Be sure to check your mail: Annual statements are on their way!

To all pensioners: 

Your 2021 annual pension benefit statement will be coming in the mail in May. It contains details about your monthly pension, your pension option and any beneficiary coverage you may have. Please read carefully and verify that all your information is accurate and up to date. 

To all active and deferred members: 

Your 2021 annual pension statement will be coming in the mail in June. It contains details of your pension as of December 31, 2021, as well as your current beneficiary on file. Please review carefully and notify us if there are any errors or changes required. The longer errors go unnoticed, the more difficult they are to correct, and you don't want to risk not receiving credit for hours owed. 

Included with all statements is a copy of the Spring/Summer 2022 After Work newsletter. The newsletter contains important information about your pension and LTD plans, retirement webinars, in-person meetings, returning to work when retired and more.

Applying for your pension from the Plan Office: A retirement webinar

You’re never too young to take steps in planning for your future. So, whether your retirement is coming up soon or is decades away, join us to learn about your pension plan options. This helpful 45-minute information session will cover a variety of topics, such as:

• Your early retirement options
• How to estimate your monthly pension in retirement
• Whom you can select as a beneficiary, and how this affects your pension
• How and when to apply for your pension

Date:  Tues, July 5, 2022

Time:  Noon (Pacific Time)

Register today to reserve your spot:

Sign-up now

If you are unable to attend, sign up anyway as we will send a link of the recording to everyone who registered. All you need to attend the webinar is a device such as a computer, table or smartphone with internet access and sound.

Break in service package mailing notification 2022

Break in service packages will be mailed out by March 25, 2022. These packages are for members who broke service as of December 31, 2021. You will have broken service and become a deferred member if you worked less than 350 covered hours in two consecutive calendar years.  

The documents in this package are time-sensitive, so please be sure to review the contents at your earliest opportunity. Please contact us if you have moved, so we can forward your package to you. 

Please watch this short video which explains your break in service options. 

Welcome back to the Plan Office: member visits starting April 4, 2022

We are pleased to welcome members back to our office for in-person visits starting April 4, 2022. Please  be sure to book an appointment so someone from our team is available to meet with you. 

As the health and safety of our members and staff is a top priority, we will be following guidelines recommended by the BC Ministry of Health. Should you feel unwell or if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please reschedule your appointment. Please note that visitors are required to wear a mask at all times.  

To book your appointment, or if you have any questions please contact us at 604.433.6310.  

We will continue to update this message should any of the recommendations change. Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to seeing you.

When to expect your T4A—Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income

We will begin mailing T4A slips to our pensioners and LTD recipients the week of February 14th. The mailing of all T4A slips will be completed by no later than Feb 28^th. Please contact the Plan Office if you have not received your T4A by March 5.

Plan Office closed to members

Plan Office closed to members: all services available via mail, phone or online. 

In these extraordinary times, the safety of Plan Office staff and the protection of members and their plans are of utmost concern. Following the BC Ministry of Health’s recommended precautions, our Burnaby office is currently limited to essential services only. We are doing our best to minimize service disruptions, and we will continue to update this space should any of the following change in this rapidly evolving environment.  

Burnaby Office

• We are no longer accepting member drop-ins or appointments at our Burnaby office.
• Couriers are asked to leave packages at the front door.

Members receiving payment from the pension or LTD plan

• Direct deposit payments will continue as usual.
• Cheques will be mailed for the time being, but members are strongly encouraged to sign-up for direct deposit to ensure continued payment in the event of a complete office shutdown. To sign-up for direct deposit, complete and fax or email a form to the Plan Office. Download the pension direct deposit form or the LTD direct deposit form. 
•  All personal information must be emailed securely. If you are not sure how to do this, please contact us first before sending in any forms or other personal information. 

Members undergoing rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation counselors are currently only available via phone and email. In person visits are postponed until further notice.

Communication with the Plan Office

• For faster service, we recommend faxing (604.433.0518) or emailing pension@iwafibp.ca or ltdrehab@iwafipb.ca for pension and ltd/rehab related inquiries. Be careful when emailing us: all personal information must be emailed securely. If you are not sure how to do this, please contact us first before sending in any forms or other personal information. 
• Limited staff will be in the office to receive mail if you cannot email or fax us, but this will result in processing delays.

Processing delays

• For the safety of Plan Office staff, we have reduced the number of personnel in the office. This will affect the time it takes to process applications, including new pension applications, break in service applications, rehabilitation applications. Please allow for more processing time than usual.
• All applications and concerns will be addressed in a first-come-first-serve sequence.

Employers

• Continue to submit contributions via EmployerConnect.
• Use EmployerConnect to securely message the Plan Office, or email contributions@iwafibp.ca.

Plan funding

• At a time like this, you might be wondering about the health and funding status of the pension and LTD plans. We would like to reassure members that we are well equipped to protect members’ benefits for the future. Market performance in any one year is always unpredictable and can be volatile, and while the plans are not immune to market fluctuations, the plans' long-term horizons means we are able to weather short-term volatility.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we all navigate this difficult time together. Stay safe.

Members receiving a pension or LTD benefit by cheque

Members receiving a pension or LTD benefit by cheque:

Canada Post has issued a delivery service alert for BC and you may experience a delay in receiving your cheque. Postal delivery to Merritt is suspended and delivery to other parts of BC may be delayed due to adverse weather conditions.  

If you receive your pension or LTD benefit by cheque, please contact the Plan Office to switch to EFT or complete and fax a direct deposit form. You can find the forms here.

After Work newsletter – Fall/Winter 2021

We are pleased to present the After Work Fall/Winter newsletter for 2021. Copies will be mailed to our membership and employers in the coming week.

LTD plan annual report 2020

We are pleased to present the LTD plan annual report for the year ending December 31, 2020.

Pension plan annual report 2020

We are pleased to present the pension plan annual report for the year ending December 31, 2020.