Buying service for a leave
Learn about your options for buying service during or after a leave of absence.
What deadlines are involved
If you are taking an Employment Standards Act—approved leave of absence and wish to continue making pension contributions while on leave, you must apply within 30 days of starting your leave.
If you are making a lump-sum payment, you must apply after your leave is over and by the following deadline (whichever happens first):
- Within five years from the end of the leave
- If you buy an annual portion of a multi-year leave, within five years from the end of the portion that is purchased. You don’t need to wait until you return to work to buy an annual portion of a multi-year leave.
- If you stop working for a plan employer, are not going to work for another plan employer and the five-year deadline has not passed, within 30 days of ending your employment with all employers in the plan.
Not returning to work after a leave
If you decide not to return to work after a leave and want to buy the service, you must apply within 30 days after your employment with all plan employers ends. We will calculate the cost for you to buy this service once your employer confirms your last day of work.
Buying service and ending employment
If your job ends with your employer that participates in the plan, you may decide to:
- Keep your contributions in the plan until you apply for your pension
- Withdraw your pension contributions from the plan entirely and transfer them to a locked-in retirement vehicle
- Transfer your pension contributions to a new employer with a different pension plan, if a reciprocal transfer agreement exists between the Teachers’ Pension Plan and your new pension plan
In these cases, you must wait until the process of buying service is completed before we are able to process your withdrawal or transfer request.