RALU COMMUNICATION - November 2011

Upcoming Events

January 24th 2012.    Regular Meeting of RALU. See 'Calendar of Events' page for details.

Thunder Bay International Fine Arts Association. Next Meeting February 20th. Regular Meetings in the new year every third Monday. Invites all artists and would be artists to the regular monthly meeting. There will be a pot luck supper. For more information write: Thunder Bay International Fine Arts Association, 97 Algoma Street South, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B 3B7. Parking at rear or on adjacent lot on Wilson St. Contact: Pasquale Scarcello, President. emial:vinorosso26@hotmail.com tel:807 767-7487. website:http://sites.google.com/site/tbifaa/

April 18-20th 2012.    CURAC Annual Conference. University of Victoria. http://www.curac.ca/

Every day.     Watch something spectacular. Follow your favorite Wolves: basketball. Nordic skiing, volleyball, hockey. http://www.thunderwolves.ca/ Be there!



RALU COMMUNICATION - September 2011

Meeting of LU Pension Board, September 9th.

NOTE: RALU has been promised a new web page which will give notice of the meetings of the LU Pension Board and will post the Minutes of those meetings. In the interim, the following informal summary of the Sept 9th meeting was composed from the notes of several members present at that meeting.

A greater than usual number of Retirees was present as observers, including ten RALU members. The matter of the RALU letter was on the meeting agenda. Dr. Ernie Epp, the new Retiree representative on the Board, presented a short case for an improvement in the manner in which meetings of the Board are advertized, current practice only informing a relatively small number of professors emeriti who remain members of LUFA. It was agreed that an additional LU web page would be created on which notice of meetings and minutes of meetings would be posted. RALU will place a link to this on its web site. Chairperson Jerry Phillips addressed the matter of the RALU letter and permitted several of the retirees present to join the lengthy discussion concerning the protest by former retiree representative on the Board, Dr. Paul Satinder. ( Paul protested to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario that two amendments to the Pension Plan enacted in 2000/1 illegally deprived retirees of certain earnings of the fund to which they had been entitled under previous text of the Pension Plan. The FSCO agreed with Paul and demanded a reply from the University pending cancellation of these amendments by the FSCO.) Mike Pawlowski, VP Administration and Finance, informed us that LU had engaged a lawyer who had replied to the demand for a response from LU by May 24th. However, the content of that response remains confidential since it may lead to legal action. Board members do, however, know of its contents. Mike Pawlowski also noted that RALU currently represents a minority of the LU pensioners. Don Watson replied that this was primarily because LU had, under the Privacy Act, not wished to release the full list of pensioners to RALU, making it difficult to recruit. It appears that Dr Ernie Epp, as a Board member, has access to that list. Dr Clement Kent raised the issue that the legal consequences of resolving the 2001 amendments might be different for pre-2001 retirees and post-2001 retirees. In answer to a question from Dr Abdul Mamoojee, it was noted that legal action, if engaged in, could cost the Pension Plan a considerable sum in legal costs, though retirees do not have access to the fund to launch any form of legal counter argument. It was reiterated by Don Watson that a solution to the issue should be sought that was fair to the pensioners, fair to working faculty and fair to the University, whose mandate is to ensure the long term health of the Pension Plan. Dr Ernie Epp noted that significant for the pensioners are shortfalls found in the Plan by the Plan actuary. It is clear that much discussion and time will be needed before a solution is obtained.

Brian Phillips et al.



RALU COMMUNICATION - August 2011

Letter re LU Pension Fund - a Letter to LU President Stevenson from the RALU President, Executive and Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions

The following letter has recently been delivered to Dr. Brian Stevenson with copies to a fairly lengthy list of others, including the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and the Pension Committee of CURAC. RALU felt the need to act on a report to our membership by Dr Paul Satinder, our Emeritus representative on the LU Pension Board, whose term has just ended. The letter was directed to Dr Stevenson, not because he has any direct influence on the way in which the LU Pension Fund is managed, but because he is our principal link with LU, as established at our first meeting with him. The letter was sent on behalf of those RALU members who are wholly or in part dependent on the LU pension, many of whom have expressed their concern and the need to do something to make our voice heard more effectively. We expect to meet with Dr Stevenson in early September to discuss the issues with him.

Update: The matter was on the agenda at the LU Pension Board Meeting of Friday September 9th (see Commumications below).

Dear Dr Stevenson,

We, the undersigned, members and adherents of the Retirees Association of Lakehead University (RALU), and on behalf of LU Pensioners, wish to express our concern about past actions relating to the operation of and amendments to the LU Pension Plan, and the presently intended action of the Lakehead University Pension Board concerning their recent response to a letter from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

Our retiree member of the LU Pension Board, Dr. Paul Satinder, filed an Objection with the Pension Commission of Ontario in February 2008, questioning the legality of 2000/01 and 2007 amendments to the Pension Plan proposed by the Lakehead University Pension Board. The key element of these amendments was the wording that the Retirement Account would be measured for "Solvency Liabilities" before any annual increases were awarded. This was never the intent or practice since the Plan came into being in December 1989.

As a consequence of the LU Pension Board's past actions, LU Pensioners have received almost no pension increase in the last ten years, reducing the purchasing power of their pensions by approximately one fifth.

