About Your OMERS Pension

Are you a retired member? Find everything you need to know about OMERS pensions, taxes and inflation protection below.

OMERS pension payments

• Pension payments by direct deposit arrive on the first banking day of the month. Most major Canadian banks will have the payment in your account the same day; credit unions and non-traditional banks may take an extra day or two.

• Pension cheques are mailed to arrive at the beginning of the month.

• More about  Pension payments and banking.

Pension payment dates for 2020

• January 2

• February 3

• March 2

• April 1

• May 1

• June 1

• July 2

• August 4

• September 1

• October 1

• November 2

• December 1

T4A tax slips

By the end of February each year, you can view and print your tax slip directly from your myOMERS account. OMERS will also mail your pension tax slip to your home by the end of February each year.

Inflation Protection

OMERS pensions in pay receive an annual inflation increase. The increase as of January 1, 2020 is 1.89%.

In December, we send retired members and survivors a personalized Annual Statement of Pension showing the details of their January pension increase. The statements are posted on myOMERS, then mailed to members who receive their pension information by paper mail.

Get your Annual Statement of Pension early! Activate your myOMERSOpens new window account to get your statement as soon as it is available online at myOMERS.com.

How inflation protection works

Each January, your OMERS pension increases by 100% of the increase in the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI), up to a maximum of 6%. If the CPI is greater than 6%, the excess is carried over for use in future years.

The CPI measures approximate changes in the cost of living based on the price of a basket of goods that an average Canadian household buys. The basket includes food, housing, transportation, energy, furniture, clothing and recreation. More about the CPI is at Statistics Canada's websiteOpens new window.

How OMERS calculates the annual inflation increase

OMERS uses the average of the CPI for the 12-month period ending in October, and compares it to the average for the same period the previous year. The percentage increase determines the increase for pensions.

OMERS method of calculating the annual inflation increase is consistent with the method used by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), except OMERS rounds to two decimal places, while CPP rounds to one decimal place.

How your first increase is pro-rated

Your first increase may be pro-rated based on the month your pension started. For example, the increase as of January 1, 2020, is 1.89%. If your pension started in February 2019, your 2020 increase would be 1.58% (which is 10/12 of 1.89%). In January 2021, your pension will receive the full 2021 increase.

Pension Payments and Banking

We pay OMERS pensions in equal monthly instalments at the beginning of the month. Most OMERS pension payments are made by direct deposit. Payments are also made by cheque.

Direct Deposit (available in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.)

Pension payments by direct deposit are automatically deposited into your account on the first banking day of the month. (Note: this isn't always the first day of the month; it could be the first day banks are open after a weekend or holiday.)

• Direct deposit is safe and secure: you don't have to wait for a cheque to arrive by mail, and you don't have to be home to get your payment.

• You can easily change your address information online with myOMERS or by calling OMERS.

We can make direct deposit payments to most banks and financial institutions in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. If you receive your pension in Canadian dollars, your 12 monthly pension payments in any year will be the same. Pensions paid in U.S. dollars or U.K pounds may fluctuate, depending on your bank's exchange rate. 

If your payment is not in your account by the first banking day of the month, contact your bank or OMERS Member Services.

Setting up direct deposit pension payments

To have your pension directly deposited into your bank account every month…

• Submit a Changing information (retired member/survivor)Opens new window form and complete the banking information section, or include a cheque marked “void” with the form.

• For a bank account in the U.S. submit a USA direct deposit requestOpens new window form.

• For a bank account in the U.K. submit a U.K. direct deposit requestOpens new window form.

Notify OMERS immediately of bank changes

For your protection, OMERS cannot make changes to your banking information by phone or by email.

• If you are a registered myOMERS user, you can change your banking information online.

• Submit a Changing information (retired member/survivor) formOpens new window

• Send a signed letter to OMERS that includes your full name (printed); yourOMERS membership numberTooltip(or social insurance number); the effective date of the change; the new information (bank, branch, and account number), or a void cheque from the new account.

Tip: Keep your old account open until the deposit actually goes into your new account, in case we don't receive your new information in time for your next monthly payment.

Payments by cheque

• If you receive your monthly pension payments by cheque, you can expect to receive your cheque at the beginning of each month.

• If your cheque hasn't arrived within five business days, please contact OMERS Member Services. If you live outside Ontario, in the U.S., or overseas, please allow 10 days.

