Why TMU

If you’re from outside of Canada, you may have heard about our publicly-funded healthcare system.   

Each province has a health insurance plan, and in Ontario we have the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) (external link) . This covers the cost of many health services including:

• Appointments with family doctors 
• Hospitalization
• Visits to walk-in clinics and some other healthcare providers
• Visits to an emergency room
• Many medical tests and surgeries

Note that these benefits are per dependent.

TMU pays 100% of the premiums for Extended Health, Dental, Life Insurance and Long Term Disability coverage. Coverage highlights include: 

• Prescription drugs reimbursed at 100%
• $5,000 annual coverage for psychological services
• $1,000 for vision care expenses every 2 years
• 20 visits per year for paramedical services 
• Unlimited physiotherapy
• Out of country emergency medical coverage - $1m lifetime maximum
• 100% coverage for hospital stays in Canada
• $10,000 annual/$50,000 lifetime gender affirmation surgery

Dental

• Preventive and restorative services are eligible for 100% reimbursement based on the current Ontario General Practitioner Dental Fee Guide. 
• Major restorative services are eligible for 90% reimbursement.
• Orthodontic procedures and comprehensive orthodontic services are eligible for 90% reimbursement.

Life Insurance

• TMU-paid Basic Life Insurance and Business Travel Accident is an automatic benefit for all TFA members
• Basic Life Insurance is 2 times the annual salary (maximum is $500,000)
• Supplemental Life Insurance at an additional 2 times the annual salary [maximum is $500,000]. Employee pays 30% of the cost.  
• Voluntary Accident Insurance to protect you and your family’s income, and provide support and care in the event that you are severely injured as a result of an accident is optional and available for purchase to TFA employees with benefits.

Employee and Family Assistance Program

• The Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) is a confidential and voluntary support service available to employees with benefits and their dependents. Support is available on topics such as nutrition, financial and legal clarity, workplace and personal challenges and more.

Additional perks

• Discounted membership rates to TMU Recreation, including for dependents of 18 years of age and older. 
• Access to the on-campus medical centre.
• A confidential medical leave and accommodation process, and paid medical leaves, coordinated through Workplace Wellbeing Services in Human Resources.

TMU offers competitive salaries; the minimum for each rank is identified in Article 13 of the collective agreement between the University and the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (external link)  (TFA). 

Additionally, faculty receive two types of annual increases added to base:

• An across-the-board (ATB), effective July 1.
• A career development increment (CDI), effective September 1, conditional on satisfactory service and the submission of an annual report by May 15.

TMU is pleased to offer a defined benefit plan where the employer matches employee contribution dollar for dollar. This defined benefit plan is in addition to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) (external link)  and Old Age Security (OAS) (external link) . 

The TMU Retirement Pension Plan (RRPP) is calculated based on:

• the highest 60 consecutive months of salary (normally the last 5 years);
• total years of pensionable service; and 
• a predetermined formula. 

Annual pension deductions (made directly through payroll) are between 8% and 9%. Pensions are indexed upon retirement, accounting for inflation. 

Information about retirement dates

TMU’s pension plan is designed to provide you with options depending on your needs:

• “Normal retirement” is at 65 years of age.
• Employees may retire as early as age 55 with either a reduced pension or a full pension if their age and service combined equal 90.
• Alternatively, employees may retire at age 60 with a full pension if they have at least 20 years of pensionable service. 

Employees may opt to continue contributing to the plan until the end of the year (i.e. November) on which they turn 71. However, at age 71 the contributions must cease once they begin to collect pension payments, even if they choose to continue working. 

Sample of pension benefit

To give you a rough idea of how the pension plan works, this chart shows the annual pension payable based on the “highest average earnings” of $100,000. (Note: These pension amounts exclude CPP and OAS). Contributions can occur until age 71, but entitlements are maxed at 35 years of service.

Contribution caps and top-up plans

The Income Tax Act has a cap on contributions and the amount of pension that can be paid from a registered plan, the university has a top-up plan if earnings exceed the Income Tax Act maximums. This allows employees to receive a pension based on their total pensionable salary. 

About the federal government pension plan

In addition to TMU’s pension plan, Canada also has two federal pension plans. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) provides partial income replacement in the event of retirement, illness or death (to a surviving spouse or one-time benefit to the estate). The normal retirement age is 65 however, a reduced pension can be taken at 60 years of age. CPP can also be deferred until age 70. Payments are based on the amount and length of contributions. 

The second federal plan is called Old Age Security (OAS). This plan provides income for residents over 65, as long as they meet residency requirements. 

For details, visit the Government of Canada’s Canada Pension Plan (external link)  and Old Age Security Overview (external link) .

TMU offers a generous tuition waiver benefit to employees and dependent children (under the age of 25) for courses and programs taken at the university.

TMU offers a generous amount of paid time off, which includes: 

• Five weeks of vacation per year, progressing to six weeks of vacation after 12 years of service. 
• Mid-year break in December when the university is closed.
• Sabbatical leaves based on accrued credits. 
• Job-protected pregnancy, adoption and parental leaves, with a top-up to 95% of regular pay for up to 27 weeks.  
• Paid sick leave benefits.

Parents of newborn and newly adopted children for whom they are the primary caregivers, have access to job-protected leaves. The federal government provides paid leave to a maximum amount and TMU provides additional paid top-up for a portion of leaves. To learn more, visit:

• Government of Canada’s EI Maternity and Parental Benefits - Overview (external link) 
• Pregnancy and subsequent parental leave for TFA members

Faculty members receive priority access to TMU’s Early Learning Centre (ELC) which provides child care for children 18 months to 4 years of age. Connected to the School for Early Childhood Education, the centre applies the latest research into early learning.

Normal probationary period for tenure-stream faculty hired at the assistant professor rank is six years. Tenure process and criteria are described in Article 5 of the Collective Agreement and faculty receive guidance towards meeting the criteria through a number of means including teaching evaluations and year-end assessments.

Professional development support is available through a number of means including: 

• A  (PDF file) Professional Expense Reimbursement Fund (Article 18 of the Collective Agreement).
• Workshops and resources through TMU’s institutional membership with the National Centre for Faculty Development and Diversity. 
• In-house workshops and events offered by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs (OVPFA).
• Annual learning and teaching conference offered by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. 

A transfer to tenure automatically results in transfer to the rank of Associate Professor which is accompanied by one Career Development Increment (CDI).