In response to the Objection, a letter from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), dated March 25th 2011, was received by Mr. Michael Pawlowski (VP Administration and Finance), with a copy to Dr. Paul Satinder. This letter systematically refutes each point made by Lakehead University in support of the amendments. The final paragraph of this document reads:-

"In light of the foregoing, it continues to be our view the amendment 2000/1 may be void because it reduces the amount or the commuted value under the Plan contrary to section 14(1) (b) of the PBA (Pension Benefits Act). Please respond to this letter by May 24th, 2011, indicating you are prepared to amend the plan to remove the limitation on the indexing provisions in amendment 2000/1 or are preparing an application to a court to rectify the language of the Plan to reflect its original intent. Otherwise, taking in to account any other submission you may wish to make, we may recommend to the Deputy Superintendent, Pension that he issue a Notice of Intended Decision to revoke Plan amendment 2000/1."

At this time, we have no knowledge of the nature of the response to this letter by Lakehead University, required by May 24th 2011, which letter was not copied to Dr. Paul Satinder, the filer of the Objection.

If the Valuations of the Retirement Fund had continued to be based on the terms stated and on accepted past practice for the administration of our Pension Plan, then LU Pensioners should have received annual pension increases effective January 1st, 2005 (based on the sum of $432,000) and January 1st 2006 (based on the sum of $3,699,000, these sums being stated in the December 31st 2004 and December 31st 2005 valuations, respectively). We believe that the increase received by LU Pensioners as of January 1st 2007 should have been based on the sum of $9,854,000 (as stated on page 1 of the December 2006 valuation) and not the sum of $670,000 (as stated on page 3 of that valuation).

The revoking of the 2000/1 amendment (upon which the subsequent 2007 amendment was based) would remove the constriction on the commuted value of the Plan when accounting for "Solvency Liabilities" and restore the possibility of annual increases for LU Pensioners, when the performance of the Plan so permits and as was the original intent of the Plan in 1989.

We, the pensioners, currently receiving a fixed pension, in effect, will be asking the RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions to monitor the unfolding proceedings. Our new retiree representative on the Lakehead University Pension Board will strive hard on behalf of all LU pensioners, will report regularly and will try to ensure that the Plan is operated in a legal manner, a fiscally responsible manner and in a manner that is fair and just to LU pensioners. Considering the fact that LU Pensioners have served Lakehead University faithfully over many years, to deny what appears to be due to them is unseemly as well as unfair.

It is important that all parties be aware that concern about the LU Pension plan is not limited to the filer of the Objection, Dr. Paul Satinder, but is of keen interest to the majority of our members who are dependent upon the health and fairness of the plan.

We thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to arranging a meeting between a representative group of LU Pensioners and yourself to pursue this issue. If convenient, we suggest a date in early September, so that we may report on this issue at our AGM on September 28th.

Yours,



Dr. Brian A.M. Phillips
President, RALU
Dept. of Geography 1967-2001


Copies to:-
Mr. Colin Bruce, Chair, Lakehead University Board of Governors
Mr. Mike Pawlowski, Vice-President (Administration and Finance)
Mr. Clint Mason, Manager of Pension Services
Professor Gerald Phillips, Chair, Lakehead University Pension Board
Dr. Birbal Singh, Member, Lakehead University Pension Board
Dr. Ernie Epp, Member, Lakehead University Pension Board
Mr. Grant Walsh, Member, Lakehead University Pension Board
Mr. Ken Chase, Member, Lakehead University Pension Board
Mr. Chris Fernyc, Member, Lakehead University Pension Board
Professor Glenna Knutson, President, Lakehead University Faculty Association
Ms. Christa Matz, Pension Officer, Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Dr. Paul Huber, CURAC/ARUCC Pensions Committee


Written permission has been given, by the following individuals, to add their names in support of this letter.

Dr. David Kemp, Vice President RALU, Dept. of Geography, 1968-2008, Assistant to Dean of Arts and Science, 1993-1996, Associate Dean of Arts and Science, 1996-97, 1999-2001, Acting Dean of Arts and Science, 1997-1999

Ian Dew,Secretary, RALU, Librarian, Grade 4, 1987-2001.

L. Bonny Wigmore, Treasurer, RALU, Finance (Paymaster) Services 1980-1996.

Beverley Stefureak, Corresponding Secretary, RALU; Secretary of Senate, 2006-07; Exec. Asst. to President, Secretary of Board of Governers and Senate, 1988-2001; Sec. to VP Admin, 1983-88.

Dr. Clement Kent, RALU Vice President 2008-2010, Chair, RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Health Benefits, Department of Mathematical Sciences, 1968-1992.

Don Watson, RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions, Dept. of Mathematics, 1967-69, Computer Centre 1969-1994, Director of Computer Centre, 1976- 1994, Director of Re-Engineering, 1994-1996

Les Miller,RALU Treasurer, 2008-2010, RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions,Director of Finance and Chief Business Officer, 1975-2000.

Dr. Jim Stafford, RALU Program Committee, 2008-2010, RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions, Dept. of Sociology, 1975-2004, Pension Board 1979-81, Board of Governors, 1981-82, Chair, LUFA Emeritus Committee.

Dr. Abdul Mamoojee, Chair, RALU Nominations Committee, 2008-,RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions, Department of Languages, 1969-2003.

Tony Cappello, RALU Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions, Scheduling and Examination Officer, 1975- 2005.



Your comments on this action are welcome, and will be considered by the Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions.

Brian Phillips, RALU President
brianph@shaw.ca