WELCOME! Ottawa Chapter Spring AGM Meeting May 26, 2010.

WELCOME!

Ottawa Chapter

Spring AGM Meeting

May 26, 2010

May 26, 2010 2

AGM Agenda

9:30 a.m. Meeting call to order & review of agenda 9:35 Pension update10:05 Ottawa Chapter update10:30 ~ Break ~11:00 BPG Board of Directors slate for 2010-201111:15 Election of Ottawa Chapter Chair11:30 Treasurer’s update, approval of Auditor for 2010 &

Auditor’s report Note: due to the confidentiality of the financial information, these slides have been excluded from this web version.

11:50 Approval of changes to BPG by-laws12:00 p.m. New business; Question & answer session12:30 Adjournment

Bell Pensioners' GroupMay 2010

President's Report

Presented by Bob Farmer

May 26, 2010 4

Agenda

A big “Thank you” to Raymond Bertrand

Pension Status Pension Reform

Developments Advocacy

A few other comments

May 26, 2010 5

2009 Pension Plan Status

2008: $1.8B Deficit 2009: Assets up

+15% market return Contributions by Bell for 2009

Current service costs: $165M Deficit amortization: $251M Voluntary (to deficit): $500M

2009: Liabilities up Greater clarity after June 30

May 26, 2010 6

Pension Reform

BPG Objective: Reduce Pensioners' Risk Biggest Risk:

Plan has deficit, AND Plan is being wound-up

We call this risk “Plan Failure” There is no sign that Bell's plan faces failure

but we don't assume that it cannot happen

May 26, 2010 7

Pension Reform: Getting the Rules Right

Legislation and Regulations to Keep healthy plans healthy Bring unhealthy plans back to health Improve pensioners' position should a plan fail

The first two are key, so the third will stay an academic concern for BPG members

May 26, 2010 8

Pension Reform: Advocacy

Recommendations (with rationale) given to: Bureaucracy

Finance Canada Pension Regulators on plan governance

Political Minister of Finance Minister's lead MP on Pension issues Minister's political adviser on pension issues Standing Committee on Finance Liberal Finance Critic Consultation on Retirement Income System Link with Canadian Federation of Pensioners communications

May 26, 2010 9

Pension Reform: Where We Are

Keep healthy plans healthy Very positive legislative developments

Voluntary plan termination only if plan is fully funded (within five years)

Contribution holiday only if 5% plan surplus Annual plan valuation and funding reset

To include all plan provisions Enhanced disclosure requirements Potential maximum surplus increased to 25% from 10% Deviations from standard funding rules can be adopted

by sponsor only with agreement from its pensioners

May 26, 2010 10

Pension Reform: Where We Are

Bring Unhealthy plans back to health Disappointing developments Probably an overreaction to economic downturn Increased risk to pensioners

Focus of current advocacy activities Time-line: near term

May 26, 2010 11

Plan Deficits Persist Longer

Deficit Elimination

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20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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Current

Proposed

May 26, 2010 12

Pension Reform: When Plans Fail

Options presented Don't wind up plan Better pensioner access to bankrupt's assets

A few mildly positive signs of political traction, but this is a longer term struggle

May 26, 2010 13

A Few Other Comments

BPG a professional organization www.bellpensionersgroup.ca

Very informative > 1 million hits in last year Over 10,000 unique visitors Improvements?

Chapter outreach exemplary

Ottawa Chapter Update

Presented by Marc Davidson

Ottawa Chapter Chair

May 26, 2010 15

Ottawa Chapter Update

Membership growth Electronic payment of annual membership dues Membership renewal process Meetings outside of Ottawa Succession planning

May 26, 2010 16

Our # 1 Priority: Grow Membership

Grow membership is one of BPG’s strategic priorities

We’ve done the following to grow our membership Meetings outside of Ottawa (Kingston, Sudbury,

Pembroke) 4 newsletters per year filled with relevant content Email “blasts” to our members who have email Introduced the PayPalTM trial to facilitate electronic

payment of membership dues Recently launched the “Circle of Friends” campaign

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May 26, 2010 17May 26, 2010 17

Our strength in numbers

The following summarizes the BPG Membership Count:

Dec 2008 Dec 2009

Ottawa 1,206 1,332

BPG Total 9,944 10,213

The Ottawa Chapter achieved a 10.4% year over year increase during 2009

We are committed to a minimum of 5% yr/yr growth

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May 26, 2010 18

Electronic Payment via PayPalTM

Objectives: Faster and easier for our members

Another option for our members versus payment by mail or at the AGM meetings

Lower cost, i.e., no envelope, no stamps, no chequing costs Can pay membership dues at any time, 24/7

Faster and easier for our Treasurer More timely payment of membership dues Improve collection of annual membership dues Improve efficiency: less paper administration & less trips to

the bank

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May 26, 2010 19

Costs

To our Member: BPG member does not need to have a PayPal account

to make a payment via PayPal Cost to the member is a $1.00 transaction fee

To BPG: $1.00 transaction fee paid by member offsets BPG costs We are charged $0.91 per transaction The remaining $0.09 is retained to cover any fees

charged by PayPal when transferring money from the PayPal account to our bank account

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May 26, 2010 20

How does it work?

