Returning to work

If you return to work while you are receiving your OMERS pension, you have a few choices.

Working for an OMERS employer while on pension

Note

To ensure that OMERS Plan provisions and legislation are correctly followed, a valid termination of employment with your OMERS employer has to take place in order for you to retire and start your pension. This generally occurs when the employment relationship is fully severed (including a retirement from employment). For example, a valid termination occurs when all seniority and benefits are lost and you receive a Record of Employment.

If a valid termination of employment has taken place and you start to receive an OMERS pension but you later decide to go back to work for an OMERS employer, you will have the following choices:

1. Stop your pension payments for as long as you are employed and re-enrol in the OMERS Plan
2. Continue to receive your OMERS pension payments and elect not to re-enrol in the OMERS Plan

Note

There are certain Income Tax Act rules that must be followed:

  • You cannot receive a retirement benefit and accrue OMERS service at the same time; and

  • You cannot re-enrol if it is past November 30th of the year you turn 71.

What is the process for making my choice?

Generally, if you go back to work with an OMERS employer in a position that requires OMERS Plan enrolment, you will be re-enrolled in the OMERS Plan unless you submit an Employed OMERS retiree election form confirming that you want to continue to receive your pension and not re-enrol in the OMERS Plan during your period of re-employment.

If your new position has voluntary OMERS Plan enrolment and you wish to continue to receive your pension, you can make the election not to re-enrol in the OMERS Plan using your Offer of OMERS Membership form. The completed form must be returned to your employer.

Re-enrolment in the OMERS Plan

If you decide to re-enrol in the OMERS Plan, your pension payments will stop being paid and you will resume making contributions each pay period.

Your employer should contact OMERS immediately so we can suspend your pension payments while you are working. Any pension payments received after re-enrolment must be repaid to the Plan, including any payment made in the month you re-enrol.

When you subsequently retire or reach the latest date you may start to receive a pension (see below), your pension will be recalculated, taking into consideration your total credited service, contributory earnings, and the Plan provisions in effect at the time.

If you re-enrol and work up to November 30th of the year you turn age 71, your OMERS contributions will stop and you'll start receiving an OMERS pension, regardless of whether you continue working. In most cases, when you subsequently retire, all of your credited service and earnings are combined, and your pension is recalculated.

Note

Note that you may not be able to accumulate more than 35 years of service. Effective January 1, 2021, OMERS will no longer cap your credited service. If you did not reach 35 years of credited service prior to this date, you will continue to contribute and accrue credited service in the OMERS Plan. If you met the 35-year cap before January 1, 2021, the limit will continue to apply. See our Member FAQs about the 35-year cap and how it could impact your OMERS Plan benefit.

Working for a non-OMERS employer while on pension

If you start working for a non-OMERS employer after you start your pension, it will not affect your pension payments.