Leaving your job

Leaving a job with an employer participating in the plan? Find out what you can do with your plan contributions.

Overview

Your pension is an important financial asset. If you leave your current job before you retire, you’ll need to decide what to do with your pension benefit.

Your options depend on your age when you leave your job and years of service in BC's Municipal Pension Plan. You may be able to:

• Defer your pension and apply at a later date
• Transfer the commuted value of your pension to a locked-in retirement vehicle
• Apply for a monthly pension if you have reached your earliest retirement age
• Transfer your service to another plan

Note: if you left your job before September 30, 2015, and have less than two years of contributory service, you may apply for a refund of your contributions plus interest.

If you are younger than the earliest retirement age of 55 (50 for police and firefighters), we will send you a Termination selection statement the later of:

• Ninety days since your termination date
• When we receive the termination information from your employer

This statement will outline your options. If you work for more than one employer that participates in the plan, we will only send you a statement if you have left all your jobs with all participating employers.

If you are at or over the earliest retirement age of 55 (50 for police and firefighters) when you leave your job, we will send you a pension estimate showing your options.

You may want to talk with an independent financial advisor to determine which option is best for you and your situation.