Working During Retirement: Upcoming Changes Effective July 1, 2023

January 25, 2023
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

At the Special Meeting of the Council held in October 2022, a resolution was passed to change the Plan’s re-employment rules so that effective July 1, 2023, any STRP pensioner who is re-employed as a LEADS member or as an employee at the STF will have their monthly pension suspended but will be re-enrolled in the Plan for the entire period of their re-employment.

Who This Affects Who This Does Not Affect

STRP pensioners returning to work as:

  • Leads members
  • Employees at the STF

STRP pensioners returning to work as:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Substitute teachers
  • Vice-principals
  • Principals
  • Any other position

The practice of retiring and then returning to work while collecting your monthly pension is commonly known as “double-dipping.” It’s a long-standing practice that the STRP members have utilized since the inception of the Plan.

On average, around 200 teachers take advantage of this option every year, most of them for short periods of time.

Short-term double-dipping does not have material costs to the Plan and is generally seen as a benefit for all members. It also helps school divisions to plan staffing for the upcoming year and provides members with the ability to substitute teach during retirement, which is especially important in areas where substitutes can be difficult to find.

However, longer-term double-dipping has a more significant cost to the Plan, especially in relation to high-income earners. Those costs come at the expense of the greater Plan membership. The approved changes will help to mitigate these costs to improve the Plan’s sustainability for all members.