Members > Pamphlets > Purchasing past service

Making your service work for you

Purchasing Service

Member Handbook -
Purchasing Service
Buying Leaves of Absence
Buying Past Service Periods

During your College career, you may have some periods of time when you didn't contribute to the CAAT Pension Plan. If so, you have gaps in your Pensionable Service. How can you fill in these gaps to increase your pension? You can consider buying the service back.

When you buy back an unpaid leave of absence or some previous eligible service, you purchase that period of time to add it to your Pensionable Service and the length of your CAAT Plan Membership.

More Pensionable Service means an increased pension benefit when the time comes to retire. It could also mean that you could retire on an unreduced pension sooner, or have a smaller reduction if you don't meet the requirements for an unreduced pension.

Is it for you?

Buying back service is not for everybody. You are responsible for deciding if a service purchase is a good idea for you, and if you can afford it. You'll need to know the cost of buying back the service, and how much larger your pension could be with the additional service, in order to make an informed decision.

In many cases, it's worth doing. But each of us has different plans for what we will do in our retirement, and how our finances can support our goals. You are the best judge of what is appropriate for you.

These pages explain the basics of service purchases, and describe situations in which they can occur.

June 2003