Nova Scotia Labour Board rules that university must resume paying pension contributions for employees on long-term disability
August 30, 2023
St. Mary’s University’s (the “University”) pension plan previously provided that plan members on long-term disability (LTD) could elect to continue making contributions to the plan while on leave. Under the terms of the plan, the University was required to contribute if a member chose to contribute while on leave. In 2018, the University introduced amendments, which provided that while a member was on leave, neither the member nor the University would make direct contributions to the plan. Instead, the LTD insurer would remit a percentage of the member’s insured earnings, which would be credited to the member’s account.
Nova Scotia’s Superintendent of Pensions issued a Notice of Intended Decision (the “NOID”) to revoke the amendments and require the University to remit contributions in respect of affected members who also elected to contribute during the leave. The Superintendent issued the NOID on the bases that the University’s Pension Committee did not have the authority to make the amendments under its terms of reference, the amendments breached the Collective Agreements between the University and unions with affected members, and the Pension Committee had breached the Nova Scotia Pension Benefits Act by failing to provide adequate notice of the amendments.
The University challenged the NOID at the Nova Scotia Labour Board. However, in the interim, the parties reached a consensus to revoke the amendment as of September 1, 2023 (the “Transition Date”) and restore the previous provisions. Following the Transition Date, the University will make retroactive contributions in respect of members who were on leave while the amendment was in effect.
Click the link below to read the Nova Scotia Labour Board's decision:
