Checklists

The bird’s-eye view to help you understand a process.

Handy when you’re offering membership to eligible employees.

See checklist

 OMERS contribution rates and thresholds for your payroll updates.

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e-Form 119 Checklist

Before you begin

• Ensure that you have an e-access account and you log in before January 1

• Run a Membership Data Extract

• Ensure your data maintenance is complete

  • Enrol any members that should have been enrolled but were not (e-Form 102)

  • Report any outstanding normal retirement age or status changes (e-Form 106)

  • Report any outstanding leave periods (e-Form 165a)

  • Report any outstanding disabilities (e-Form 143)

  • Report any outstanding member terminations, retirements, and pre-retirement deaths (e-Form 143)

• Compare contributions remitted to contributions deducted to ensure they balance

January to June

Prepare for your e-Form 119 reporting

• Build your import file using the Import File Builder or create an ASCII file

• Ensure you have all e-Form 119 data

  • Credited service

  • Contributory earnings

  • RPP/RCA contributions

  • Pension adjustments (PAs) (only required if submitted after Feb 28)

• Make sure you’ve included retro-payment details (if applicable)  

Do your e-Form 119 reporting

• Import your data into e-access

  • e-Form 119 

  • Retro (if applicable)

• Submit your data to OMERS

• Resolve exceptions

• Reconcile

  • Ensure all e-Form 119 requests have been submitted or deleted

  • Verify contributions reported vs. remitted

  • Generate Pension Reports

  • Select employer contact information

  • Click the green Reconcile button

  • Call OMERS  Employer Services if you are having trouble with reconciling

Post reconciliation

• Run the Membership Data Extract to obtain PAs (if before Feb 28)

• Review the ANR125 – Form 119 RPP and RCA Reconciliation Report

  • Short remit on the next monthly remittance to recoup a credit balance (if applicable)

  • Remit funds on the next monthly remittance to pay balance owing (if applicable)

We're here to help!

Contact OMERS Employer Servicesif you need help with any of the steps.

Employer Disability Quick Reference

PART I - Disability benefits eligibility

Who is eligible for disability benefits?

• An employee who is considered to be fully prevented from performing their job due to a mental or physical incapacity for a period of at least four months may be entitled to a disability waiver of contributions (disability waiver) or a disability pension.

• The member may also qualify if they are on an approved rehabilitative work program.

What is the disability benefits criteria?

Disability waiver of contributions

• First 24 months, the member is unable to do their own job

• After 24 months, the member is unable to do any job

Disability pension

• Unable to do any job for which they are qualified.

Elimination period

• Can occur any time a member is considered totally disabled (absent from work as a result of the disability).

• The period of time from the date of disability to the first day of the fifth month following the month in which the disability occurred.

• It is your responsibility to determine if this period of time that the member is absent is due to illness or injury.

• Following the elimination period, a member may qualify for a disability waiver or a disability pension.

PART II - Disability elimination period administration

During the disability elimination period

If the member receives 100% sick pay

Normal contributions can continue to be deducted until the 100% sick pay ends or until the day 100% contributions stop. However, you must submit a completed Request for an OMERS plan benefit e-form 143 to OMERS when the member is absent beyond the first day of the fifth month.

If the member receives LESS THAN 100% sick pay

Two options are available to the employer:

• Cease contributions

  • Submit a completed Disability elimination period e-form 164 to provide the member with the option to purchase the period (at a single contribution rate).

• Continue regular contributions as if the member was receiving 100% regular pay

  • Be consistent in your approach for all or each class of members.

  • Example: for members receiving 85% of pay, contributions continue as though pay received was 100%.

If a member returns to work or a permanent accommodation is made, the elimination period ends and regular contributions begin.

Purchasing the disability elimination period

If the member elects NOT to purchase this period

1. Submit a completed Disability elimination period e-form 164.

2. OMERS will set up the period as broken service on the member’s record.

If the member elects to purchase this period

1. Keep a copy of the completed and signed Disability elimination period e-form 164 for your records.

2. Delete the Disability elimination period e-form 164.

3. Report all financial information through:

   • Annual reporting of membership information e-form 119; or

   • Request for OMERS plan benefit e-form 143.

