Deferred pension

CSSB > Life Events > Deferred pension

Deferred pension

If you have a deferred pension, it means that at some point in your career, you worked for a CSSB employer. When your employment ended, your pension stayed with us.

When you turn 55, you’ll have a decision to make. You can start your monthly pension or continue to defer it.

Options

When you start your pension, you’ll get a monthly payment for life. To estimate your payment, log in to your Online Services account.

Start your monthly pension

If you don’t start your pension now, you may miss out on payments as pensions are not paid retroactively. Continuing to defer your pension means you lose out on payments you’re entitled to.

There’s usually no advantage to deferring your pension, but there are some exceptions.

Here are a few things to consider:

  • Are you currently working for another CSSB employer? If so, you can’t start your pension until you stop contributing to the plan. Contact us to learn more about what this means for your pension.
  • Did you work with your CSSB employer(s) for less than 10 years? If so, your pension will be reduced if you start it before age 65. By waiting until age 65 to start your pension, your monthly payment will likely be higher.
  • Will you work with a CSSB employer in the future? If you start your pension now but later go back to work with a CSSB employer, you can’t earn additional pension benefits. Visit the CSSB website to see the full list of employers who participate in the plan.

How to start your pension

You must apply to begin your payments. You can do so through your Online Services account or by contacting our office.

Note: You don’t need to retire to start your pension. You can continue working for another non-CSSB employer and still receive monthly payments.

Continue to defer your pension

If you’re not ready to start your pension, you don’t need to do anything. Contact us when you want to start payments. You must start your pension by the end of the year in which you turn 71.

Many life changes can affect your pension. Explore the different events below to learn more. Contact CSSB if you have questions.

Smiling woman shaking hands with a man seen from behind, while her happy partner looks on

Join the plan

Couple carrying boxes into a home

Get married or move in together

Move

Smiling man holding a baby

Start or expand your family

Smiling man holding an tablet, standing outside an office building

Change employer (within the plan)

smiling woman sitting at a desk in a classroom

Take a leave of
absence

Image of documents with pair of wedding bands and a pen on top. person sitting on either side of the table with hands crossed.

Divorce or separate

business woman leaving glass building

Leave employment (for any reason) / terminations

woman looking at a chart with a doctor

Experience a disability or illness

smiling woman playing pickleball

Retire

Woman sitting at desk on phone, writing on paper

Work past age 71

Elderly person holding hands with a bright red blanket

Death

Deferred pension

If you have a deferred pension, it means that at some point in your career, you worked for a CSSB employer. When your employment ended, your pension stayed with us.

When you turn 55, you’ll have a decision to make. You can start your monthly pension or continue to defer it.

Options

When you start your pension, you’ll get a monthly payment for life. To estimate your payment, log in to your Online Services account.

Start your monthly pension

If you don’t start your pension now, you may miss out on payments as pensions are not paid retroactively. Continuing to defer your pension means you lose out on payments you’re entitled to.

There’s usually no advantage to deferring your pension, but there are some exceptions.

Here are a few things to consider:

  • Are you currently working for another CSSB employer? If so, you can’t start your pension until you stop contributing to the plan. Contact us to learn more about what this means for your pension.
  • Did you work with your CSSB employer(s) for less than 10 years? If so, your pension will be reduced if you start it before age 65. By waiting until age 65 to start your pension, your monthly payment will likely be higher.
  • Will you work with a CSSB employer in the future? If you start your pension now but later go back to work with a CSSB employer, you can’t earn additional pension benefits. Visit the CSSB website to see the full list of employers who participate in the plan.

How to start your pension

You must apply to begin your payments. You can do so through your Online Services account or by contacting our office.

Note: You don’t need to retire to start your pension. You can continue working for another non-CSSB employer and still receive monthly payments.

Continue to defer your pension

If you’re not ready to start your pension, you don’t need to do anything. Contact us when you want to start payments. You must start your pension by the end of the year in which you turn 71.