Pension Information for Teachers who have retired but continue to teach as Occasional Teachers
1. Teaching After Retirement
You can return to "teaching"* without affecting your pension; however, limits apply. In the first three years of re-employment in education you may teach up to 95 days in a school year and thereafter for twenty days (for the OTPP the school year goes to the end of August in any calendar year and so includes summer school) and your teacher pension is not affected unless you exceed that limit. If you exceed the limit, your pension is suspended, beginning the month following that in which you exceeded the limit only if you continue teaching in that following month. You may continue to �teach� until the end of the calendar month in which you exceed the limit without penalty. You must self-report to the Ontario Teachers� Pension Plan that you are continuing to teach in the month following that in which you exceeded the limit. This would be the case even if the "teaching" were done for designated private schools (they are listed on the OTPP web-site) or multiple school boards in which qualified teachers contribute to the Ontario Teachers� Pension Plan.
* "teaching" is defined, for pension purposes, as any work in education for a school or school board in which qualified teachers must contribute to the Ontario Teachers� Pension Plan.
If You Exceed the Re-employment Limits
Your pension is suspended the month after you exceed your employment limit if you continue to teach. If you do not report to OTPP, your pension payments (and interest) will be recovered from you.
It is very important for you to keep track of the number of days you teach each year to be aware impending limits.
Designated Private Schools
You can teach without limit at a private school that is not part of the pension plan without affecting your pension. However, if you teach at one or more designated private schools, the limit on the number of days you can teach per year without affecting your pension does apply.
2. Collecting C.P.P.
Visit the federal website for current information: http://www.sdc.gc.ca/en/isp/cpp/cpptoc.shtml
Most financial consultants recommend taking the C.P.P. as early as possible after retirement. However, high-income earners may want to delay receiving the payments if they have run out of RRSP room. Consult a professional for advice on this. Generally, Canadians who have contributed to C.P.P. are eligible for payments in the second month after retirement from employment.
3. What happens to your RRSP�s after age 71?
At the end of the year in which you reach age 71, RRSP�s must be "converted" into RRIF�s, used to purchase an annuity, or cashed in. After age 71, one loses any unused RRSP contribution room and may no longer contribute to an RRSP.
Starting one year after age 71, one must withdraw a specific percent of one�s RIFF per year. It is possible to use a spouse�s age for start of the withdrawal if the spouse is materially younger.
4. Contract Teaching After Retirement
If you are hired, you are subject to the same rules regarding limits (95 days). Should you go beyond the 95th day (or end of month in which it occurs), your pension will be suspended.
5. Teaching after retirement and recalculation of pension
There are specific limits to the circumstances in which returning to employment would allow recalculation of the OTPP.
In any case contact the appropriate authorities for further information.
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