1. Go to our website http://www.bellpensionersgroup.ca

2. Highlight “Become a Member” on the banner at the top and select “Application Form” on the pull-down menu

3. On the opened page, click on “Ottawa” and the membership application form will appear

4. Complete the application form and follow the instructions to complete the transaction

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May 26, 2010 21

How does it work? (cont’d)

Once the transaction is completed, the member receives an email from PayPal, specifying: the amount, notation on credit card statement, merchant info and receipt number

PayPal confirmation is also sent to our Treasurer by email when a transaction occurs

Email contains payment amount, payee name, address, telephone number, and email address

Transfers of funds from the PayPal account to our BPG bank account can only be initiated by the Treasurer

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May 26, 2010 22

Preliminary Results

As of April 1st, 58 members have used PayPal 54 Renewing members 4 New members

Sample Feedback from members: “Love this on-line method of paying; simple and easy-

thank you.” “Hi Marc and Terry - thanks for the new Paypal

Membership renewal…I completed the transaction online and it worked great.”

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May 26, 2010 23

Next steps

All other BPG chapters will adopt the electronic payment method

It was decided that a Corporate application be developed by a web developer to ensure:

consistency in approach consistency in member experience ease of implementation for other Chapters sharing of information and computer/web skills

This couldn’t have happened without the great work & leadership of our Ottawa webmaster, Terry Acker and our Treasurer, Don Dutton

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May 26, 2010 24

Membership Renewal Process

One of the issues that we have struggled with in the past are: how to consistently acknowledge receipt of membership renewal payments, and how to manage the issuance of membership cards

At its April 2010 meeting, the Chapter Executive adopted a new process for membership renewal and membership cards

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May 26, 2010 25

Permanent Membership Cards

Starting with the October 28, 2010 Ottawa General Meeting, we will be issuing permanent membership cards

Those who do not attend the October 28 meeting will receive their cards, via mail, during the month of November 2010

April 26, 2010 25

May 26, 2010 26

Membership Renewals

Payment made at AGM: information sheet (indicating confirmation of payment) will be provided upon receipt of payment. Membership list will be updated by Chapter Executive upon receipt of payment

Payment made by mail or PayPal from member with valid email address: Information sheet indicating confirmation of payment will be sent via email

Payment made by mail from member without a valid email address: Due to the costs and effort involved, we will not send a confirmation of payment; the cancelled cheque will serve as confirmation

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May 26, 2010 27

BPG General Meetings Outside of Ottawa

Kingston: May 27, 2010

Sudbury: Fall 2010 (date TBD)

Pembroke: Fall 2010 (date TBD)

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May 26, 2010 28

Succession Planning

I will be leaving as Chair of the Ottawa Chapter at the end of my two-year term, but will remain on the Chapter Executive Committee as Past Chair

There will be an election today to elect my replacement To date, Marlyn Easterbrook, who has served as

Vice-Chair for the past year has submitted her nomination

Others are welcome to submit their nomination

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May 26, 2010 29

Succession Planning

Lancy Hum has filled a key role as Chapter Secretary replacing Francis Christensen

Terry Acker has taken over as the Webmaster replacing John Wright

Both Lancy and Terry have made significant contributions in their first year of service

On behalf of the executive committee, I wish to thank Francis and John for their dedication and outstanding contribution to BPG

29

May 26, 2010 30

Succession Planning:Membership Coordinator Role

We have another key role to fill: membership coordinator

Current incumbent, John Campbell has been doing this role for the last five years on top of being heavily involved in other work commitments

On behalf of all of us, I wish to thank John for his great work

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May 26, 2010 31

Membership Coordinator Role

This role has 2 dimensions1. Contact point for members and prospective members:

Provide a phone number and email address for members to contact the chapter

Provide prospective members with assistance in becoming members, answering generic questions about the association

Take questions or concerns from the members (between meetings) and pass the message to the appropriate Chapter member

2. Perform mailings by email and prepare for mailing by Canada Post:

This role requires computer skills (e.g., MS Excel) and the ability to send out large volume of emails

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May 26, 2010 32

Membership Coordinator (cont’d)

John Campbell is available to provide the necessary training to ensure a smooth transition

Please see me at the break or after the meeting if you’re interested in helping us out

We really need your help!

