Plan Text Amendments Offer More Flexibility and Options in Survivor Benefits

At CAAT Pension Plan, we are focused on providing secure lifetime retirement income to our members. As a “profit for members” pension plan, when the Plan performs well, we can make improvements to meet the evolving needs of our members.

Thanks to sound investment decisions and prudent funding management, CAAT can implement enhancements to its modern defined benefit (DB) plan designs, DBprime and DBplus.

The Plan’s Governors approved two Plan Text amendments to enhance survivor benefits for members under DBplus and DBprime, effective May 28, 2025:

• 180-Month Minimum Payment Guarantee - an increase to the minimum payment guarantee from 60 times a member’s original monthly lifetime payment amount to 180 times this same amount at no additional cost. Applies to Plan members who are alive on or after May 28, 2025, and not to survivor pensions already in pay.
  
  The pension guarantee is simply a guarantee that the pension payments paid to a member and their survivors will total at least 180 times the amount of the member's first monthly lifetime pension payment.

• 100% Survivor Pension Option – an additional option at retirement to increase a member’s spousal survivor benefit from 60% of their lifetime pension at the date of death to 100%, in addition to the existing 75% option, resulting in an actuarially reduced pension. The reduction is permanent. This new 100% option is available to Plan members retiring on or after May 28, 2025.

These enhancements are designed to give members and their loved ones more flexibility, added financial security, and greater peace of mind in retirement.