Contributions to the Pension Plan

The pension plan is financed by contributions by construction industry employees and employers:

• When the plan was started in 1963, all pension contributions were paid into a single account called the General Account.
• In 1980, employees in certain trades and occupations began to pay an additional contribution into the pension plan; these contributions were paid into the Complementary Account.

Following the deficit in the pension fund in the early 2000s, major modifications were made to the plan starting in January 2005:

• Employees stopped paying contributions into the General Account; however, they retained the pension benefits already accumulated in this account.
• All employee pension contributions are now paid into the Complementary Account, to accumulate funds for retirement.
• The employer contribution for each hour worked is divided between the General Account and the Complementary Account.

Employee contributions

• The amount of the employee contribution per hour worked is different from one employee to the next; it depends on the trade or occupation, the status of apprentice or journeyman, and the sector. See the contribution rates for more information on this subject.
• According to the number of hours worked, the employer deducts from the employee’s pay the contribution that the employee must pay into the plan and remits it to the CCQ every month.
• According to the Canadian Income Tax Act, a limit of 18% of an employee’s salary (including statutory holidays) is applicable to the contributions allowed to a pension plan. If the sum of both the employer’s and the employee’s contribution exceeds this limit, it is possible that the contribution of some employees will be adjusted.
• These employee contributions are deductible from the employee’s income; they reduce the taxable income. Each employer for which an employee works over the course of the year must issue T4 and Relevé 1 tax slips to the employee before the end of the following February, indicating the amount of the employee contributions made.

Employer contributions

• The employer also contributes to the pension plan for each hour worked by its employees. The amount of the employer contribution per hour worked varies depending on whether the employee is an apprentice, a journeyman or a person practising an occupation.
• The employer contributions are also remitted to the CCQ every month.

The table below shows the distribution of the employer contribution for each hour worked. If necessary, a part of the contribution for each hour worked is paid into the General Account in order to offset a deficit and form a reserve so that the plan can be better protected during difficult financial situations; the other part is paid into each employee’s Complementary Account.