Each year, you will receive a pension statement showing the data being used to calculate your pension benefits, when you can retire and estimates of your pension entitlement. More specifically, it includes:
The annual pension you have accumulated to the end of last year
How much you have contributed throughout your plan membership
An estimate of your projected annual pension at retirement
Your Spouse and beneficiary information
Review your statement carefully and notify the FortisBC Pension Department if you find any discrepancies in your personal information. Complete the Beneficiary Change Form if you need to change your Spouse or beneficiary information and email it to the FortisBC Pension Department.
Historical statements can be accessed online using the Pension Web Portal hosted by our third-party administrator, TELUS Health.
Log in to the Pension Web Portal to find other useful retirement planning tools. You can run estimates for your pension at different retirement dates and explore your pension payment options using the Projection Tool. You can also use the Retirement Income Planner to forecast your retirement savings from various sources.
If you have trouble accessing the Pension Web Portal, contact TELUS Health for help or check out the log in instructions. The FortisBC Pension Department is also available to provide additional support if needed.
Each year, you will receive a pension statement showing the data being used to calculate your pension benefits, when you can retire and estimates of your pension entitlement. More specifically, it includes:
The annual pension you have accumulated to the end of last year
How much you have contributed throughout your plan membership
An estimate of your projected annual pension at retirement
Your Spouse and beneficiary information
Review your statement carefully and notify the FortisBC Pension Department if you find any discrepancies in your personal information. Complete the Beneficiary Change Form if you need to change your Spouse or beneficiary information and email it to the FortisBC Pension Department.
Historical statements can be accessed online using the Pension Web Portal hosted by our third-party administrator, TELUS Health.
Log in to the Pension Web Portal to find other useful retirement planning tools. You can run estimates for your pension at different retirement dates and explore your pension payment options using the Projection Tool. You can also use the Retirement Income Planner to forecast your retirement savings from various sources.
If you have trouble accessing the Pension Web Portal, contact TELUS Health for help or check out the log in instructions. The FortisBC Pension Department is also available to provide additional support if needed.
Different career and life changes can affect your pension benefits. Here’s what happens if you…
If you leave FortisBC prior to your 55th birthday, you will be given the option of a deferred monthly pension payable at age 65 or a transfer of the deemed (commuted) value of your deferred pension to a Locked-in Retirement Account, another pension plan or an insurance company for the purchase of an annuity. You may commence payment of your deferred pension as early as age 55; however, a reduction for early retirement will apply.
The Commuted Value of your deferred pension will be calculated by the external third-party pension administrator in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Standards of Practice for pension Commuted Values. It is the estimated amount of money as of your last day of employment with FortisBC that you would need to invest to pay the monthly pension you earned under the FEI Plan starting at age 65. The Commuted Value fluctuates with changes in factors such as your age and interest rates.If you pass away while an employee and you have a Spouse, your Spouse will receive a lifetime pension or may transfer the Commuted Value of the pension benefits you accrued to the date of death to a Locked-in Retirement account. If you do not have a Spouse at the time of death, your beneficiary (or estate) will receive the Commuted Value of the pension benefits you accrued to the date of death in the form of a lump sum cash payment.
If you pass away while receiving a monthly pension from the FEI Plan, your Spouse or beneficiary may receive a pension depending on the form of payment you elected at the time of retirement.
If you elected a joint and survivor pension option at retirement and you predecease your Spouse, your Spouse will receive payments in accordance with the option you elected. If they passed away before you, there will be no more pension payable from the FEI Plan.
If you elected a pension option with guaranteed payments, your beneficiary will receive a monthly pension until the remaining guarantee has been paid. If your beneficiary is your estate, your estate will receive a lump sum payment equal to the Commuted Value of the remaining guaranteed payment. If you pass away after the guaranteed period has elapsed, there will be no more pension payable from the FEI Plan.
You may choose to continue contributing to the FEI Plan and accruing Credited Service while on your maternity or parental leave, or for an absence during which you are receiving benefits from WorkSafeBC. You will receive a package from FortisBC, where you will indicate whether you want to continue or suspend your pension contributions.
If you elect to continue your contributions:
If you elect to suspend contributions while on leave, you will NOT be credited pensionable service for the period of your leave and a break in pensionable service will be tracked.
You will NOT be credited pensionable service for the period of your leave and a break in pensionable service will be tracked.
During an approved long-term disability, you are not required to make contributions to the FEI Plan, but your Credited Service continues to accrue. Your Earnings are based on the position you worked in immediately before the approved claim.
If you are re-hired into a M&E Gas or MoveUP Customer Service position and were previously a member of the FEI Plan, your new employment period and pension enrolment eligibility will be mutually exclusive from your original FEI Plan membership. This means that the eligibility rules for your new period of employment will apply from your date of re-hire.
If you retire from the FEI Plan and are re-hired by the company, you will continue receiving your monthly pension from the FEI Plan. You will not recommence contributions to the FEI Plan or accrue further service under the FEI Plan.
If your marital status changes from single to legally married, or if you have been living with someone in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years, please contact the FortisBC Pension Department to update your pension data. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to complete a pension Beneficiary Change form or a pension Name Change form.
If you separate from your legal Spouse (through divorce or after living separate and apart for at least two years) or your common-law relationship ends (as soon as you stop living together in a marriage-like relationship), you need to contact the FortisBC Pension Department to update your pension data and complete the appropriate paperwork.
Provincial family law legislation may require that the pension benefits you have built up during your marriage be shared with your former Spouse. The actual split of the benefits will be according to a court order or separation agreement. If this situation arises, your legal counsel can advise you of the steps to follow.
A former Spouse of a plan member can be paid their share of the member’s pension directly by becoming a limited member.
To receive their share of the pension directly from the FEI Plan, your former Spouse must apply to become a limited member. As a limited member of the FEI Plan, they will automatically receive a copy of your annual pension statement. Some information in the statement will be removed to protect your privacy. However, it will show your pensionable salary and estimates of your future pension benefit. If you have a former Spouse with a right to your pension, the amounts in your annual statement will include their share. This means that your actual pension payment will be less than shown on the statement.
To become a limited member of the FEI Plan, your former Spouse must submit the following to FortisBC Pension Department:
As a limited member of the FEI Plan, your former Spouse will receive their proportionate share of your pension in the form of a lump-sum settlement or a monthly pension. Their proportionate share of your pension will be calculated at the relevant time.
As a limited member, your former Spouse can name a beneficiary to receive any pension amounts still due to them after their death. To designate a beneficiary, your former Spouse must submit a Limited Member Beneficiary Form to the FortisBC Pension Department. If they need to amend the information submitted to the plan administrator, they can use Form P8 – Change of Information.
Your former Spouse does not have to be a limited member to request a copy of your annual pension statement and other documents to help determine the value of your pension. They can get this information from the plan administrator by submitting a Form P1 – Claim and Request for Information and Notice.
More information about splitting a pension on the breakdown of a relationship can be found here.
Here are a couple tax considerations to be aware of while you are working and participating in the FEI Plan:
The Income Tax Act (ITA) requires that you stop accruing Credited Service after December 1st of the calendar year in which you turn age 71 and that you start collecting your pension as of December 1st of the same year. Pension contributions will also cease on December 1st should you work past your 71st birthday.
You will receive paperwork to initiate your monthly pension if you continue working past your 71st birthday. This does not mean you have to stop working. You may continue to work while receiving your monthly pension.
When you do decide to resign from your position at FortisBC, you must submit a retirement request form. Please visit the Initiating your retirement page for more information.