Key dates

February 28: Deadline for employer to remit previous year’s elimination period funds to OMERS.
December 31 (of the year the disability occurs): Deadline for member to elect to purchase the disability elimination period.

PART III - Disability benefit administration

Step 1: Initiating the disability process

Requesting the disability benefit

On the first day of the fifth month following the member’s date of disability, submit a completed Request for an OMERS plan benefit e-form 143 to OMERS.

Tips for completing the Request for an OMERS plan benefit e-form 143

Important dates to remember

1. Date the member last worked 100% full-time duties.

2. Date the member last paid contributions on full earnings.

3. Deadline for submitting the Disability elimination period e-form 164 is December 31 of that same calendar year.

If the member elects to purchase their elimination period after the Request for an OMERS plan benefit e-form 143 has been submitted, then:

1. Revise the date the member last paid contributions on full earnings.

2. Send an e-Correspondence with revised financial information via e-access.

Annual salary rate

• Annual rate of contributory earnings at the date 100% contributions stop are used to determine the deemed waiver earnings.

• OMERS will calculate deemed waiver earnings during the disability waiver period.

Forother-than-continuous full-timeTooltip(OTCFT) members

• The annual salary rate is required, not the annualized salary rate.

• Populate the % of time worked for OTCFT members in comparison to a CFT equivalent (e.g., an OTCFT member working a 25-hour week works 62.5% of the time when compared to a CFT member working a 40-hour week).

Step 2: Managing the disability process

Disability review process

1. OMERS receives your completed and signed Request for an OMERS plan benefit e-form 143 and sends the member a disability package which includes the member's election to proceed with the disability benefit application and a request for medical information.

2. The member returns the election form and medical information.

3. The OMERS medical advisor conducts an initial review to determine the member’s eligibility for disability benefits.

4. OMERS conducts a medical review every 12 months.

5. If the member is deemed permanently disabled, OMERS requires the member to verify that they remain totally disabled every 24 months.

Note: If a member does not comply with OMERS request for information, their disability benefit may be placed on hold. Broken service may be required.

Effective July 1, 2018, OMERS is not responsible for any costs associated with providing medical documents.

Rehabilitative work

What is it?

Rehabilitative work is usually the transitional period between a member’s total disability status and their return-to-normal work duties (regardless of pay scale).

OMERS rehabilitative work may include any one of the following:

• a different occupation or a training program, with or without reduced hours, to train for a new occupation

• a different occupation, with or without reduced hours, as a transition to resuming own occupation, with the goal to resume own occupation

• own occupation with reduced hours, as a transition to resuming own occupation, with the goal to resume own occupation

• own occupation with modification to duties, as a transition to resuming own occupation, with the goal to resume own occupation

For members returning to rehabilitative work, submit a completed Notice of rehabilitative work form 152 to OMERS.

The nature of the rehabilitative work plan is an agreement between you and the member. OMERS focus is to ensure that members provide medical documentation to support the need for rehabilitative work.

Note: The duration of rehabilitative employment is limited to two years from date of initial return to work.

If OMERS does not support the rehabilitative work:

• the disability waiver of contributions stops from the return-to-work date;

• retroactive contributions from the return-to-work date or from the date the approval ceased must be deducted and remitted;

• the contributory earnings received during this period must be included in the pension adjustment (PA) for the year and must be reported on the Annual reporting of membership information e-form 119.

Step 3: Ending the disability waiver

Reasons for ending the waiver

A disability waiver benefit may end when the member either:

• returns to regular work duties or a new permanent work accommodation;

• participates in rehabilitative work which extends beyond two years from initial return-to-work date;

• elects a disability pension;

• elects termination options;

• elects to retire;

• reaches theirnormal retirement ageTooltip; or

• dies.

Required form(s)

Submit a completed Employment change/benefit request form 158 for any of the reasons ending the disability waiver.

If a member’s permanent accommodation results in a change in status, submit a completed Changing member information e-form 106.

If a member on disability waiver elects anearly retirementTooltipor requests termination options, the member submits a completed Forfeiting rights to disability benefits form 148 to OMERS.

Note: An Employment change/benefit request form 158 is required when a member terminates employment, however this does not end their disability waiver.

Employer and member form summary

Glossary