The University and its staff association, WLUSA/OSSTF District 35, recently agreed to a new contract that contains changes to the pension plan. These changes acknowledge the very real challenges being faced by pension plans everywhere, including Laurier’s pension plan.

The University and WLUSA/OSSTF agreed to modest increases in member contributions to their individual Money Purchase Accounts, changes to the annual indexing formula for the minimum guarantee pension, and changes to the pension reductions applied for early retirements. For details about these changes, please click here.

Background:

Laurier’s pension challenges are real. The current pension plan design is simply not sustainable, and the issue was not caused by the University contribution holidays in the 1990s.

Laurier is not alone. Nearly every pension plan in Canada is experiencing significant funding issues as a result of economic and demographic forces. The University is not proposing to eliminate the pension plan. The University is committed to ensuring the plan is sustainable, and its proposals reflect this. The pension issue also has a very real impact on students. Historically, 7-10 per cent of every tuition dollar went into the pension plan. This year, it is 16.4 per cent and will rise to 23 per cent over the next couple of years.

For more details about the University’s pension challenges, please visit the following links:

•    Finance & Administration budget kick-off presentation Jan. 11, 2012
•    Waterloo Region Record article on pensions, Jan. 5, 2012
•    Videos of Laurier’s Pension Plan town hall presentation:

A quick look at Laurier's pension plan
Funding the pension promise - back to basics
Current pension environment - how did we get here?
Pension risk matters
Solvency funding relief for Ontario universities
Laurier application for solvency funding relief
What are other universities doing?