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CAUT Policy Statement on the Use of Surplus Pension Funds

Pension funds are deferred compensation and as such belong to the members of the plan. Therefore, all decisions about the use of any surplus in the pension plan should be made with the agreement of the members, or their duly authorized representatives, of the pension plan. Since the determination of a surplus or deficit is the result of an actuarial evaluation of the plan, faculty associations and plan members, or their duly authorized representatives, would be informed about the assumptions used in the evaluation. These assumptions should be adopted with the agreement of plan members, or their duly authorized representatives, and the actuaries keeping in mind that actuaries are bound by a code of ethics and provincial regulations.

Moreover, the type of pension plan, the employer and employee contributions, the plan benefits and the investment policy of the pension plan, should be established by negotiations between the employer and the employees.

Approved by CAUT Council, January 1988.