Spring 2013

”“For some, deciding to retire is easy – just ask Beverly Van der Breggen. She made a five-year retirement plan to allow herself the time to mentally prepare and her employer time to prepare as well.

When asked if she thought about saving for her retirement when she was younger, the answer was a familiar “No.” But, as she got older, she realized the benefits of a pension plan. So, when returning to work after raising her family, she looked for a job that offered one. “I value the information MEPP provides and I like that they pay careful attention to maintaining the funds so that pensions can be ongoing. I am very thankful I have a pension that will take me through.”

Before her retirement in 2011, Beverly worked as the assistant administrator, and then administrator, for the Rural Municipality of North Qu’Appelle for 20 years. “I was very fortunate to always have a good council; they always supported the staff.” If outside employees needed a driver, she was allowed to go and help – so every once in a while she was out working with the guys.

Beverly’s advice to a young person entering the workforce is simple. “If you are drawn to any type of work, then stick with it. It can be very rewarding – even if it gets frustrating at times.”

Although Beverly enjoyed working, she is enjoying retirement just as much. “I believe I retired at just the right time for me – the transition was easy and I have no regrets. I knew that when I retired there would be no end of things that I could do.” For her, it’s just a matter of choosing how she wants to fill her days. The only difference between working and retirement is she doesn’t have to get up early if she doesn’t want to.

Beverly’s first priority is helping with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “That’s why I retired at age 60.” She also helps her husband and son at the Braeburn Inn, a motel that the family has owned for the past 16 years.

And, just as she thought, there is no shortage of things to do. She helps out at the Echo Lodge Nursing home once a week, is a board member of the District Board of Revision, the coordinator for the EMO (Emergency Measures Organization), and the secretary/treasurer of the Fort Qu’Appelle Museum.

Beverly also likes to ‘pay it forward’. She recently worked on and completed two short-term projects in exchange for donations to the local splash park and cancer support group.

What’s her secret to a happy retirement? “Be happy and live. It doesn’t matter if you’re retired or working. Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do.” Her advice to those who are thinking about retirement, “Think about what you want and be practical when making your plans and setting your goals. Retirement can be fun and rewarding if you want it to be!”

Not everyone has a retirement plan like Beverly. If you would like help with your plan, you can attend a RetireWithEase workshop or you can call and speak directly with one of our Retirement Information Consultants. Let us help you with your retirement needs.

I do enjoy retirement.Fall 2015

This article is the second in a two-part series about getting out of debt (part one) and staying out of debt (part two).

I have been on my get out and stay out of debt journey for nine months now and it has been quite the ride. I’ve wanted to quit many times and go wild at the mall with my credit card, but I’ve managed to restrain myself. I’ll confess – I haven’t been perfect. There were a couple of months where I went slightly over budget and had to dip into my small savings. Creating new spending habits is a lifestyle change which doesn’t happen overnight.

While working to get out of debt, I’ve spent time researching and creating a plan for staying out of debt. Here’s what I’ve learned and will try to do in the coming months and years.

Build up an emergency fund

Having an emergency fund is the most basic and essential tool for staying out of debt. Financial experts recommend saving enough to cover your expenses for three to six months. I decided to try and shoot for a three-month emergency fund since it seemed more attainable. I used my budget to calculate how much I would need to save. Creating an emergency fund, while paying off debt, was daunting, but I quickly learned some tricks for growing my savings, which included:

• setting-up a savings account that isn’t easily accessible from my regular chequing account;

• saving unexpected funds, such as tax refunds, gift money or overtime pay;

• because I’m paid bi-weekly, there are two months of the year where I receive three paycheques. In those months I will attempt to have one pay cheque allocated directly to my savings account;

• making savings automatic – I have a portion of my paycheques directly deposited into my savings account each pay period; and

• if I receive a pay increase, I will continue living on my existing budget as if I were still earning the lower salary.

Use credit strategically

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned through this process is not to turn to credit when I over spend. Instead, I’ve learned that I need to go back to my budget and find an area where I can decrease my spending for that month. For example, if I spend too much on clothing, I might decrease what I spend on leisure activities, like drinks with friends. That being said, I’m not willing to give up on credit just yet. Credit card debt has been one of my toughest debts to pay off, but I still feel it’s important to learn how to use this tool properly. To help me through this process, I set some strict rules for myself:

1. I won’t use my credit card to buy things I can’t afford.

2. I will always pay the entire credit card balance before the bill’s due date.

continued on last page

Leave debt in the dust

Update on MEPP’s Funding Status

2014 Going-Concern ResultsThe Municipal Employees’ Pension Commission (the Commission) uses the actuarial valuation to assess the financial health of the Plan. Two types of valuations are done for defined benefit pension plans, which include Going-Concern and Solvency.

The Going-Concern Valuation determines whether the Plan has the resources needed to continue to operate indefinitely.

