As one of the largest public pension plans in Atlantic Canada, the HRM Pension Plan provides current and future pensions to approximately 9,300 active, retired and deferred pension plan members.
The Province of Nova Scotia is considering changes to pension legislation including funding. The proposed funding regulations maintain the requirement to fund the HRM Pension Plan based on a theoretical bankruptcy scenario for HRM as well as on a Going Concern scenario. If the NS Government designates the HRM Pension Plan to be a Jointly Sponsored Pension Plan (JSPP), plan members and the employer will have to fund 100 percent of Going Concern deficits and at least 80 percent of any Theoretical Bankruptcy deficits each and every year, even if the bankruptcy of HRM is a remote possibility. If the NS Government does not designate the HRM Pension Plan to be a JSPP, then the Plan will have to fund 100 percent of Going Concern deficits and 100 percent of any Theoretical Bankruptcy deficits, each and every year.
The majority of provinces do not require municipal pension plans to fund Theoretical Bankruptcy deficits because it is not a good use of plan member, employer and taxpayer money to fund a remote bankruptcy scenario. The proposed funding regulations will continue to cause great hardship to HRM employees, HRM and the taxpayers of HRM, likely resulting in unnecessary and significant increases in pension contribution rates and/or unnecessary and significant benefit reductions.
The risk of HRM going bankrupt is extremely remote and we question why there is a need to implement these rules for the HRM Pension Plan. We certainly understand the bankruptcy risk associated with corporate pension plans.
Given the low risk of bankruptcy for HRM, its healthy 93% funding ratio on a Going Concern basis, and the fact that the majority of other provinces do not require municipal pension plans to fund a Theoretical Bankruptcy scenario, we respectfully request that the proposed funding regulations be modified to exclude the HRM Pension Plan from funding solvency deficits.
Please sign the petition below, even if you have already sent a letter, letting the Province know what this means to you. Remember if you are silent, no one will hear you when your pension contribution rates or taxes increase. Please sign this petition by March 9, 2012.
After March 9, 2012, the petition will be hand delivered to Premier Darrell Dexter (NDP) and to the opposition leaders Jamie Baillie (PC) and Stephen McNeil (Liberal). The petition will also be circulated to all metro MLA's.
Please note that some people are having difficulties getting through to sign. If this is you please just send an email with your name to [email protected] and we will manually add you to the petition.
Thanks for your patience.
Updates
Reached 1,000 supporters
March 25, 2012
March 24, 2012
The climb toward one thousand signatures remains exhausting but I am still here. We need to reach this target before the government ignores our concerns entirely because the financial strain on our plan is too heavy to bear alone.
Reached 100 supporters
February 22, 2012
February 20, 2012
The path forward feels exhausting and the administrative silence is heavy. We need to reach one hundred signatures to prove we refuse to accept these unreasonable funding rules. Please help push this over the line while we still have the energy to fight.
6 Comments
Seems like the province just wants an excuse to hike costs. Everyone knows HRM is stable.
Been paying into this for 20 years. Don't let them change the rules now and mess with our retirement money.
Living in Halifax is already expensive enough without the province forcing these ridiculous rules on us. Leave our pensions alone.
Fix this now before it hurts all the hard working people in this city. Just common sense really.
This is just crazy. Why should we pay for a bankruptcy that is never going to happen? Sounds like a complete waste of our tax dollars.
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As one of the largest public pension plans in Atlantic Canada, the HRM Pension Plan provides current and future pensions to approximately 9,300 active, retired and deferred pension plan members.
The Province of Nova Scotia is considering changes to pension legislation including funding. The proposed funding regulations maintain the requirement to fund the HRM Pension Plan based on a theoretical bankruptcy scenario for HRM as well as on a Going Concern scenario. If the NS Government designates the HRM Pension Plan to be a Jointly Sponsored Pension Plan (JSPP), plan members and the employer will have to fund 100 percent of Going Concern deficits and at least 80 percent of any Theoretical Bankruptcy deficits each and every year, even if the bankruptcy of HRM is a remote possibility. If the NS Government does not designate the HRM Pension Plan to be a JSPP, then the Plan will have to fund 100 percent of Going Concern deficits and 100 percent of any Theoretical Bankruptcy deficits, each and every year.
The majority of provinces do not require municipal pension plans to fund Theoretical Bankruptcy deficits because it is not a good use of plan member, employer and taxpayer money to fund a remote bankruptcy scenario. The proposed funding regulations will continue to cause great hardship to HRM employees, HRM and the taxpayers of HRM, likely resulting in unnecessary and significant increases in pension contribution rates and/or unnecessary and significant benefit reductions.
The risk of HRM going bankrupt is extremely remote and we question why there is a need to implement these rules for the HRM Pension Plan. We certainly understand the bankruptcy risk associated with corporate pension plans.
Given the low risk of bankruptcy for HRM, its healthy 93% funding ratio on a Going Concern basis, and the fact that the majority of other provinces do not require municipal pension plans to fund a Theoretical Bankruptcy scenario, we respectfully request that the proposed funding regulations be modified to exclude the HRM Pension Plan from funding solvency deficits.
Please sign the petition below, even if you have already sent a letter, letting the Province know what this means to you. Remember if you are silent, no one will hear you when your pension contribution rates or taxes increase. Please sign this petition by March 9, 2012.
After March 9, 2012, the petition will be hand delivered to Premier Darrell Dexter (NDP) and to the opposition leaders Jamie Baillie (PC) and Stephen McNeil (Liberal). The petition will also be circulated to all metro MLA's.
Please note that some people are having difficulties getting through to sign. If this is you please just send an email with your name to [email protected] and we will manually add you to the petition.
Thanks for your patience.
Updates
Reached 1,000 supporters
March 25, 2012
March 24, 2012
The climb toward one thousand signatures remains exhausting but I am still here. We need to reach this target before the government ignores our concerns entirely because the financial strain on our plan is too heavy to bear alone.
Reached 100 supporters
February 22, 2012
February 20, 2012
The path forward feels exhausting and the administrative silence is heavy. We need to reach one hundred signatures to prove we refuse to accept these unreasonable funding rules. Please help push this over the line while we still have the energy to fight.
6 Comments
TOTAL NONSENSE. The city isn't going bankrupt stop treating it like it is and let us keep our money.
Seems like the province just wants an excuse to hike costs. Everyone knows HRM is stable.
Been paying into this for 20 years. Don't let them change the rules now and mess with our retirement money.
Living in Halifax is already expensive enough without the province forcing these ridiculous rules on us. Leave our pensions alone.
Fix this now before it hurts all the hard working people in this city. Just common sense really.
This is just crazy. Why should we pay for a bankruptcy that is never going to happen? Sounds like a complete waste of our tax dollars.
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TOTAL NONSENSE. The city isn't going bankrupt stop treating it like it is and let us keep our money.