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Supplementary Pension Regulations
made under Section 43 of the
Public Service Superannuation Act
R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 377
O.I.C. 2007-579 (November 6, 2007, effective January 1, 2000), N.S. Reg. 421/2007
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Supplementary Pension Regulations.
Definitions
2 (1) In these regulations,
(a) “Act” means the Public Service Superannuation Act;
(b) “employee” means an employee as defined in Section 38 of the Act;
(c) “Fund” means the Superannuation Fund created and maintained under the pension plan and referred to in the Act;
(d) “participating employer” means an employer who participates in the pension plan and has not notified the Minister under Section 42 of the Act that Section 39 of the Act does not apply to its employees;
(e) “service for supplementary pension purposes” means service as an employee, and does not include service with an employer other than the Province, a school board or a participating employer that has been credited as service of the employee for superannuation allowance purposes; and
(f) “supplementary pension” means a supplementary pension to which an employee is entitled under Section 39 of the Act.
(2) In Part IV of the Act and these regulations,
(a) “Province” means a person or persons, department, office, special operating agency, board, directorate, or any similar entity, that is part of the public service in accordance with the Public Service Act, but does not include a governmental unit or a government business enterprise, as those terms are defined in the Finance Act;
[Note: the reference to the Provincial Finance Act has been updated in accordance with Section 82 of the Finance Act, S.N.S. 2010, c. 2.]
(b) “retires” and “retired” include all events under the Act, including the death of an employee, that trigger payment of an immediate superannuation allowance under Section 4, 6, 6A, 17, 17A or 27 of the Act.
Payment of supplementary pension
3 When an employee who is entitled to a superannuation allowance retires, a supplementary pension must be paid to the same person or persons, in the same manner and beginning at the same time as the corresponding superannuation allowance.
Participating employer to reimburse supplementary pension paid by Minister
4 Despite clause 40(b) of the Act, if a supplementary pension is paid directly by the Minister, the employee’s participating employer at the time payment of the supplementary pension begins must promptly reimburse the Minister for any payments made by the Minister on the participating employer’s behalf.
Increase of supplementary pension
5 A supplementary pension must be increased by the same percentage and at the same time that superannuation allowances are increased under the regulations respecting cost of living increases made under the Act.
[Note: Regulations respecting cost of living increases made under the Act were effectively repealed by S. 23 of the Financial Measures Act, S.N.S. 2010, c. 3. Cost of living increases are covered under S. 14A of the Act until 2016.]
Length of service
6 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), in computing an employee’s length of service for calculating a supplementary pension, only the actual years and months of service for supplementary pension purposes are credited.
(2) Any period during which an employee received benefits from a long term disability plan is credited as service for supplementary pension purposes in the same manner that it is credited for the purposes of a superannuation allowance under the regulations respecting long term disability income made under the Act.
Refund of contributions
7 (1) If an employee terminates employment before the employee is eligible to receive an immediate superannuation allowance under the Act, payment must be made on behalf of the employee, in accordance with subsection (7) and, if applicable, in accordance with Section 27 of the Act, of both of the following:
(a) a refund of any contributions made by the employee to the Fund on salaries paid to the employee that exceed the average salary that is used to calculate the maximum pension payable under the Income Tax Act (Canada) at the date of termination;
(b) interest calculated in accordance with Section 9 on the contributions refunded under clause (a).
(2) Payment of a refund and interest under subsection (1) must not be made sooner than 30 days after the date of termination.
(3) Despite subsection (1), if an employee is re-employed by the Province, a school board or a participating employer within 30 days after the date of termination, the refund and interest referred to in subsection (1) must be paid directly to the new employer in accordance with subsection (8).
(4) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (6), the service of an employee who receives a refund under subsection (1) is not credited in determining any supplementary pension entitlement.
(5) If an employee who receives a refund under subsection (1) is re-employed by the Province, a school board or a participating employer after the period referred to in subsection (3), and the employee is contributing to the Fund, the employee may pay a lump sum contribution in accordance with subsection (8) in an amount equal to the amount paid to them under subsection (1), plus interest in accordance with Section 9 from the date they received the refunded amount to the date they pay the lump sum contribution.
(6) If an employee receives a refund under subsection (1) and makes a lump sum contribution under subsection (5), or the refund amount is paid directly to the employee’s new employer in accordance with subsection (3), the employee’s prior service as well as the period of their re-employment is credited in determining any supplementary pension entitlement.
(7) A refund and interest paid under subsection (1) or a payment made under subsection (3) must be paid
(a) from the General Revenue Fund, if the employer at the date of termination was the Province or a school board; and
(b) by the employee’s employer, if the employer at the date of termination was other than the Province or a school board.
(8) A lump sum contribution and interest paid under subsection (3) or (5) must be paid
(a) to the General Revenue Fund, if the re-employing employer is the Province or a school board; and
(b) to the re-employing employer, if the re-employing employer is other than the Province or a school board.
Non-application of Section 39 of the Act
8 (1) If a participating employer gives the Minister the written advice referred to in Section 42 of the Act, each employee of the participating employer who has not retired before the date the written advice is received by the Minister is not entitled to a supplementary pension and must be paid from the Fund
(a) a refund of any contributions made by the employee to the Fund on salaries paid to the employee above the salary levels at which the employee contributions would have been capped, in accordance with Section 41 of the Act, had the participating employer exercised its option under Section 42 of the Act before the time the employee made the contributions; and
(b) interest on the refunded contributions in accordance with Section 9.
(2) The written advice referred to in Section 42 of the Act must be in respect of all employees of the participating employer who have not retired before the date the written advice is received by the Minister.
(3) The written advice referred to in Section 42 of the Act is deemed to be effective from and including the date it is received by the Minister.
(4) Any employee of a participating employer who retires before the date the Minister receives the written advice referred to in Section 42 of the Act is entitled to be paid a supplementary pension by the participating employer.
(5) A participating employer who gives the Minister the written advice referred to in Section 42 of the Act must give prompt written notice to its employees who did not retire before the date the written notice is received by the Minister that Section 39 of the Act no longer applies to them.
(6) If a participating employer does not notify its employees in accordance with subsection (5) that Section 39 of the Act no longer applies to them, the Minister may notify the participating employer’s employees.
(7) In giving the Minister the written advice referred to in Section 42 of the Act, a participating employer indemnifies and saves harmless the Minister and the Province of Nova Scotia from and against all claims of any kind that arise or may arise as a result of the participating employer’s determination not to have Section 39 of the Act apply to its employees.
Calculation of interest
9 For the purposes of Sections 7 and 8, interest must calculated and paid as prescribed for contributions to, or refunds of contributions from, the Fund under the Interest Rates and Calculation Regulations made under the Act.