1.
INTRODUCTION
This
Booklet outlines the terms and conditions governing your membership and the
benefits that the RHA Pension Fund Plan will provide to you, your family and
other beneficiaries. It has been
written in Question and Answer form and aims to anticipate the questions you
might have about the Plan.
It
makes special provisions for certain categories of employees, for example, former
Public Officers and employees of the former Eric Williams Medical Sciences
Complex Authority (“the former EWMSCA”), from time to time specific mention
will be made where issues unique to those members are relevant.
The
Regional Health Authorities Pension Fund Plan (referred to in the rest of this
Booklet as "the Plan") has been established to provide pensions and
related benefits to the employees of the four Regional Health Authorities
(“RHAs”) in Trinidad & Tobago. Each
of the RHAs has its own separate and self-contained section of the Plan, and as
a permanent full-time employee of an RHA you are required to be a member of
that RHA's section.
The
Plan was established in September 1999 and is governed by a Trust Deed and the
accompanying Rules. If in our effort to communicate the Plan in a clear and
understandable manner we have unintentionally mis-stated any of the Plan’s
provisions, the Trust Deed and the Rules remain the final authority.
In
this regard, three pertinent Appendices are attached for your information and
guidance, namely, (i) Examples of Pension Calculations (ii) Comparison showing benefits under the
Pensions Act, Chapter 23:52 and RHAs Pension Plan and (iii) Copy of Amendment
to RHA Act on “preservation” of benefits to transferring public officers (Act
No. 23 of 1999 ).
2.
DEFINITIONS
The undermentioned terms have special meanings in this Booklet.
For your convenience we define them all in this section.
“the RHA”
means the Regional Health
Authority that currently employs you.
“Salary” is the part of your
remuneration that is pensionable under the Plan.
This consists of:
(i)
your basic salary;
(ii) personal
allowance, if any;
(iii) house allowance, if any, or the estimated
value of free quarters, up to an amount not exceeding one-sixth of the basic
salary.
All other allowances, (for example, COLA, travelling, bonus
payments etc.) are excluded for pension purposes.
“Final Salary” is
the remuneration on which pensions are calculated.
For
most people, Final Salary will be your annual rate of Salary at the date of
retirement. However, if you transferred
to a new post during your last three years of membership of the Plan and
received an increase in salary as a result, Final Salary will be calculated as
the greater of:
-
your Salary averaged over your last
three years of Plan membership; and
-
the
annual rate of Salary you would have been receiving at retirement had you not
transferred to the new post.
“Pension Laws” means various laws under
which pensions are provided to certain officers in the public service and to
employees of certain statutory authorities.
These laws are as follows:
-
(i) Pensions
Act, Chap 23:52;
-
(ii) Pensions
Extension Act, Chap 23:53;
-
(iii)
Prison Service Act,
Chap. 13:02;
-
(iv)
Defence Act, Chap.
14:01;
-
(v) Police
Service Act, Chap. 15:01;
-
(vi) Municipal
Corporations (Pensions) Act, Chap.
25:05
-
(vii) Fire
Service Act, Chap. 35:50;
-
(viii)
Teachers' Pensions
Act, Chap. 39:02; and
-
(ix)
Assisted Secondary
School Teachers' Pensions Act, Chap. 39:03.
“Preserved Government Benefits” are benefits that the Government will pay to
Plan members who were covered by a Pension Law before joining the Plan. The Preserved Government Benefits are based
on your pensionable emoluments as defined in the relevant Pension Law
immediately before you joined the Plan and on your service to that date.
“Statutory Authority” means those Authorities
listed under the Statutory Authorities Act, Chap. 24:01. (The former Eric
Williams Medical Sciences Complex Authority and the Regional Health Authorities
do not fall under this Act).
3. MEMBERSHIP
3.1
Who is eligible to become a Member?
You
must be:
(i)
a permanent full-time
monthly‑paid employee of the RHA; and
(ii)
between the ages of
17 and 55 years. Proof of age must be
provided.
Certain specified employees of the former EWMSCA
who are paid more frequently than monthly will be deemed to be monthly-paid for
the purposes of the Plan and shall be eligible to join. The upper age limit of 55 years does not
apply to an officer in the Public Service or a Statutory Authority who
transfers to the RHA or to an employee of an RHA who subsequently transfers to
another RHA within a period of two (2) years provided no benefit was received
under a Pension Law or from another section of the RHA Pension Plan.
