Retiree Benefit Program

Application form

The Retiree Benefit Program (RBP) is a negotiated entitlement available to qualified retired members covered by the Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA) collective agreement. It is a unique program that draws on a special Retiree Benefit Fund set up to help provide nurses with better retirement benefits and better inflation protection for their pension.

The RBP is funded exclusively from the one (1) percent market adjustment of payroll collected from employers by the HEABC and subsequently transferred to BCNU on behalf of the NBA.

Click on the "Eligibility" button below to learn more about how to qualify for RBP benefits and for examples that show how a member may or may not be eligible.

Funding for LPN inclusion in the RBP started April 1, 2024.  Their inclusion was negotiated during 2022-2025 NBA contract negotiations and is a welcome expansion of the program.

LPN Committee Member Appointed

The RBP Committee engaged in a governance review to identify options to increase LPN representation on the committee. The review determined that one position on the RBP Committee would be allocated to a retired LPN member and the other to an active LPN member.

The RBP Committee welcomes Marlene Goertzen, retired LPN member and retired regional council member from the Central Vancouver region to serve on the committee. Goertzen joins Danette Thomsen, regional council member from the North East region, who was appointed in December as the committee’s active LPN member.

Goertzen and Thomsen will serve alongside fellow committee representatives appointed by BCNU and one representative appointed by the Health Sciences Association. Committee work includes monitoring RBP fund investments, determining member benefits, reviewing appeals and overseeing service providers contracted to administer the program. The committee meets a minimum of four times a year at BCNU’s head office in Burnaby.

Retired LPN members wishing to serve on the RBP Committee were invited to submit an expression of interest form no later than Jan. 14, 2025, at 12:00 noon PST. The committee wishes to thank those who put their name forward for consideration.

The RBP committee will benefit from the perspective and input of LPN representation.

The committee will develop the process and application forms for LPN enrolment, and the full process will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Attention retired LPNs : Please note that the RBP application form linked on this webpage is currently only applicable to retired RNs and RPNs. It is not yet validated for use by retired LPNs. The LPN enrolment process confirmation mentioned above will provide retired LPNs with an application form to enrol in the Retiree Benefit Program. Thank you for your patience while this process is determined.

Plan Design Review Process

The RBP Committee is responsible for administering the RBP fund. In the spring of 2023, the committee commenced a Plan Design Review process to identify benefits options for eligible retirees for the future use of the fund. The Plan Design Review process included a member survey to help the RBP Committee determine the health benefits members value most.

The RBP Committee has learned from the member survey that our retired members highly prioritize health benefit options that are not taxable to the members. Following the survey, the RBP Committee identified a Health Care Spending Account as a possible plan design for the RBP.

BCNU, on behalf of the NBA, recently submitted a request for an Advance Income Tax Ruling with the Income Tax Rulings Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The request is to confirm the tax treatment of the RBP fund to support the RBP by providing the health benefits covered through a Health Care Spending Account on a tax-free basis. During the estimated three to four months during which CRA will be reviewing the request for the Advance Income Tax Ruling, no changes will be made to or benefit payment paid from the RBP Fund. Additional updates will be provided to members as this work continues.

Program Background

From 2009 through 2019, members enrolled in the RBP received a monthly subsidy covering 50 percent of their Medical Service Plan (MSP) premiums. BCNU was proud to provide this service to our members which concluded as of 2020 when the provincial government eliminated MSP premiums for BC residents.

In the fall of 2022, the Pension Governance Review Process concluded with no recommended change to the existing pension arrangement for NBA members. On November 8, 2022, considering that the RBP Fund would not be utilized within an existing pension plan for inflation protection or other benefits, the RBP committee passed a motion to commence an RBP Plan Design Review Project to consider funding and benefits issues and options for the future use of the fund. 

The Plan Design Review commenced in the spring of 2023 and included a member survey a few months later to help determine the health benefits members value most.

Working and retired BCNU members can encourage other retired members to apply for the Retiree Benefit Program to receive any future benefits. The goal of the program is to provide ongoing benefits to retirees, however, RBP benefits are not guaranteed. If you receive a payment for which you are not eligible, the RBP Committee is entitled to recover any such payments.

Email rbp@bcnu.org for more information.