In the Going-Concern Valuation process, an actuary determines the total value of the liabilities (current pensions in pay and future pensions) of the Plan and compares them to the Plan’s assets. If assets are greater than liabilities, the Plan is fully funded and in a state of surplus.

The Going-Concern Valuation shows that the Plan is 107.5 per cent funded, which is slightly below the funding target of 110 per cent.

2014 Solvency ResultsA Solvency Valuation helps the Commission assess whether the Plan has enough assets to pay the Plan’s liabilities, if it were to close on the valuation date. The Solvency Valuation results also determine the holdback rate applied to termination benefits.

The 2014 Solvency Valuation shows a shortfall of $308.1 million. This means that had the Plan closed on December 31, 2014, there would not have been enough assets to cover the Plan’s liabilities.

The Plan’s solvency ratio at December 31, 2014, is 86.6 per cent which is down from last year’s funded ratio of 88.9 per cent. The holdback rate increased to 13.4 per cent from last year’s 11.1 per cent to reflect the 2014 funded ratio. This change came into effect September 30, 2015.

Because the Plan has a solvency deficit, all termination payouts and transfers will have a 13.4 per cent holdback. The holdback amount plus interest will be paid to the member within five years of the initial payment date. If you leave your benefit in the Plan there are no holdbacks.

Going forward, all pensions will continue to be paid in full. Contribution rates will not increase in 2016.

For details on the holdback and contribution rates, visit our website.

Solvency Basis(Millions of Dollars)

AssetsLiabilities & Reserves*Deficit

Funded Ratio (%)

$1,990.4

2,298.5

($308.1)

86.6

Going-Concern Basis(Millions of Dollars)

AssetsLiabilities & Reserves*Surplus

Funded Ratio (%)

$1,800.4

1,675.5

$124.9

107.5*Reserves are established to provide protection to the Plan.

Over 140%

Temporary bene�t increasesIndexation of bene�tsContribution decrease

Funding Level

125% - 140%

Indexation of pensionsContribution decrease

115% - 125%110% - 115%Up to110%

Watch contribution levelsContribution increase to

maintain funding

Keep Contribution and bene�t levels

steady

Indexation of pensions for current year

Considerations

110%Minimum

Funding Target

MEPP’s current funded ratio of 107.5% is relatively good, but it falls a little shy of the 110% to 115% funding level objective.

MEPP Matters keeps over 23,000 members up-to-date on Plan news and benefits.

This newsletter provides general information about MEPP and its operation. It does not replace or supersede the legislation governing the Plan.

Email: mepp@peba.gov.sk.ca

Phone: Toll-free 1-877-506-6377

In Regina 306-787-2684

Fax: 306-787-0244

Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Mail: 1000 - 1801 Hamilton Street

REGINA SK S4P 4W3

Web: www.peba.gov.sk.ca

Leave debt in the dust continued...

Since I’m trying to pay off debt and won’t be traveling much in the next while, I applied for a credit card that offers cash back, instead of discounts on travel and hotels. In order to take full advantage of the cash back feature, I use my credit card to make the majority of my purchases. The key part of successfully using this strategy to earn a little extra cash, while staying out of debt, is paying off my

credit card bill by the payment deadline. Seeing as I’m only 29, I know I’m years away from retirement, but I still think it’s important to start planning. My goal is to retire debt free or at least with only a small amount of debt, and I’m on my way to being able to do that. Thanks for reading; I hope my story will inspire you to take a look at your financial future.

It’s your pension and your voice matters

In July 2014 the Public Employees Benefits Agency, on behalf of the Municipal Employees’ Pension Commission, initiated the MEPP Consultation Sessions. The purpose of the consultations was twofold:

1. To provide members with an opportunity to become more engaged in their pension plan, and

2. To gauge the membership’s perspective on several hypothetical changes that may be implemented if the Plan’s sustainability was one day a serious concern.

To ensure the responses could be used as a statistically accurate representation, a third party vendor was consulted for the development and finalizing of survey questions. Using a confidence interval (margin of error) of 3.5 per cent, the results can be viewed as 99 per cent accurate of the entire MEPP membership.

The results are in…

In each question where the membership was asked whether they would prefer a reduction in pension benefits or an increase in contributions rates, the majority of the membership chose a contribution rate increase. To view a complete breakdown of the results, see the MEPP Member Consultations Report on our website.

The MEPP Commission is grateful to all the members who participated in the survey and hopes these members, and more, will continue to be engaged in their pension plan. The information gathered from the survey has been analyzed, with actuarial support. From that, a guideline for examining potential options, only if the sustainability of the plan becomes a concern, has been formulated. The Commission would like to remind members that there are no anticipated contribution increases and/or benefit reductions at this time.

Thank you for sharing your perspective in the 2014 Member Consultations.

E-comm is a quick, easy and convenient way to be notified about the latest Plan news. Once you sign up, you will be notified by email when Plan information (like MEPP Matters) is available on the website. To sign up, click on the E-Comm logo on the MEPP homepage.