Month: December 2018

With the transfer from active contributors to the Public Service Pension Plan complete some of our members have been approached with the “opportunity” to cash out their defined benefit pension plans and invest this money with a local financial advisor or investment advisor.

Ultimately everyone is responsible for making their own decisions about retirement planning.  The CRPEG executive would like to remind you that there are a variety of considerations you need to take into account when removing money from any pension, but especially one with a defined benefit that is backed by the Government of Canada.  One of the unique benefits offered to qualifying members of the public service pension plan is access to subsidized medical and drug coverage.  This coverage is unique in the pension industry and its value cannot be over-stated.  Additionally, as a defined benefit pension, the amount of retirement income available to the member is guaranteed and it is adjusted annually based on inflation.

When seeking financial advice it is not always clear how the individual advising you is being compensated.  The Government of Canada has set up a web page about savings and investments that has advice on choosing a financial service provider and what questions you should be asking.  In Canada there are two classifications of financial services, a financial advisor who manages your money, and a financial planner who helps you plan for retirement.  Only the financial planner has a fiduciary (legal) obligation to always act in your best interest.  The Financial Planning Standards Council recommends that an individual consult both a financial planner and a financial advisor with the caveat that the best practice is to have these be two separate entities, to remove conflict of interest.

For more information, please see:  https://www.canada.ca/en/services/finance/savings.html

We are pleased to announce that the ratification vote of the new collective agreement has passed. The contract has therefore been ratified by the membership.

Thank you to all those who came out to last night’s (06/12/2018) vote.

Our next steps will be to work with the company to incorporate the new changes into the text of the agreement, sign it, and arrange for distribution of copies to the members.

With respect to increases and retroactive payments, we will discuss with the company their ability to respond and provide additional details where possible.

Thank you to our negotiations team for their dedication, professionalism, and hard work throughout the process.

We would also like to thank our volunteers and scrutineers for their time, commitment, and involvement.

Best wishes to all, and Merry Christmas!

A tentative collective agreement has been reached between Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and the Chalk River Professional Employee Group (CRPEG).

Two ratification meetings will be held simultaneously on 06/12/2018 at 5 pm at the Deep River Legion, and CRL Cafeteria.  Details of the agreement will be presented followed by ratification vote.