3.2
How do I become a member of
the Plan?
By
completing the relevant Membership Application Form which must be submitted to the
Management Committee of the RHA. You
are also encouraged to complete a Nomination of Beneficiary Form.
3.3 Will Membership of the Plan affect my
entitlement to benefits from the National Insurance System?
NO.
3.4
Who
is a Nominated Beneficiary?
Your Nominated Beneficiary is the person or persons you choose as
the recipients of certain benefits payable under the Plan in the event of your
death.
You may nominate any person to be your Nominated Beneficiary by
completing a Nomination of Beneficiary Form.
The completed form must be returned to the Secretary of the Management
Committee of the RHA’s section of the Plan.
3.5
Can I change my Nominated
Beneficiary?
Yes. You can
do this by completing another Nomination of Beneficiary Form and submitting it to
the Secretary of the Management Committee.
It is important that you keep your nomination up to date as your
personal circumstances change. Failure
to fill out a Nomination of Beneficiary Form will result in any lump sum
benefit due on your death being paid to your legal personal representative(s).
4. PERIODS OF SERVICE COVERED BY THE PLAN
4.1
What periods of service does the Plan
recognise as pensionable?
(i)
Service as a member
of the Pension Plan.
(ii)
Service in an RHA before
the effective date of the Plan.
(iii)
Service under a
relevant Pension Law provided that you do not receive any benefits under that
Pension Law while you are a member of the Plan.
(iv)
Service as a
permanent full-time monthly-paid employee of the former EWMSCA or service
deemed to be monthly-paid for the purposes of the Plan.
(v)
Service as a former
employee of an RHA where there is no more than a two (2) year break between
both periods of service provided you have not received any benefits from that
Section of the Pension Plan.
4.2
Will
I get any benefits from the Government for my service as a public officer?
Yes. Provided that you
held a permanent appointment and you were confirmed in the Public Service. You will be entitled to Preserved Government
Benefits on
( a ) retirement
( b ) death;
and
( c ) termination
of service from an RHA with
at least five years pensionable service under a
Pension Law for which no benefits were received.
5.
CONTRIBUTIONS
5.1
What
level of contributions must I pay to the Plan?
You
are required to pay monthly contributions to the Plan at the rate of 5% of your
Salary.
For
any officer who transferred to an RHA from the public service or a statutory
authority, the RHA will pay a non-pensionable monthly allowance equal to your
required contributions.
This allowance is not payable to individuals
who were employed by the former EWMSCA.
5.2
Can
I contribute more than the required contributions?
YES. You may elect to make limited additional
voluntary contributions, which will secure additional benefits. These additional voluntary contributions
cannot be reduced except with the consent of the Management Committee.
5.3
How do I contribute to the Plan?
Your
contributions will be automatically deducted from your salary every month.
5.4
Do I get Income Tax relief on
my contributions?
YES. Under current tax legislation you will be
able to obtain Income Tax relief on pension plan and NIS contributions of up to
$12,000 each year.
5.5
What does the RHA pay?
The
RHA pays the balance of the cost of providing all the benefits and may not
contribute less than the aggregate regular contributions made by the members in
any year.
6. RETIREMENT
6.1 NORMAL RETIREMENT
6.1.1
What is the normal date for
retirement?
A
member's 60th birthday.
6.1.2 How is my pension calculated?
Your
pension will be calculated as:
2% of Final
Salary x Pensionable Service
All complete months of Pensionable Service will
be included and your pension will be subject to a maximum of two-thirds of your
highest Salary during service. (See Appendix I for examples).
Persons
formerly covered by a Pension Law will be paid part of the overall benefit by
the Government and the balance will be paid by the Plan.
6.1.3
Can I have a lump sum payment when I
retire?
YES. You are allowed to surrender up to 25% of
your annual pension to be converted to a lump sum and you will receive the
remaining portion as a reduced pension.
Under current tax legislation, the lump sum payment is tax-free.
6.1.4
How much is the lump sum
payment?
You
will receive $12.50 for each $1 of your annual pension surrendered. (See
Appendix I).
6.1.5
Will my monthly pension be subject to
Income Tax?
YES.
6.1.6
How is the pension paid?
You
will be paid a monthly sum on the last working day of each month.
6.1.7
Will
pensions be increased to reflect changes in the cost of living?
There
is no guarantee that there will be an increase in pensions-in-payment. However, the Trustee can recommend an
increase based on the financial performance of the Plan.