• To change your address or other information:

  • Submit a Changing information (retired member/survivor)Opens new window form; or

  • Send a signed letter to OMERS that includes your full name (printed), current address and phone number; yourOMERS membership numberTooltipor reference number (or social insurance number); the effective date of the change; and the new address information.

Turning 65

Age 65 is a milestone for OMERS retired members. For instance:

• age 65 is a good time to think about medical insurance

• the amount of your OMERS pension changes

• some important federal benefits become available to you.

Medical insurance

Age 65 is often a turning point for medical benefits:

• employer medical and dental coverage may end at 65;

• Ontario residents become entitled to benefits under the Ontario Drug Benefit Program when they turn 65, but some products may not be covered, e.g., eyeglasses or prescription drugs bought outside Ontario; and

• it may have been several years since you assessed your medical insurance needs.

While we cannot endorse or guarantee any of these products or services from the organizations below, we have agreed to pass along their information to help with insurance planning.

Be sure to identify yourself as an OMERS member if you enquire about coverage for any of these special offers.

OMERS bridge benefit

While your lifetime pension is paid for life, the month after you turn 65 OMERS bridge benefit ends and will be taken off your pension payment. Just before you turn 65, you will receive a notice from OMERS detailing the change to your pension.

Background

Your OMERS pension is designed to work with the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to help provide a reasonable, total retirement income. Here's how:

• While you work, you pay a lower OMERS contribution rate on the portion of your earnings for which you also contribute to CPP (up to $58,700 in 2020).

• When you retire, your OMERS and CPP pensions work together to provide you with retirement income.

How we calculate your bridge benefit

0.675% xcredited serviceTooltip(years) x lesser of"best five" earningsTooltipor $56,440

$56,440 is the current five-year average (2016-2020) of CPP earnings limit.

No link between CPP pension and OMERS bridge benefit

Your CPP pension is based on how long you have worked and contributed to CPP. The OMERS bridge benefit is based on your credited service in OMERS. The two amounts are not linked and may be quite different.

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and other government benefits

If you haven't already started to receive your CPP pension, be sure take the steps necessary to ensure you receive the benefit you've earned. Your CPP benefit is not sent automatically; you must apply for it. 

Application kits are available from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada either onlineOpens new window or from the local office in your area.

Other Government benefits include the Old Age Security (OAS) program, which is supplemented by the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Allowance for low-income seniors. When you turn 65, you may be entitled to these benefits. Like CPP, you must apply for them.

MROO (Municipal Retiree Organization of Ontario) zone meetings

Each spring, the Municipal Retirees Organization of Ontario (MROO) hosts Zone Meetings across the province.

• MROO's president provides an update on MROO's advocacy on behalf of pensioners.

• OMERS staff share information about the pension plan and are available to answer questions.

• Guest speakers address a variety of topics of interest to retirees.

• All OMERS retirees are invited.

MROO Events CalendarOpens new window

Working While on Pension

For an OMERS employer

If you are receiving an OMERS pension and you return to work for an OMERS employer, you can:

• Stop your pension payments for as long as you are employed and re-enrol in the OMERS Plan; or

• Continue your OMERS pension payments and do not re-enrol in the OMERS Plan.

If you re-enrol in OMERS:

• Your employer should contact OMERS immediately so we can suspend your pension payments while you are working.

• Any pension payments received after re-enrolment must be repaid to the Plan, including any payment made in the month you re-enrol.

• When you subsequently retire or reach the latest date you may start to receive a pension (see below), your pension will be recalculated, taking into consideration your totalcredited serviceTooltip, contributory earnings, and the Plan provisions in effect at the time.

• If you work past age 71, your contributions to the Plan will stop on November 30 of the year in which you turn 71, and your OMERS pension will begin on December 1, regardless of whether you continue working.

• You cannot accumulate more than 35 years of service in the OMERS Plan.

Note: Effective January 1, 2021, OMERS will no longer cap your credited service. If you have not reached 35 years of credited service prior to this date, you will continue to contribute and accrue credited service in the Plan. If a member meets the 35-year cap before January 1, 2021, the limit will continue to apply. 

Working for a non-OMERS employer while on pension

If you work for a non-OMERS employer while on pension, it will not affect your pension payments.