Retirement Seminars

The Teachers' Provincial and APSEA agreements allow a teacher within 5 years of retirement to register with the Employer to attend a 2 day Retirement Seminar sponsored by the NSTU.

Retirement Seminar topics include:

• Pension Structure;
• Money Managment;
• Retirement Income;
• Wills and Estate Planning;
• Insurance;
• Transitioning to Retirement; and
• Retired Teachers Organization.

Retirement Seminar Schedule

NOTE: 

1. Teachers do not register with the NSTU for the Retirement Seminars.  Employers are required to submit names by September 22 at the latest.  Members should contact their principal/supervisor on how and when they can submit their names to attend a Retirement Seminar this school year.
2. Teachers must register through their employer (Regional Centre for Education, CSAP, or APSEA) and receive approval from their employer to attend a Retirement Seminar. The employer is responsible for advising teachers of their approval to attend a Retirement Seminar, which Retirement Seminar they have been approved to attend, and the appropriate absence code to use.

Retirement Seminars for 2023-2024 have been completed.  The schedule for 2024-2025 will be posted in early September 2024.

Working In Retirement

Recipients of an Nova Scotia Teachers' Pension are limited in how many days they may work while collecting their pension.  Recipients are allowed to work less than 70 days with no effect on their pension.  Note that these days can be either as a substitute teacher or a term teacher.

Since 2019, the Plan has been amended to increase the number of days that a recipient can work as a substitute teacher.  

Until July 31, 2024, recipients of a Nova Scotia Teachers' Pension can:

1. Work for less than 70 days (up to 69.5 days) in a term position;
2. Work for less than 100 days (up to 99.5 days) as a substitute teacher; and
3. Days in item 1 count towards the days in item 2.

Retirement Tips

The NSTU publishes the Teachers' Pension Plan and Retirement Tips booklet as a guide to our members.

Click here to view/download the complete document:  ( PDF )

My Retirement Plan

My Retirement Plan offers active plan members secure access to their personalized pension information online. Members can:

• View their Pension Profile;
• View their Annual Member Statement; and
• Use the Pension Projection Tool.

Please use your Member ID and personal Password to log on at: https://nspensions.hroffice.com. If you are having difficulty or do not have your logon credentials, please contact NS Pension at 1-800-774-5070 (toll free) or 902-424-5070 (local).

Financial Planning

The Nova Scotia Teachers Plus Credit Union provides financial planning instruments and advice on its website (http://www.teachersplus.ca/).

Flexible Pension Options

On April 10, 2018, formal approval was given to make the Part Time Employment Full Pension Credit, as described below, a permanent option under the Teachers’ Pension Plan.

In order to participate in this Option, you must contact your Human Resources Department to make arrangements to reduce your work assignment. Please check your Regional, APSEA or Community College Collective Agreement to determine deadlines for applying for such leave. Please note that the maximum participation in the Option is two (2) years during your career, so if you have participated already for two years, you would not be eligible.

Once you have obtained the employer's approval, you must advise the Nova Scotia Pension Services Corporation of your desire to participate in the Flexible Pension Option by completing the Teacher Status Advice (Flexible Pension Options) form.  

Description

Part-Time Employment - Possible Full-Pension Credit

This options allows a plan member who accepts an assignment working less time than the immediately prior year to contribute to the Plan based on the equivalent salary for the previous year's position and to accrue the same amount of pensionable service as the previous year. The employer will match the contributions made by the teacher. In accordance with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Regulations, the individual must have worked for the 36 months before the period of reduced service and the salary in the period of reduced service must be less than the salary in the previous year.

Members who are already working part-time (or job-sharing) prior to the school year they wish to use this Option, should note that they must work less than the previous year and they can only receive pension credit equal to what they had in the previous year. For example, a member working 50% in the current academic year must work less than 50% in the next academic year and receives only 50% of a pension credit.

The period of reduced employment may begin or end at any time during the academic year. Any member, regardless of age or service, may participate in this Option.

Note: If salary is not paid over 26 pay periods, when electing this Option, there may be implications for insurance coverages which may require the member to obtain an Associate Membership for insurance purposes. For further information on this, contact the NSTU Member Services department.