Changes to enrolments begin Tuesday, September 4

We are making a few changes to the enrolment process to advance our digital capabilities and better serve our members and employers. These changes will help us to modernize our approach to communicating with members, while reducing our environmental footprint and lowering pension costs!

The first two changes will enable increased digital communications with members. The third change enables better information sharing with you, while preserving the privacy of our members’ personal information.

e-access will be updated with these changes over the Labour Day weekend. e-access will also be unavailable from Friday, August 24 at 6:00 p.m. until Monday morning, August 27 at 8:00 a.m. for required maintenance. We appreciate your understanding.

We need your help! Beginning September 4, we are asking that you gather the following when you enrol a member:

1. The member’s mobile number and email address

• Email and mobile phone fields will be added to the updated

   

  Enrolling a member (e-Form 102)

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• Personal email addresses and mobile numbers are preferable, but the member’s work email and mobile number are better than none.

Note: In September, we will be reaching out to ask you for existing members' email addresses we don't have on file.

2. The member’s consent to paperless pension communications

• Ask the member if they will help us with our move to paperless communication by agreeing to receive electronic copies of the member handbook, annual pension statement, Plan change announcements and other required communications.

• Only indicate that consent was provided if the member agrees, either verbally or in writing. (A consent question will be added to the e-Form 102.)

• Explain to the member that they can opt out at any time by logging into myOMERS and changing their options. They can also ask for a paper version by calling OMERS Client Services.

• If the member consents to paperless communications, OMERS will send the member an email to confirm their election.

3. A completed member information-sharing form

We recognize that employers may need member information for workforce- and succession-planning purposes, as well as for the administration of integrated benefit plans, such as long-term disability and insurance plans. To strengthen OMERS and employer privacy practices, we now have a new form, Authorization for Disclosure of Personal Information (Form 132)Opens new window.

For all enrolments on or after September 4, 2018:

• Have the member complete and sign Form 132 as part of your OMERS enrolment process. This form must be signed before you request information about the member for any purpose other than pension administration.

• If the member signs Form 132, indicate this on e-Form 102 or

   

  Changing member information (e-Form 106)

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• Keep the signed Form 132 in your permanent records. You do not need to send a copy to OMERS.

You do not need to take any retroactive action to inform members enrolled before September 4. In September, we will mail active members details on how OMERS shares information with their employers. It will also include instructions on how a member can opt out of sharing their non-pension-administration information. If a member opts out, OMERS will only provide their employer with the member’s information that is directly related to pension administration.

You make a difference!

We appreciate all of the work you do, and your continued support is critical as we work toward implementing these important changes. Thank you for partnering with us.