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Job and Life Changes Changes to Your Personal Information It is a good idea to keep LPF informed of any changes in your personal information. You may login to our online service Access LPF to update or correct your personal information, or you can use our Member Personal Information Change Form and mail it to our office when you have any changes or corrections to be made to the following:
If you are required to provide proof of any of the above, any document that you provide, must be certified. Click here for additional information about certified copies. Changing Your Beneficiary or Spouse Naming a Beneficiary Your spouse is your primary beneficiary. If you die before your pension commences, a death benefit will be paid to the spouse with whom you were living at the time of your death. If you do not have a spouse, the benefit will be paid to the beneficiary your have named, therefore it is important that a beneficiary be shown on your records at all times. If you do not name a beneficiary, the proceeds will be paid to your Estate, and in some cases, this could cause a delay in releasing the death benefit. You should also name a “secondary” or “contingent” beneficiary, in the event your primary beneficiary dies before a benefit is paid out. It is recommended that you review and update your beneficiary at least once per year if your personal situation changes, or as part of your financial review. Naming Minor Child/Children as Beneficiary Do not name your minor child/children as your beneficiary, without a contingency plan. Most laws do not allow minor children to control assets, so a court will name a guardian or a trustee to take care of any assets left to a minor child. This may delay release of the assets, at a time when it may be most needed. In most provinces, children can take control of assets until they are 18 years old, and this may not be your original intent. Therefore, if you want to name your minor child/children to receive the proceeds from your Pension Plan, in the event of your death prior to commencement of your pension, you should set up a “Trust Agreement” or designate a “Guardian” yourself. Your lawyer or your financial advisor should be consulted for further information on this important subject. Changing your beneficiary You can change or update your beneficiary by completing and submitting the Beneficiary Designation Form. If you and your spouse are getting separated or divorced, the pension you have earned in the LPF, or in any other registered pension plan, during your marriage or common-law relationship, is considered to be a part of “family property” and may be divided between the spouses. You may be required to include the value of any pension benefits you accumulated in the LPF Pension Plan during the period of your marriage or spousal relationship in your calculation of net family property. Although it is not mandatory to divide your pension, when you make arrangements to split your assets you may choose or need to pay a portion of your pension to your former spouse. Please note that Marriage Breakdown Rules vary from province to Province. On our website we provide the information pertaining to Ontario, which is the LPF’s province of registration. If your court order, family arbitration award or a domestic contract such as a separation agreement was signed or executed on or before December 31, 2011 please read the section Marriage Breakdown Rules before 2012 If your court order, family arbitration award or a domestic contract such as a separation agreement was signed or executed on or after January 1, 2012 please read the section New Ontario Marriage Breakdown Rules Effective January 2012 When you have a separation agreement finalized or a court order, please forward a copy of any such signed agreement to our office. For more information please Contact Us. New Ontario Marriage Breakdown Rules Effective January 1, 2012 If you have a court order, family arbitration award or a separation agreement signed or executed on or after January 1, 2012 these new rules apply to you. The LPF and other pension plan administrators in Ontario will have to follow new regulations regarding the valuation and division of pension benefits in the event of a marriage breakdown. These rules are part of the Ontario Family Act and the Ontario Pension benefits Act. The new rules introduce a new method for valuing a pension for family law purposes. The valuation is performed by the pension plan administrator, upon receipt of an application. In the past, either party would have had to pay for the services of an independent actuary to determine this value. In addition, if there is a division of pension, the former spouse may apply to the LPF to receive an immediate settlement even if the member is still active or deferred. You are also required to use specific forms created by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), to apply to the LPF for a valuation of pension entitlement, or to apply for a settlement option. You can download the required forms and instructions on how to use them directly from our website - direct links are provided below. The following is a brief description of the 5-step process involved and links to the applicable forms:
Before you and your former spouse make any arrangements about requesting the valuation and deciding on the division of your pension benefits, the LPF strongly recommends you to seek legal advice from a family lawyer. Instructions: Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, Form 5, Form 6, Form 7 Marriage Breakdown Rules before 2012 LPF members who make arrangements to divide their pension benefit with their former spouse in a court order, separation agreement or arbitration award finalized on or before December 31, 2011 will not be subject to the new rules and cannot change those arrangements. Under the old marriage breakdown rules of Ontario, a member’s former spouse cannot receive a settlement from the Plan until the member’s date of termination of employment, retirement date or the date of the member’s death. The separation agreement/court order must fully describe how the pension benefits paid at termination, death or retirement will be divided. The maximum amount of pension benefits that can be assigned to a former spouse is 50% of the pension benefit earned during the period of the marriage or co-habitation, determined in accordance with applicable provisions of the Pension Benefit Act and the Family