Nurses' Pension Governance Review

​Nurses, unlike teachers and college instructors who have control over the governance of their own plans, are one group within the multi-sector Municipal Pension Plan that serves a range of workers and retirees with varying income levels and needs.

BCNU did not agree to the proposed MPP redesign because of the negative effects it will have for our members. But nurses are a minority within the MPP, and have only one vote on the plan's 16-member Board of Trustees.

That means majority group members, and the unions that represent them, are able to shape the plan's direction and control decisions while not looking out for nurses' best interests.

Nurses will be impacted more – and may lose the option of retiring early.

Elimination of the early retirement bridge benefit and the introduction of much bigger penalties for retiring early – with the elimination of the "Rule of 90" – mean a nurse who joined the plan before the age of 30 and who retires at 55 with all of their years of service could lose between $100,000 and $300,000 in lifetime pension income compared to the pension they would receive under the current Municipal Penson Plan rules.

And given the fact that nurses in the MPP have already been prevented from securing better inflation protection and post-retirement group benefits, the plan redesign means nurses will get even less than they deserve.

The Municipal Pension Plan redesign means nurses will contribute more to their pensions in their working years and receive less retirement income overall as a result of their higher incomes and years of service compared to other MPP members.

And because of their typical career path, the average nurse and their employer will pay over $500 per year more than they would in a plan made up of nurses alone. This is unfair.

Nurses should not have to pay more than their fair share to sustain the plan redesign.