Leaving the Plan

If you no longer work for an employer who participates in the NSAHO Pension Plan, you will have a number of options to consider.

• If you have fewer than two years of Plan membership and are not vested, you may choose to:
  • receive a cash refund of your contributions, with interest (less income tax); or
  • transfer that amount to your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), if you have available RRSP contribution room.
• If you have two or more years of Plan membership and are eligible to receive an immediate pension, you may choose to:
  • start the immediate pension;
  • if you are eligible to start the immediate pension only on a reduced basis, accept a deferred pension that would commence on the date when it would be paid to you on an unreduced basis; or
  • if you are terminating to take employment with another employer, transfer the commuted value of your pension entitlement on a locked-in basis to the pension plan of your new employer (if that plan will accept a transfer).
• If you have two or more years of Plan membership and are not eligible to receive an immediate pension you may:
  • accept a deferred pension (subject to the minimum requirements of the Plan);
  • transfer the commuted value of your deferred pension to a locked-in retirement account (LIRA); or
  • transfer the commuted value of your deferred pension to the pension plan of your new employer (if permitted by that plan).
  • 
    Keep in mind that:
    • the Plan does not permit transfers to a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) if you are already eligible to receive an immediate pension from the Plan (on either an unreduced or a reduced basis); and
    • transfers to a LIRA or another pension plan are subject to limitations under the Income Tax Act.

You may also be entitled to a refund of excess contributions, if any. If so, excess contributions can be taken as a cash refund (minus applicable income tax deduction) or they may be transferred (without income tax deduction) to your personal RRSP – if you have available RRSP contribution room.

Back To Top