Your pension and your job

Learn what happens to your pension if you change jobs with the same employer, leave your job or are laid off.


As a full-time, part-time or casual employee you may be eligible to join the plan. If you join, both you and your employer will contribute to your pension every paycheque for as long as you are an active member of the plan.

You will be automatically enrolled in the plan if you are:

  • A full-time employee in a permanent position
  • A full-time employee in a permanent position still on probation, but employed in a continuous, full-time capacity with the same employer for 12 months
  • An employee not in a permanent position, but employed on a continuous, full-time basis with the same employer for 12 months
  • An employee not in a full-time position, but instead filling a permanent, full-time position on a temporary, continuous basis for 12 months

If you are a part-time or casual employee, you can enrol in the plan if both of the following apply:

  • You have completed two years of continuous employment (which can include breaks of up to 52 weeks)
  • Your salary, including overtime and other payments, is equal to at least 35 per cent of the year's maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE) for two calendar years in a row

As a part-time employee, you can also join the plan if your employer passes a resolution under the terms of a negotiated collective agreement.

What happens if you change jobs

If you change jobs or move from a full-time position to a part-time or casual position for the same employer, you will continue to be an active member and contribute to the plan. Your contributions (and your employer’s contributions) will be adjusted to reflect your new salary.

If you move from a casual position to a part-time or full-time position, you will need to meet the eligibility criteria described above before you can enrol in the plan.

What happens if you start a new job

You will remain an active member of the plan if you:

  • Take a new position with the same employer
  • Take a job within one month with a new employer that also participates in the plan
  • Take a job within 90 days with a new employer that also participates in the plan; however, you will need to meet the eligibility rules again to contribute to the plan

What happens if you leave your job

If you leave your job and are not working or you start working for an employer that does not participate in the plan, you will need to decide what to do with your pension. Your options depend on:

  • Your age
  • If you are retiring
  • If your new employer’s pension plan has a transfer agreement with the Municipal Pension Plan

Your options could include:

  • Deferring your pension (leaving your money in the plan and taking a monthly pension when you retire)
  • Transferring the commuted value of your pension to a locked-in retirement vehicle
  • Applying for your pension
  • Transferring your service in the Municipal Pension Plan to your new employer’s pension plan

We will send you either a Termination selection statement or a pension estimate outlining your options.

What happens if you are laid off

You are no longer an active member of the plan if you:

  • Are not working
  • Have not contributed to the plan for one year

What happens if you are laid off but on a seniority or recall list

If you have been on a seniority or recall list for a year without contributing to the plan, you will be terminated for pension plan purposes. Once you are recalled back to work, you will have to meet the eligibility rules again to rejoin the plan.

What happens if you want to retire

Contact your employer(s) in writing to arrange your last day of paid employment. If you are working for multiple employers in the same plan, you must terminate all employment under the Municipal Pension Plan in order to start receiving your pension.


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