Benefits

Accessing SunLife Information

On myFanshawe under Employee Services-->Human Resources-->Benefits and Compensation-->Benefits Information on the "Benefits General" tab you will find the following:

• New Sun Life health and dental claim forms with the updated mailing address for claims
• A CAAT Group Insurance Benefits Communique in regard to health and dental paper claims

If you have not already done so, you may register for an Access ID and password to logon to the Sun Life Plan Member Services website at www.sunlife.ca/member. Once registered, you will be able to:

• Have claim payments deposited directly into your bank account
• Update your personal information and address
• Print personalized claim forms
• View and/or print details of your claims
• Print pay-direct prescription cards
• Print out-of-province travel cards
• Check the status of your recent health and dental claims

CAAT Pension Plan Factoids

Updated publications on website

The CAAT Pension Plan website www.caatpension.on.ca has a new look. There are new Plan publications, including updates to the Pensioner Handbook, Member Handbook and some of the pamphlets. Plus, there are a new series of booklets about "Making Choices".

On May 31 2011 the CAAT Plan held its first "webinar" on the topic of plan funding. You can play it back by surfing to the www.caatpension.on.ca site.

2010 Returns

The CAAT Plan fund continues to grow with another year of double-digit returns. The CAAT Plan's net rate of return in 2010 was 12.6%, bringing net assets to $5.45 billion at year end, up from $4.85 billion at the end of 2009. All of the Plan's asset classes performed well during the year. In its most recent filing with regulators for January 1, 2011, the CAAT Pension Plan showed that it is adequately funded with a modest going-concern surplus.

Part Time, Partial Load, and Sessional Faculty can participate too!

A common misconception is that you must be a member of the union to contribute to the CAAT Pension Plan. Not so. If you work part time, partial load, or sessional, the CAAT Plan refers to you as "Other Than Regular Full-Time" (OTRFT) employee. An OTRFT employee is technically defined by the Plan as someone with a fixed contract end date.

Before joining the Plan, OTRFT members must complete a waiting period of 24 months of "continuous" employment. Generally, if you consistently worked part-time, partial load, or sessional hours during the 24-month period in question you are considered to have completed continuous employment. It need not be a completely "continuous" period of work as vacation periods can be included in the 24 months. Once you have completed the waiting period, the College should notify you that you are eligible to enrol in the Plan. If you think you are eligible for the pension plan but haven't received an application, feel free to contact us.

About the CAAT Plan

The CAAT Plan is the 30th largest pension fund in Canada.

Unlike the situation facing other unions and their pension plans, the CAAT Plan is excluded from collective bargaining under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act. Instead, the CAAT Pension Plan is governed an independent Board of Trustees with representatives from OPSEU Academic and Support Staff, OCASA (Administrative Staff), and Colleges Ontario. The employer and employee trustees jointly make decisions for the benefit of all plan members.