Team News – November 3, 2017

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Nov 5, 2017 – Daylight Saving Time Ends

When local daylight time is about to reach
Sunday, November 5, 2017, 2:00:00 am clocks are turned backward 1 hour to
Sunday, November 5, 2017, 1:00:00 am local standard time instead.


Remembrance Day is November 11, 2017.  The Spectrum office will be closed Monday November 13, 2017  


Talented Team Members!

We are happy at Spectrum to acknowledge the diverse talents of our team members, both those who are supported by us and who work for us.  There is a page on our website with links to their websites: Spectrum’s Talented Team.


Requirements – Please check your paystub and update your requirements

Criminal Record checks and a First Aid Certificate are ongoing requirements of employment at Spectrum. They do need to be renewed accordingly. Please review your pay statement to ensure both your First Aid and Criminal Record check are up to date.

If you find that either one has expired, please get in touch with Human Resources at: personnel@spectrumsociety.org as soon as possible for information on how to renew these requirements.


Personal Changes for Your Benefits

Please contact Human Resources at personnel@spectrumsociety.org if you have any changes to your personal information, for example, if you need to add a child, update spousal information, change your beneficiary, etc. so that we can ensure your group benefits are updated accordingly with the most current information.


Municipal Pension Plan Information

If you haven’t visited the new website, signed up for or recently used My Account, find out what all the excitement is about.

Designed with your needs in mind, your plan’s website is organized by topic and task—with varying levels of information so you can access the amount of detail you want.

  1. Learn about a topic, e.g., nominating a beneficiary
  2. Find out what you need to do, e.g., nominating or changing a beneficiary before retiring
  3. Complete a task by using an online tool or completing a form, e.g., completing and submitting information to nominate or change a beneficiary

My Account has enhanced functionality. It’s your online gateway to your pension with 24/7, secure access anytime from anywhere for your convenience.

What does this mean for you?

  • New to or considering plan membership
    • To discover the benefits of plan membership, the value of the plan and take the free, 15-min eLearning course Getting to Know Your Pension, visit mpp.pensionsbc.ca, click Your pension
    • Sign up for My Account and provide us with important information
  • Several more working years until retirement
    • Learn how life events, such as parental leave, divorce or changing jobs can affect your future pension
    • Sign in to My Account to view your member’s benefit statements, run a pension estimate or change a beneficiary

Note: If your service and/or salary are incorrect, please contact your employer to have it corrected

  • Thinking about or approaching retirement
    • Learn about planning for retirement
    • In My Account, update personal information, run a pension estimate with the Personalized Pension Estimator or view your member’s benefit statements

Note: If your service and/or salary are incorrect, please contact your employer to have it corrected

  • Retired
    • Keep your My Account profile up-to-date, especially your contact and banking information. You can request your pension be deposited into your bank account
    • Check in for important updates, such as your semi-annual pension statement

For more information about My Account, visit mpp.pensionsbc.ca, click Your pension > Managing your account information.

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Wondering how being a member of the plan, returning from parental leave, getting divorced, transferring service or choosing a pension option could affect your future? Find answers to your pension questions through free member education!

New and potential members 

  • Getting to Know Your Pension is a 15-minute eLearning course that will introduce you to the value and benefits of plan membership

To take this eLearning course anywhere, anytime, visit mpp.pensionsbc.ca > click Your pension > Pension basics.

Members wondering how important events in their life can affect their future pension

  • Making the Most of Your Pension is a 2–hour workshop that can help you maximize your pension by understanding how the decisions you make throughout your career affect your pension when you retire

Members approaching retirement

  • Approaching Retirement is a 2–hour workshop designed to help you understand the important decisions you need to make about your pension and make the transition easier

To make sure the workshops are interactive space is limited to 35 seats. They fill up quickly so register early to make sure you attend the date(s) of your choice. If the workshop is full, you can be put on a waitlist. Or, you could take a workshop at an alternative location.

For more information and to register for a workshop starting August 15, visit mpp.pensionsbc.ca > click Your pension > Pension basics or Planning for retirement.

If you have taken the eLearning course and/or attended a workshop, share your experience with your colleagues so they can benefit from learning more about their pension.

Municipal Pension Plan Changes:

What’s changing

  • Enhanced functionality for My Account with new, simplified access to update personal information any time
    • My Account continues to be your employees’ gateway to their pension information, including personal information and spousal information
    • Employees can apply to retire online
  • Information is organized by topics and tasks
  • Improved search
  • Access to your Employer site is through Employer on the top right, which is shown in the attached document. (From there, you can Logon to the secure Employer site as you do now.)

Next steps

  • Please share this exciting news with your employees and colleagues
  • We encourage you and your employees to explore your new website to become familiar with it
  • For information about My Account, point your employees to Manage your Account information in Your pension
  • You and your employees should delete saved bookmarks

If you have questions, please contact Employer Operations at 250 356-9701 in Victoria or toll-free (in Canada) at 1 855-356-9701.

Thank you,

Employer Operations, MPP

Your pension experience… we make it easy! 

There is an eLearning Course called Getting to know your Pension and Free Workshops; Making the Most of your Pension and Approaching Retirement.  Please see the attached posters:

New employee information sheet

Member News:

Important:  Members with special agreement balances….

Link to Bulletin:  2006-089_BC059_MPP_Pension factor option tables change_20170705 (3)

Board Communique: Changes to actuarial assumptions may affect pension amounts for some members……

Link to Bulletin:  2007-021_MN070_MPP_Changes to Actuarial Assumptions_20170705

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