President of the North Bay and District Labour Council, Henri Giroux, is sounding an alarm about changes he believes will have a profound impact on pensioners.
“Disappointed after contributing to my pension plan for 35 years," Giroux writes in a news release. "OMERS Sponsors Corporation Board (SC) will vote on June 24th 2020 to remove the Guaranteed 100 per cent inflation indexing from OMERS pension plan recipients.”
Giroux says plan members recently received communication from OMERS informing members that OMERS is fully focussed on delivering pension services to members and ensuring the long-term health of the plan "in this unprecedented financial time."
He says he expects that of a major pension plan like OMERS during these difficult times.
“I was disappointed to find out that there are plans for some changes, which would eliminate Guaranteed Indexation after December 31, 2022. As a plan member, I am urging all plan members to discuss this with your Union or Association and speak to your OMERS representative and ask that they notify the OMERS Sponsors Corporation Board to reconsider and not vote to support the suspension of guaranteed indexing.”
Get details here.
Ontario OMERS plan members are on the frontline of the fight to keep Ontarians safe during COVID-19 crisis.
"We are the Public health workers, Paramedics, Long term care workers, Custodians, Maintenance Workers, Child Protections Workers, Police Officers, Firefighters, and other public professions," says Giroux.
According to the OMERS website, "With the OMERS defined benefit pension plan, you can confidently retire knowing that you will have income for life. The money you set aside from every paycheque is matched by your employer, and we carefully invest it in high-quality assets, diversified around the world, to meet the pension promise of a secure retirement."
But the union says "OMERS plan members deserve to know that plan changes, which could eliminate future pension benefits, will not be pushed through during an unprecedented public health crisis when our attention is rightfully focused on ensuring the safety of all Ontarians."
