For New Members

Welcome to the UBC Staff Pension Plan (SPP). The UBC SPP is among the most valued benefits offered by the university and it is designed to help you save for your future with the purpose of providing a stable lifetime retirement pension.

What are the benefits of being a member of the Staff Pension Plan? How can the SPP help you save for your retirement? Watch the video below to find out:

If you are viewing this video remotely on your work computer, we recommend viewing the video on your local computer for better streaming quality. Copy and paste the following link: https://youtu.be/evn5vfZvCVQ

To help us make this page relevant to you, let us know the kind of information you’d like to see here – submit our Online Contact / Feedback Form with your comments and suggestions.

Getting started

Now that you are a member of the SPP, here are some tips to help you get started as well as to learn about your pension benefit and how your pension plan works.

The SPP is a Target Benefit Plan

Your pension plan is a target benefit plan. When you retire, your pension is calculated based on a formula using your basic salary and years of service. The Plan is financed by fixed contributions made by you and UBC. The Plan may be amended from time to time to keep the benefits in line with the Plan’s ability to pay for them. Learn more about the SPP’s target benefit plan nature and its funding policy on our About the Plan page.

Designate your beneficiary

Naming a beneficiary for your pension is an important way to ensure peace of mind that your pre-retirement pension benefit will be paid to the recipients that you want, in the event of your death. Learn more about designating a beneficiary.

TO DO: If you haven’t already designated your beneficiary, please login to Workday to make your designation. For instructions on how to add or change your beneficiary in Workday, please refer to the Change Beneficiaries article in the Workday Knowledge base.

Plan newsletter, guides and information sheets

Your Plan newsletter, UBC SPP Update, is sent to your UBC work email address. You can continue to receive important updates about the SPP by keeping your email address current in Workday.

Review our comprehensive Plan Guides and Information Sheets to help you learn more about your pension plan and benefits.

Attend a pension workshop

After reviewing the material above, you may decide that you would like to attend a more in-depth workshop about the SPP and your pension benefits. Visit our Upcoming Pension Workshops page for more information and to register.

Visit myPension

myPension is a secure member website where you can view your pension and beneficiary information, see your member statements, and use the myPension estimator to see what your pension could be in the future. myPension is typically available around the middle of the month after your first contributions are made to the Plan. For example, if you joined the SPP on April 1, your access to myPension will be available around mid-May.

While you are in myPension, we encourage you to review the Communication Preferences page where you may choose to opt out of receiving paper annual statements.

TO DO: Learn how to access myPension through our About myPension page.

Annual statements

Every year you will receive a member statement which provides a summary of information such as your contributions, benefits and personal pension data. These statements are typically mailed in May. We are required to send you a paper statement, unless you have opted out of receiving paper statements through the Communications Preferences page in myPension.

Please note that statements are calculated as of December 31 of the prior year. This means that if you joined the SPP in 2023, you will receive your first annual statement in May 2024.

Your Rights & Responsibilities

Pension plans are highly regulated by federal and provincial legislation. The SPP is registered federally under the Income Tax Act (Registration No. 0572362) and provincially under the British Columbia Pension Benefits Standards Act (Registration No. P085439-1). As a member of a pension plan, you have certain rights including the right to receive an annual statement from the Plan and a right to examine official Plan documents.

You also have obligations – most importantly to inform yourself about your pension plan and the decisions you need to make as a member.

Member Services

Contact our Member Services team with any questions you may have regarding the UBC Staff Pension Plan and your pension benefits and options.

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