Wabush Mines, February 20, 2019
February 20, 2019
As we explained in prior correspondence, in May 2018, we were successful in negotiating two favourable settlements regarding two proceedings, that in combination provided the Wabush Salaried Pension Plan with an additional $18 million.
As part of the pension wind up process, all plan members who are owed a pension under the plan, and who have not exercised their transfer rights (i.e. elected a commuted value payment), will have their pensions purchased from an insurance company.
We are pleased to report that the annuity purchase process has concluded, and that two insurance companies, Industrial Alliance and Brookfield Annuity Company, were selected by Morneau Shepell to take over the pension payments from the Salaried Plan at the final funded percentages (noted below) beginning May 1, 2019. If you are a Québec pension member and you elected a pension to be administered by Retraite Québec, your payments at the final funded percentages (noted below) will begin on March 1, 2019.
The calculation of the final funded percentage of the Salaried Pension Plan is complex and varies depending on which group you belong to, and where you last worked under the Plan.
As a result of the two favourable settlements, the final funded percentage (for each jurisdiction/group) as calculated by Morneau Shepell increased significantly as follows:
| Jurisdiction (by group) | Final Funded Percentage |
| Newfoundland | 92.85% |
| Québec (Pensioners) | 92.72% |
| Québec (Non-Pensioners) | 85.77% |
| Federal | 86.80% |
An adjustment will also be made for any pension benefits that were paid at a different percentage from the final funded percentage between the wind-up date (December 16, 2015) and the settlement date (either March 1, 2019 or May 1, 2019, as applicable). This means that if you were underpaid, you will receive a one-time additional payment. Québec members who elected a pension administrated by Retraite Québec will receive their lump-sum payment by the end of February 2019. For all other members, Morneau Shepell expects to make this payment in April 2019.
If you have any questions about any of the above information, please feel free to contact us on our toll-free hotline at 1-800-965-6636 or email us at wabushrepcounsel@kmlaw.ca.
