past seven years. They equally share one full-time equivalent (FTE) job by each regularly working 50 per cent FTE. Muhammad wants to reduce his workload to 30 per cent FTE for a period of three months, and later buy up to his normal 50 per cent FTE. If Brenda also goes on a period of reduced pay (i.e., works less than 50 per cent FTE) and then later applies to top up her individual service, she can also buy up to her normal 50 per cent FTE.