Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation
26 Upper Canada

Pension & Benefits

Employee Group Benefits
Life Insurance, Extended Health and Dental plans are brokered through OTIP.  Members will need to log on to the OTIP website to determine their status, eligibility, and cost to participate in each of these plans.  There is no direct cost to the member to carry Life Insurance.

All members who wish to access OTIP's group benefits must pay a minimum of 6% member share amount for the total value of their benefits on a monthly basis. The 6% deduction is collected through UCDSB payroll and deducted from the first pay cheque of each month. If your semester FTE amount is less than 1.0, additional premiums will be charged if you wish to keep your benefits. A breakdown in premiums for part-time members can be accessed at OSSTF Monthly Member Share by FTE.

For all inquiries about benefits, contact
Benefits Services – Employee Health, Dental and Life Insurance Service at 1-866-783-6847
or visit
https://www.otip.com/group-benefits/
(Plan number: 0205001) or https://www.osstfbenefits.ca/

If you are questioning why your claim was partially/fully denied or if you wish to appeal a decision made by OTIP regarding a claim, please read the Related Attachment below titled
OSSTF BENEFITS Claims Review and Appeal Process



Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance
LTD is mandatory and employee paid.  Our LTD plan is brokered through OTIP.

For all inquiries about LTD, contact LTD Claims Service at 1-800-267-6847


Effective March 1, 2018, the OSSTF Provincial LTD plan has been amended. Specifically, the unreduced service pension provision and the waiting period have changed. 
You may qualify to cancel your LTD coverage if you meet any one of the following criteria as set out by your insurance policy. For more details and an application form, see the LTD Premium Termination form in the Related Attachments.

Scenario 1:

Eligible for 60% unreduced service pension

Scenario 2:

Retirement Date

Scenario 3:

Age 65

· You are eligible for a 60% unreduced service pension now.

Or

· You are eligible for a 60% unreduced service pension within the later of either the next 110 working days or the expiration of your sick leave to a maximum of 24 months.

Your scheduled retirement date is within the next 110 working days and you have notified both the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and your board.

 

· You have reached the end of the month in which you turned age 65.

Or

· You will reach the end of the month in which you turn age 65 within the later of either the next 110 working days or the expiration of your sick leave to a maximum of 24 months.


Pregnancy and Parental Leave
The Ontario Employment Standards Act describes your statutory right to these leaves.  These rights are also expressed in the Collective Agreements.
The Canada Employment Insurance Act describes the employment insurance benefits you may be entitled to under these leaves.  Aside and/or including these benefits, the respective Collective Agreements outline a Supplemental Employment Benefits (SEB) Plan for members taking such leaves.

Members on these leaves can either continue to pay their pension contributions while on leave, or can later "buy back" their pension via Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan within 5 years.


Retiring and Pension
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) manage pensions for teachers while the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) manage pensions for our PSSP members.  Members are encouraged to visit the websites of their respective pension plan for more details.  If you plan to retire, you should be in contact with OTPP or OMERS months before ensuring all the necessary documents and paperwork is in order.  For a suggested list of retirement to-do’s, see the Retirement Checklist below in Related Attachments.

Members should also be cognizant that they may terminate their LTD insurance payments before retiring.  For more details and an application form, see the LTD Premium Termination form in the Related Attachments

Some members will be eligible to a retirement gratuity if they were vested on August 31, 2012.  Options for redirecting the gratuity to other investments are possible.  

Contact the District Office for the full retirement package. A sample retirement letter (which includes your request for your retirement gratuity if you are vested) is attached below for you to use to submit to the employer.

Lastly, if you are retiring you should consider becoming an OSSTF Active Retired Member (ARM).


Wellness
Many supports are offered through our employer and through OTIP as members may be going through difficult moments in their lives.  Each support is confidential. These include CAREPath, LifeWorks, and Homewood Health Solutions (see links and attachments below)

Further, the Ontario Employment Standards Act allows for special statutory leaves depending on circumstances.  The Canada Employment Insurance Act may actually provide employment insurance benefits while on these leaves.  Some collective agreements may also provide "top-up" salary to EI benefits received.

Related Attachments