MEPP has a relationship with the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP), called Combined Pensionable Service (CPS).

You are eligible for CPS if you move from PSPP to MEPP or vice versa:

• with no break in service; and
• while with the same employer.

Often, this happens when someone is promoted to a management position with their employer.

It is important to note that under CPS you will receive two separately calculated pensions, each using only the pensionable service earned in that Plan. However, once you have CPS between MEPP and PSPP, service and salary information under both plans will be used in key elements of the calculation of both pensions.

Under PSPP, you become vested after two years of pensionable service. Under MEPP, you are vested after five years.

With CPS, your pensionable service from both plans will be used to determine if you are vested under each plan.

For example, if you have two years of pensionable service in PSPP and then move to MEPP with the same employer and no break in service, a CPS relationship is established. This means you will only need three more years of pensionable service to be vested in MEPP.

Please note: If you choose to remove your funds from either plan in the form of a payout, this could result in you no longer being vested. Please contact us for more information.

With CPS, total pensionable service from both plans is used to determine entitlement to an unreduced pension from each plan. If your pension is reduced, CPS also affects how much that reduction will be.

As a MEPP member, you can retire with an unreduced pension when you reach the age of 60 or when:

• you are at least 55 years of age; and
• your total years of service in both plans plus your age at retirement equals 80 points or more.

More about Retirement Eligibility

Once a CPS relationship has been established, it will continue if you leave your current employer and later re-enroll with another MEPP or PSPP employer. Any service and salary earned under your new MEPP or PSPP employer will count towards your CPS relationship. Your new employer does not need to participate in both MEPP and PSPP.

With CPS, you are not required to start both pensions at the same time. If you decide to start your pension from one plan earlier than the other plan, the CPS relationship will be considered in calculating both pension benefits. This is true, even though the pensions under each plan will start to be paid at different times.

Please note: Once you have started to receive a pension under MEPP or PSPP where a CPS relationship is in place, you will no longer be able to contribute to the other plan, nor accrue additional salary and service.

CPS is not a transfer of benefits or pensionable service. At retirement you will receive two separately calculated pensions, using only the service you earned in each plan. You can read more about how your MEPP pension is calculated at How Is My Pension Calculated?

If you decide to transfer your pension benefit out of one plan through a transfer agreement, but leave your pension benefit behind in the other plan, the CPS relationship will be considered in calculating the transfer value from the first plan. The CPS relationship will also be considered in calculating the pension or termination payout that you eventually take from the second plan.

Please note that you cannot transfer service between PSPP and MEPP if there is a CPS relationship.