Ryerson Matching Pension Contributions:
Why aren't they on my Annual Pension Statement?

Every year members of the Ryerson Retirement Pension Plan (RRPP) receive a statement of contributions and accrued benefits in the plan. The University contributes one dollar for every dollar contributed by employees, so why is that amount not reflected on members' annual statements?

This is because while Ryerson matches your contributions dollar for dollar, the money is remitted to the pension fund as a whole as opposed to an account for a specific member, in order to help pay pension to members who retire or leave the University.

The RRPP is a "defined-benefit plan" which means the amount members receive from the plan is determined by a pre-defined plan formula, rather than by a member's contribution balance.

Benefits paid from the RRPP are funded from three sources: member contributions, University matching contributions and investment income earned by the assets of the fund. If you are a "vested member" - that is to say, you have at least two years of plan membership or at least two years of credited service - any one contributing source alone would be insufficient to fund the benefit you will eventually receive.

(Members with less than two years plan membership or credited service who leave the plan are "non-vested members" and only receive a refund of their contributions plus interest - they do not receive any of the Ryerson matching contributions made to the pension fund while they were contributing).

So while Ryerson's matching contribution and the investment income are not apparent in the numbers on your annual pension statement, the matching contributions continue to be paid into the pension fund by the University. These are an integral element of our pension plan and in part enable the RRPP to pay members' benefits.