OMERS Pension Guide

Will other salary related benefits be based on my reduced pay following Salary Exchange?

The benefits you receive as part of your package will be unaffected. However, the way they are calculated may change. Benefits which are non-pensionable such as Group Life and discretionary bonuses will continue to be based on your pre-Salary Exchange pay. Your pre-Salary Exchange pay will also continue to be used to calculate any pay increases.

To avoid a ‘double counting’ effect, items which are pensionable such as maternity, paternity, and adoption leave will be based on your post Salary Exchange salary.

Will my State Pension be reduced if I make Salary Exchange contributions?

Since April 2016 the State Pension has been calculated on a single, flat rate basis for all. Consequently, Salary Exchange should have no impact for anyone using this process.

Will other state benefits be reduced because of making Salary Exchange contributions?

As you will not be eligible to make Salary Exchange contributions if this would reduce your pay to less than the prevailing National Minimum Wage, we do not believe there will be any negative impact on other state benefits. In fact, as your earnings before tax and NI will be lower, you will be more likely to qualify for some state benefits and the value of your state benefits could actually increase.

What happens if I’m on maternity, paternity, or adoption leave?

If you take parental leave, you remain a member of the Pension and contributions continue (unless you decide to stop contributing).

The calculation of parental pay will be based on your reduced, post Salary Exchange salary. However, your Salary Exchange contributions will continue to be paid in full (at your pre-parental leave rate) by OMERS throughout the period of paid leave (unless you choose to stop participating in Salary Exchange before or during your parental leave).

If you decide to take a period of unpaid parental leave, Salary Exchange will stop – but so will the employer contributions.

As my pay is reduced because of making Salary Exchange contributions, will this affect the amount of mortgage or loan I could receive?

Not normally - but it depends on your lender. Reference letters provided by your employer for mortgage or loan purposes will refer to your pay before any adjustments to reflect Salary Exchange contributions. Historically, most lenders have been happy with this.

To request for a Reference letter, open a Workday case (select case type: A&S – Employment & Travel Letter Requests ).

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