News & Events

The rate of return for March 2023 is now available.

We are pleased to share that University of Victoria Staff Pension Plan Pensioners aged 66 and over will be receiving a supplemental Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2023.

In alignment with the University of Victoria campus closures, the Pension Services office will be closed for the holidays.

The UVic Staff Pension Plan is indexed for inflation, which means that each year, pensions receive a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). This adjustment is calculated by determining the average Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the past 12 months (ie October 2021 to September 2022), compared to the average of the previous 12 months.

An actuarial valuation was completed earlier this year for the defined benefit component of the Combination Pension Plan. The valuation, which covered the three-year period from the beginning of 2019 through the end of 2021, shows that the Plan continues to have a solid foundation for providing financial security to its members.

In September, members of the University of Victoria Combination Pension Plan were notified of the nomination process to fill trustee positions on the Pension Board of Trustees. These positions were coming open because the three-year elected terms of current Trustees Michael Miller and Susan Service expire at the end of December 31, 2022. We are pleased to update you that in response to the call for nominations, two nominations were submitted. Given that the number of nominees matched the number of available Trustee positions, an election is not required. Nominees Michael Miller and Ori Granot have been acclaimed and will begin terms starting January 1, 2023. These results have been ratified by the Pension Board of Trustees.

Thank you to all members who registered for and attended the Annual General Meeting of the Combination Pension Plan (CPP) and Money Purchase Pension Plan (MPP) on July 6, 2022.

With the current economic situation, inflation and changes to cost of living are top of mind. For pensioners who have elected an Internal Variable Annuity (IVA), such discussion may also raise questions about the calculation of Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA).

The Pension Board of Trustees will be holding its Annual General Meeting of the membership on Wednesday July 6, 2022, from 4:30 to 6:00pm. Join us for a report on Board activities and performance of Plan funds in 2021. This meeting will be virtual. Members of the plan will receive an invitation in the mail with directions for registering for the meeting. Members can also contact the Pension Services office for more details: pensionsAGM@uvic.ca

Due to circumstances out of our control, Combination Pension Plan and Money Purchase Pension Plan financial statements and annual reports are delayed this year.

As the University of Victoria has stated, we are deeply troubled about Russia’s military attacks in Ukraine, the impact on the country’s citizens and international stability, and the impact for university community members. The Combination Pension Plan, Money Purchase Pension Plan and Staff Pension Plan each have several investment managers. These managers are responsible for different types of assets. Two of these investment managers – BCI and PH&N – have indicated that a fraction of a percentage of their total assets under management are invested in Russia. The exposure of UVic pension plans to those investments is in itself quite limited. However, we have been assured by these managers that they are now addressing these investments through their internal processes, which are evolving as the situation changes. We are closely monitoring the situation in the Ukraine and its global impacts. Pension Services, the Pension Board of Trustees and Staff Pension Plan Committees are staying apprised of developments. We continue to work with the investment managers and investment consultants for each plan to monitor and assess the situation.

Pension Services will be closed from December 25th, 2021 to January 3rd, 2022.

The nomination deadline has been extended for our CPP Board of Trustee election

Effective October 1, the contribution rates for the Staff Pension Plan will be increasing.

Our 2020 Money Purchase and Combination Plan AGM's have gone virtual.

We are pleased to announce that the Northern Trust Company has recently been appointed to provide benefit payment services to all UVic pensioners, effective January 01, 2020. We believe this change will allow us to serve you better, and we are committed to making this transition seamless for you.

As communicated to members earlier in 2019, the Pension Board recently decided that the Plan is sufficiently healthy to reduce the contribution rate for the Defined Retirement Benefit Account (DRBA), which funds the defined benefit component of the Combination Pension Plan. This contribution rate has been set at 5.05% of salary since 2011 and will now be reduced to 4% effective January 1, 2020.

In November 2019, Dr. Michael Miller and Ms. Susan Service we re-elected as Trustees on the Pension Board, for three year terms starting January 01, 2020. The next election for two positions on the Pension Board will be held in 2020, for terms beginning January 01, 2021. For more information, please visit the Governance section of the Combination Pension Plan webpage.

Pension Services provides personalized Annual Statements to all pension plan members on an annual basis. Find out about the timelines for these statements and when you can expect to receive yours!