When can I retire?

You are eligible to retire when you reach any of the milestones listed below. However, the decision of exactly when to retire is up to you.

SHEPP is a defined benefit plan, which means your pension is determined by a formula based on your highest average contributory earnings and years of credited service.

This means as your average contributory earnings and years of credited service grow, so does your pension.

Therefore, some members choose to work past their early and/or normal retirement date in order to increase the amount of their SHEPP lifetime pension.

Retirement eligibility is determined based on your age and years of service:

• Normal retirement is the first day of the month that coincides with or immediately follows your 65th birthday.
• Early retirement (unreduced pension): You can retire with an unreduced pension as soon as your age and years of credited service add up to 80 or more. You will also be eligible to receive a bridge benefit, payable from retirement to age 65.
• Early retirement (reduced pension): You can retire with a reduced pension any time after age 55 with at least two years of service. The reduction applied will depend on your pensionable service.
• Postponed retirement: You must begin collecting your pension by December 1st of the year in which you reach age 71.

Retirement dates and benefits at a glance

Retirement date	Retirement benefit
Normal retirement
Age 65.	Your accrued lifetime pension.
Early retirement
Age plus credited service equals 80 or more years (Rule of 80).	Your accrued lifetime pension, plus a bridge benefit to age 65.
Early retirement (with a reduced pension)
Age 55 or older with at least 10 years of continuous service.	Your accrued lifetime pension, subject to a 3% reduction for each year of early retirement.
Age 55 or older with between two and 10 years of continuous service.	Your accrued lifetime pension, subject to an actuarial equivalent reduction.
Postponed retirement
Between Age 65 to 71.	Your accrued lifetime pension.

How do I narrow down a date?

This is a decision only you can make based on your personal circumstances. To make this decision, we ask you work with your spouse (if applicable), a financial planner or other retirement professionals, and SHEPP.

With the Pension Projection Calculator on SHEPPweb, you can perform unlimited pension projections to help determine what your monthly pension may be at various retirement dates. For example, you can perform a projection based on one date, and then another using a date one year later to determine approximately how much more your pension may be if you choose to work an extra year.

Once you decide to retire, you should contact SHEPP three to six months before your chosen retirement date and request a retirement package.

Things to keep in mind when choosing a retirement date:

• Pension payments are made on the last banking day of the month, and SHEPP considers your retirement to begin on the first day of the month following your last day of employment. For example, if your last day with your employer is May 2nd, your pension begins June 1st. This means you would get your first pension payment on June 30th. You may want to consider working until the end of the month to minimize the length of time between your last paycheque from your employer and your first pension payment from SHEPP.
• If you work for more than one SHEPP employer, you can only receive a retirement benefit if you retire from all of them.
• It is your responsibility to notify your employer(s) of your decision to retire. SHEPP cannot proceed to finalize your pension until your employer submits the required forms to SHEPP.

Download a copy of the SHEPP Retirement Brochure.