Re-employment explained
Considering re-employment? Watch our video and learn more about re-employment.
While your employer will report all re-employment service to us, you’re required to track your days and contact us if you plan to work after the month in which you exceed the limit.
50-day limit continues to apply
There's currently no change to the 50-day re-employment limit.
As you may know, we’re jointly sponsored by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) and the Ontario government. The plan co-sponsors must agree to any change in plan terms. While we can help you understand the re-employment rules, we're unable to change them. We also can't anticipate when any changes may occur, so our contact centre won't be able to answer questions about potential changes to re-employment rules.
Exceeding the 50-day limit
Let your employer know you’re collecting a pension when you accept a job. You can work until the end of the month in which you exceed the limit without affecting your pension.
You’re not entitled to receive your pension for any month(s) you work after the month in which you exceed the limit. This applies even if you work for only one day. You won't have the option of reimbursing your pay in exchange for your pension.
Your pension will resume on the earlier of:
- the month in which you have no re-employment service, or
- September 1 following the school year in which your pension was suspended.
Example
Jocelyn plans to do some supply teaching in the upcoming school year. Here’s a possible scenario to help illustrate what Jocelyn needs to do, and when, once she becomes re-employed.
| Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days | 0 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
| Sum | 0 | 12 | 22 | 28 | 36 | 50 | 50 | 61 | 66 | 70 |
Jocelyn’s 50th day of re-employment would occur in February. She would exceed the limit in April.
Jocelyn can work until the end of April without affecting her pension. Since she’ll work additional days past April of that school year, she must notify us as soon as she exceeds the limit. We’ll suspend her pension beginning in May.
If she changes her mind and doesn’t work beyond April of that school year, she doesn’t need to contact us.
Working in August
Check your employer's calendar, especially if you work in August. Different positions may have different calendar start dates, and some fall in August.
Days you work in August will only be included in the subsequent school year if they’re part of the existing calendar associated with your position. If they’re not, and you’ve already exceeded your re-employment limit for the current school year, these days will count toward the current school year. As a result, your pension will be suspended in August and resume in September.
Contact your employer to confirm if the work days in August fall under the current or next school year.
Counting your days
You must count all work days, including paid non-working days, such as professional development days and sick days. If you normally count statutory holidays as work days, they should also be included if you become re-employed. Once you start working, you can review your re-employment days. If you believe the number of days shown in your account is incorrect, contact your employer directly.
Don’t count days you worked before you retired. For example, if you retire and return to work in the same school year, the days you worked before the month of your first pension payment don’t count toward the limit.
Contract employees
If you’re hired on a part-time basis, days count in direct proportion to your contract percentage. For example, if you’re on a 33% contract and work one-third of a day, three days would count as one day of re-employment.
Hourly and task-based employees
If you’re paid by the hour, or hired for a specific task, check with your employer to determine what constitutes a working day for someone in that position. With that information, you’ll be able to accurately count the days you work.
We recognize a day to be anywhere from 5.5 to 9 hours of work. For example, if your employer reports your normal working day as 4 hours and you work 110 hours, you’ll accumulate the equivalent of 20 days toward the limit, as follows: 110 hours ÷ 5.5 hours per day (minimum) = 20 days.
Even though you worked only 4 hours a day, we recognize a day to be a minimum of 5.5 hours. If you worked 10 hours in a day, we recognize only 9 hours.
Failure to report
Under the Teachers’ Pension Act, you must record the number of days worked in education. You’re obligated to supply the details of your return to work in circumstances where we require additional information. If you fail to provide this information within a reasonable time after it’s requested, your pension will be suspended. Any pension payments you weren’t entitled to receive must be returned, with interest.