Life events
Leaving your employment
Termination options
When your employment is terminated – meaning you no longer work for a participating employer member of the CSS Pension Plan – you are at a decision point on your journey related to your funds that you hold in your CSS account.
Your employer will let us know that you are done working, then we'll send you a current statement of your account along with a description of your termination options.
Now that you are no longer employed by a CSS employer, here is what you can do with your funds at this point in your journey.
If you are selecting this option, there are NO mandatory forms that you need to file with us. You will simply remain a CSS member and have full access to all the benefits that come with your membership:
Access your pension account information using myCSSPEN to:
- Check your account balance and keep track of transfers-in and contributions
- Estimate your retirement income and complete/track your own retirement plan
- Rebalance your investments among CSS’ four investment funds
- Update your contact information
Contact your CSS Retirement and Pension Advisor anytime to assist you with:
- Making CSS investment fund decisions
- Building a retirement plan
- Making your CSS retirement income decisions
- Any questions you have about your pension account
Use CSS’ communication and educational tools, such as:
- Your annual statement that comes in February/March
- Educational workshops (in-person, virtual and recorded)
- Join email list to receive latest news and plan information
- Visit CSS website regularly to keep up with CSS Pension Plan information
Grow your CSS pension account, such as:
- Access to CSS’ professionally managed investment fund line-up, with low fees
- Ability to transfer funds into your CSS pension account
- Funds can come from registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), locked-in registered products, and other pension plans
- Funds can come from registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), locked-in registered products, and other pension plans
Choose retirement income options that are available from the Plan (when you are age 50 or older):
- A monthly pension: A fixed monthly payment for your lifetime, and your spouse’s lifetime if joint monthly pension is chosen.
- Variable Benefit (VB) payments: A flexible monthly or annual payment from your CSS account.
- VB payments are available to members whose pension funds are subject to ON, BC, AB, SK, MB, NS or Federal pension legislation.
- VB payments are available to members whose pension funds are subject to ON, BC, AB, SK, MB, NS or Federal pension legislation.
Pension law governs what you can and can’t do with your funds in your pension account. Your funds are either locked-in or non-locked-in, and you may have both locked-in and non-locked in funds.
If you are selecting this option, please review the withdrawal and transfer instructions. If you are transferring your funds out, contact your credit union or financial institution to complete their required paperwork.
Your statement of your account will tell you if you have locked-in funds and non-locked-in funds:
- Locked-in funds must be used for retirement purposes. These funds can be transferred only to another pension plan or to locked-in registered product.
- Only non-locked-in funds can be withdrawn as cash or transferred directly to an RRSP/RRIF.
You can leave a portion of your funds in your CSS account AND you can transfer a portion out to your credit union or financial institution. In this case, please follow the above instructions for both options.
If your employment is terminated and you've reached your early retirement age, then you'll also have retirement income options available to you.
You may qualify for early retirement when you reach age 50 or earlier if your age plus years of continuous service with one or more participating employers equals a factor of 75.
If your employment is terminated because of disability, injury or illness, you may be able to use your pension funds to provide a retirement income before you reach your early retirement age. See taking a leave for more information about your options.
Transferring between employer members
A key benefit of your membership with the CSS Pension Plan is that you can take your pension with you if you leave one participating employer member of the Plan for another.
This is considered a transfer between employers, meaning we do not deem your employment terminated (you are still working for a Plan employer, so in our eyes you are still a Plan member).
Transferring between employer members is often seamless. Depending on the length of your break in service between your previous employer and your new employer, you may be able to skip the waiting period and continue contributing to the CSS Pension Plan immediately. Talk to us or your new employer to determine your eligibility.