Member Enrollment

Eligibility

Permanent, full-time employees are eligible on their first day of employment or as specified in the employer’s employment policy according to the Waiting Period Form filled out at time of application (ie. A three month waiting period may be in place).

Part-time employees may join the Plan on the first day of the month coincident with or next following the lesser of:

  1. Having earned at least 35% of the Year’s Maximum Pension Earnings (YMPE), which in 2024 would be $23,975

    OR

  2. Having completed 700 hours with the employer

in each of two consecutive calendar years immediately prior to membership in the Plan.

It is legally mandatory that all eligible employees are offered the plan, with the option to sign a waiver form if they do not wish to enroll.

 

Contributions

The employer’s contribution is set by the CCCC as follows*:

  • Under 30 years old: 4%

  • 30 – 39 years old: 5%

  • 40 – 49 years old: 6%

  • 50 – 59 years old: 7%

  • 60 – 64 years old: 8%

  • 65 years old & over: 8.5%

*These percentages are based on “EARNINGS”, which includes salary, wages, and other remuneration for services as determined by the employer under normal practices and may include prescribed compensation as described and permitted by the Income Tax Act and Regulations. In most cases “EARNINGS” will mean Salary plus Housing.

The pension must be paid by The Church and not deducted from the pastor’s salary. Additional Voluntary Contributions by the employee can be made, as allowed by the Income Tax Act.

 

Enrollment

All Eligible employees in a church that is a Participating Employer in the Plan must either be enrolled as a member of the Plan or sign a Waiver Form if they do not wish to enroll. A member enrolling in the plan will need to fill out the Employee Application Form for Pension.

On the application form, please note:

  • That all fields in section one and two should be complete (with the exception of “identification/employee number”).

  • “Date joined plan” can be any date after the 90 day probationary period (if applicable) that falls on a day that the employee is paid during the month when payments are started.

  • It is necessary that we also receive record of the applicant’s yearly salary as it is needed for billing purposes. This is not asked for on the form, so please remember to make note of it with your application.

  • To ensure that the application processes quickly, section six should also be completed. The default allocation are the Lifecycle Funds (Clearpath), which can be changed online at any time after enrollment. If the applicant chooses the default, he/she can write either “100%” (which will allocate funds to ClearPath - year closest to retirement without going past regardless of any future changes it what investment is default) or “Default” (which will allocate funds to only the default investment even if it changes in the future). Although Balanced Funds is the most common investment, it has in the past not been the most rewarding therefore it may be wise to choose alternate allocations.

  • Once completed, the original copy should be mailed to the BGCC Office. A record will be made in the office, and the application will be forwarded to CL for approval. The applicant should receive a confirmation package in the mail within a few weeks.