Your pension plan
Important Information About Your Pension Plan
Some of you have expressed concerns that Local 40 may threaten your existing pension entitlements if you exercise your rights under the Labour Relations Code– your right to change unions. That is not true. The law protects your pension investments and if Local 40 threatens you in any way with YOUR pension money, please know the following:
1. Pensions for employees who work in British Columbia are governed by the Pension Benefits Standards Act. There are various sections under the Act which protect the employees’ pension from being reduced or lost.
2. Most importantly, the pension benefits that each employee has accumulated to date continue to be assigned to that employee when there is a termination of active membership in the existing pension plan. This means the pension benefits you have earned to date will remain yours regardless of whether you continue to be a member of Local 40, join another union, or if you choose not to be represented by any union.
3. Additionally, you can choose to have the administrator of the pension fund transfer your pension benefits to another pension fund, or a locked-in RRSP, or, under certain circumstances, pay them out to you.
You may also select to keep your pension funds in the existing plan without any penalty or reduction of your existing pension benefits.
The bottom line is this: a union that threatens you with your own money is certainly not looking after your interests. Unions are service organizations – they are there to make the lives of their members better. Ask yourself: has Local 40 made your life better as a worker at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel?
Support the BC Hospitality Employees’ Association – a union created by your co-workers prepared to work for YOU!!!
