When service is purchased, it may be purchased a year or more at a time or as a lump sum of any length provided that portion of service is purchased in it’s entirety. The teacher may select the year that is purchased and may do so in any order. A teacher may purchase the following Contributory and Eligibility Service under the Plan.

1. Teacher Contributions Required

Payment of teacher contributions plus interest, based on the Saskatchewan salary grid and the contribution and interest rates that were in effect at the time, is required for:

• Periods of absence subject to CRA restrictions for maternity, paternity or adoption reasons where the absence occurred as a result of leave, reduction of employment time, resignation or termination of contract. No interest is charged if payment is received within 1 year of the end of the leave of absence.*
• Teaching service while employed by Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts and Science, the Saskatchewan Technical Institute or the Wascana Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, if the individual held a valid Saskatchewan teaching certificate and was not entitled to participate in the Public Service Superannuation Plan or the Public Employees Pension Plan.
• Periods of sabbatical leave paid at 50% or more of salary for which the teacher had not made the required contributions during the term of the leave.
• Up to 1 year of absence from teaching for the purpose of attending a university, if the teacher had taught for at least 1 year in Saskatchewan prior to the university attendance and if the service purchased plus periods of sabbatical leave do not exceed 1 year.*
• Service in Saskatchewan as a study supervisor prior to becoming a teacher, if such service is approved by the Ministry of Education.
• Service as an exchange teacher in schools operated by the Department of National Defense in Saskatchewan or outside Canada, or by the Canadian International Development Agency, employment with the Northern Teacher Education Program, employment with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation or in a special educational capacity such as Canadian University Services Overseas or World University Services.
• War service (W.W. I and W.W. II)
• Any period or periods of time the total of which does not exceed more than 1 year during which the member is on a leave of absence that is approved by the member’s employer for inclusion in a deferred salary leave plan. No interest is charged if payment is received within 1 year of the end of the leave of absence.*

* Teachers are advised that upon receiving approval for a leave that is eligible for purchase for superannuation purpose to notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the employing school board of the teacher’s intent to purchase such service.

This will ensure that the period of leave is included in the calculation of the pension adjustment for the current tax year.

Notification not received will result in the calculation of a past service pension adjustment in the taxation year in which the leave is purchased for superannuation purposes, thus significantly reducing the teacher’s RRSP contribution space for that year.

Purchases may be financed through a transfer from your RRSP. A form T2033E is required and is available from the Teachers’ Superannuation Commission (TSC).

All purchases must fall within the type of service permitted by CRA.

2. Teacher and Employer Contributions Required

Payment of the teacher’s and employer’s contributions plus interest based on the Saskatchewan salary grid and contribution and interest rates that were in effect at the time, is required to purchase any of the following:

• Up to 7 years of teaching service in a private school in Saskatchewan which was subject to The School Attendance Act or The School Grants Act prior to January 1, 1979.
• Up to 7 years of teaching in a school outside of Saskatchewan or in a school in Saskatchewan for which the Government of Canada is partly or wholly responsible (e.g., Band school) provided that such a service cannot be transferred by a reciprocal agreement and that the teacher has 10 years of other contributory service in the Teachers Superannuation Plan (TSP).
• Periods of time while employed by a jurisdiction with which the Saskatchewan TSC has a reciprocal agreement provided the teacher meets the reciprocal agreement requirements. Agreements exist with several jurisdictions. The complete list is available here.
• Any number of years of teaching service at the Universities of Regina and Saskatchewan as long as the teacher held a valid teaching certificate and was not entitled to participate in the respective university pension plan.
• Any number of years while teaching at SUNTEP or at an elementary or secondary school operated by the Government of Saskatchewan but only if the service required a valid Saskatchewan teaching certificate.
• Any number of years while employed by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education in a position requiring a valid teaching certificate.
• Periods of absence of up to 1 year to care for family members faced with serious illness or disability where the absence occurred as a result of leave, reduction of employment, resignation or termination of contract. No interest is charged if payment is received within 1 year of the end of the leave of absence.

NOTE:
A teacher must have received salary taxable in Canada during the period of service in question.

In order for the teacher to claim the purchase as a tax deduction on the current year’s tax return, payment must be received by the Commission on or prior to December 31. Any deduction is subject to CRA restrictions.

Some purchases are not permitted due to CRA restrictions.