Pension consultation sessions were held on all three campuses in late November, providing Dalhousie plan members the opportunity to ask questions to our pension experts about solvency relief. The DFA and the NSGEU decided to ask their members to vote on this issue, and the majority of their members supported it. Since less than one-third of the plan members objected, the university is now eligible to receive solvency relief.
“We are pleased to see employees support our application for solvency relief, which will help lessen the burden on our overall operating budget,” says Ken Burt, Vice-President, Finance & Administration.
Over the past few weeks, there has been lots of buzz on campus about pensions and the request for solvency relief by the university. Essentially, this means that the university has been granted an extension by the provincial government on a portion of its pension deficit, giving it 10 years to pay rather than five.
The Dalhousie pension plan, like so many others, has suffered as a result of the global recession, creating a pension deficit for the university.
With a proviso
Earlier this spring, the university, employee groups and retirees jointly proposed solvency relief to the provincial government. The province agreed; however with the condition that no more than one-third of our Dalhousie pension plan members oppose it. Plan members had until Monday, December 6 to object to the relief.
With solvency relief, the university will start payments of $8.4 million on the pension deficit beginning April 2011, and continue for nine years. The university is responsible to cover the costs associated with solvency deficits, so there is no impact on employee contributions to the pension plan.
“There are significant challenges facing our pension plan, but this is an example of how we can come together to achieve a common goal that will help sustain it,” says Burt. “The university is working closely with the Board of Governors, employee groups and retirees to design a plan for the future, and this is a great first step in our collaboration.”
What is solvency?
The university has been lobbying the provincial government for exemption to the solvency test because it views itself as an organization with a long, established history and the possibility of closing is inconceivable. In addition, other universities across Canada including those in Alberta are exempted. This exemption gives these universities the opportunity to focus their budgetary efforts on student recruitment, and not on paying down a pension solvency deficit. For more information about the pension plan, visit: Pension Plan, Dalhousie Human Resources |
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