Law Act. Your pension will be reduced by the amount of any pension assigned to your former spouse. In order for the LPF to administer a division of a member’s pension benefit, we must have a certified copy of the marriage breakdown document, such as a court order, family arbitration award or domestic contract (e.g., a separation agreement). Clear wording in these documents is very important as it will impact the LPF’s ability to administer the pension division. The LPF can then pay a benefit to a member’s former spouse once the benefit becomes available to the member (that is, upon termination of employment, retirement, or the member’s death). If you need to obtain an estimate of your pension benefit for marriage breakdown purpose under the old rules, please contact the LPF. Also, download and complete a Member Personal Information Change Form and mail it to LPF as soon as possible after the date of separation from your spouse. You should also review your designated beneficiary information. Log on to AccessLPF to review your current beneficiaries and complete a Beneficiary Designation Form if any changes are required. Leaving LIUNA Before January 1, 1987, a Break in Service would occur if you failed to earn at least 1 quarter of Future Service Credit in any 3 consecutive calendar years. If this occurred and you had Vested benefits, then your pension credits earned before 1987 would be calculated in accordance with the Plan Rules applicable at that time. After January 1, 1987, you are not considered a participant of the Plan if any of the following occur:
Note The following exceptions apply:
Reciprocal Agreement (Money Follows the Worker) Effective January 1, 2009, if you are going to work temporarily out west, under the Western Fund or the BC Pension, you have the option of choosing to transfer your monthly pension contributions to LPF. This Reciprocal Agreement between the three pension plans provides their members, who are working outside their home locals, the option to have their pension contributions transferred between each Plan, so that they can keep accumulating years of service, without incurring a break in service. For additional information, refer to our pamphlet Reciprocal Agreement “Money Follows the Worker”. For more information, see Leaving the Plan. Workers' Compensation After January 1, 1990 if you are absent from work due to an injury you sustained while working with an Employer that is covered under a Collective Agreement, and if you are receiving benefits under an applicable provincial Workers' Compensation arrangement, you may receive up to one year of Future Service Credit based on 100 hours per month during the time you receive Workers' Compensation Benefits. You cannot be receiving a pension from this Fund during the period in which the Fund has granted you WSIB Credit. If you have/had a work-related injury and are receiving/received compensation benefits from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario, we require your written authorization and claim number in order to contact WSIB to obtain the necessary information to determine if you are entitled to receive additional pension credit. Please download and complete the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario Authorization Form and mail it to our office. Once a response is received from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board on Ontario, we will notify you. If you are receiving/received compensation benefits from a province other than Ontario, please contact our office for more information. If You Become Disabled Disability Service Credit While Disabled In order to prevent a a Break in Past Service, if you became disabled before your Contribution Date and before January 1, 1988, the Break may be prevented up to a maximum of 3 years on the basis of evidence that includes a medical report or letter by a qualified physician. The report must establish your total incapacity to work in the job at which you were employed when you first became disabled. If you became disabled after your Contribution Date and before January 1, 1988, you may be granted one year of Future Service Credit for each three consecutive months of proven disability up to a maximum of 3 years, on the basis of evidence that includes a medical report or letter by a qualified physician, which established your total incapacity to work in the job at which you were employed when you first became disabled. However, Future Service Credits will only be granted for years of disability if they are necessary for Vesting. What is Permanently and Totally Disabled? You are considered permanently and totally disabled if, as a result of an injury or disease, you are unable to work at a job for which you are reasonably qualified by education, training or experience, for the rest of your life. Your disability must be proven on the basis of satisfactory medical evidence submitted to the Trustees by a qualified physician. In order to appy for a disability pension you must complete a Disability Pension Applicatoin form, which includes a "Medical Release Form" to be completed by your physician. To download this application form please click here. If you apply for a Disability Pension, you may be required to be examined by a qualified physician, selected by the Trustees. As a part of receiving the Disability Pension, you may be required to be re-examined as often as determined necessary. You may also be considered permanently and totally disabled if you are receiving disability benefits from the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan; however, you must submit your Canada/Quebec Pension Plan disability entitlement letter to provide evidence of this. Your Disability Pension from the Fund will immediately stop if you return to work and/or recover from your disability. You may then apply for an Early Retirement Pension, or another type of pension, depending on whether you qualify. You may re-apply for a Disability Pension, but must provide a new medical release form to be completed by a qualified physician. When a Member Dies When a member who is not yet a pensioner dies, please notify our office as soon as possible. The following information must be provided to the Pension Fund office:
When a member dies before retirement, benefits are payable in this order of entitlement:
You can download and print an Application for Pre-Retirement Spouse’s or Survivor’s Benefit in the Forms & Resources section.
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