BREAK

Ottawa Chapter Meeting

May 26, 2010

Bell Pensioners’ Group 2010 Election of Directors



May 26, 2010 35


The current Board of Directors approves and recommends the following Directors for the 2010/2011 Board:

Ontario: Bob Bartlett, Robert Farmer, Linda Gervais, Gwen Guillet, Ron Hunt, Pam Went

Quebec: Andre Bergeron, Michele Boyer, Jean-Luc Geha, Robert Guay

5 Chapter Chairs (Ottawa: TBD)

May 26, 2010 36


Motion:“That the membership of BPG elect the slate

of Directors for the 2010/2011 BPG Board as approved and recommended by the

current Board of Directors.”

Election of New Ottawa Chapter Chair

May 26, 2010 38

Call for Nominations

Marlyn Easterbrook Others?

May 26, 2010 39

Election of Ottawa Chapter Chair

Motion:“That the election of ..................

as Ottawa Chapter Chair

be accepted and approved.”

Ottawa Chapter- Financial ReportMay 26, 2010

Don Dutton

Ottawa Chapter Treasurer

May 26, 2010 41

BPG Auditor Appointment for 2010

Motion:“That the firm Collins Barrow be appointed

as the auditors for BPG until the close of

the next annual meeting at a remuneration

to be fixed by the Board of Directors.”

Revised BPG By-LawsMay 2010



May 26, 2010 43


Why change? Since the last update (2006):

London Chapter became SWO The BPG Vision was created The Chapter Handbook was created Practices and policies were documented, e.g.,

counting the membership

May 26, 2010 44


Article I “Overview” London is now SWO The BPG Objective is the same as in the BPG Vision

Article II “The Rights and Responsibilities of Members” Definition of Member updated Membership Count methodology agrees with current process

Article III “Organization” Updated to agree with Chapter Handbook & current processes Election of Officers clarified

May 26, 2010 45


Article V “Financial and Banking Practices” Updated to reflect current financial practices and processes

Article VI “Dissolution of Group” Updated to reflect common Board practice and language

Article VII “Amendment of By-Laws” Updated to reflect common Board practice and language

May 26, 2010 46


Motion:“That the revised By-Laws dated May 2010

be accepted and approved.”

NEW BUSINESS

May 26, 2010 48

Circle of Friends2010 Membership Campaign

Need to increase our 2010 membership by 5% Launched in early May 2010 to our members

with email addresses Two ways to win:

Help BPG’s voice to be stronger to protect your pension and benefits. The more BPG members, the more effective is our voice;

Win your 2011 BPG annual membership

May 26, 2010 49

How does it work?

On the form provided, give us the name, telephone number and email (if available) of your friends or former colleagues who are Bell pensioners, but not yet members of BPG If you’re not sure whether your friend or former colleague is a BPG

member, provide us with as much detail as possible so we can confirm their membership status in our in our database.

Your completed form can be sent to us by mail, email, or handed in at the end of the meeting Instructions are on the form Additional copies of the form is available on the BPG – Ottawa

Chapter website (http://www.bellpensionersgroup.ca/)

May 26, 2010 50

Circle of Friends Input Form

May 26, 2010 51

How does it work? (cont’d)

A member of the BPG Ottawa Chapter Executive Committee will contact your friend or former colleague to invite them to join BPG

For every name you submit, you will receive one entry in the draw to win your 2011 BPG membership

At our October 28, 2010 BPG meeting, winners will be announced for the three (3) prizes of 2011 BPG membership dues: The person who has provided the most names of prospective

BPG members; and From all the qualifying entries, we will draw two (2) winners

Good Luck!

May 26, 2010 52

Live Well/Age Well Savvy Seniors Fair

A one-stop event dedicated to informing, promoting and sharing information and resources about healthy aging in Ottawa

A forum of experts will be on hand to discuss aging in place strategies for seniors

Guest speakers include: Dr. William Dalziel from the Regional Geriatric Assessment Clinic; Lisa MacLeod, M.P.P. Nepean and Carleton; Ann Dobbins, from Memory Matters; ABCs of Fraud, and much more

Booths from various City of Ottawa departments responsible for seniors programs and services are expected to be present

The event is hosted by Comfort Keepers & is free for seniors For more information call Comfort Keepers at 613-820-1612 When & where: Saturday, June 5

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.Nepean Sportsplex, Salons A & B

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

NEXT MEETING

Thursday, October 28, 2010

9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Nepean Sportsplex

WELCOME! Ottawa Chapter Spring AGM Meeting May 26, 2010.

Documents

Transcript of WELCOME! Ottawa Chapter Spring AGM Meeting May 26, 2010.