NOTICE TO HRM PENSION PLAN MEMBERS REGARDING PLAN CHANGES
The Pension Committee for the Halifax Regional Municipality Pension Plan (the “Plan”) has voted to make the following changes* to the Plan:
• Reduce employee and employer contribution rates for the Defined Benefit (“DB”) provision of the Plan effective June 28, 2026, and
• Amend the Plan Text to reduce the member notice period from 180 days to 120 days in the case of a contribution rate reduction (Amendment 2025-01).
CONTRIBUTION RATE REDUCTION EFFECTIVE June 28, 2026
Employee and employer contributions to the Plan will each decrease by 2.0% of regular pensionable earnings effective June 28, 2026. A table outlining contribution rates after the change is shown on the 2nd page of the attachement, here.
Decision-Making Process
The Pension Committee reviewed the financial position of the Plan as at December 31, 2024, as provided by the Plan’s actuary, Eckler. On that date, the Plan was approximately 109% funded, assuming the Plan will continue indefinitely into the future. This means there was approximately one dollar and nine cents of pension assets supporting each dollar of Plan benefits earned by members to date. The valuation also estimated that total contributions to the Plan in 2025 would exceed Plan costs for benefits earned in 2025 by over 7% of payroll.
Given these healthy Plan results, the Pension Committee decided to reduce DB contribution rates by 2.0% of pensionable payroll for both employees and employers. After this contribution rate reduction, total contributions to the Plan are still expected to exceed the cost of benefits earned by over 3% of pensionable payroll. These extra contributions are expected to be sufficient to protect and prudently grow the Plan’s surplus over time, helping control fluctuations in contribution rates over the long term.
*Note: The above changes are subject to, and may change, as required by the Plan Text and applicable law.