Subject: Call: Employee Sponsor Committee of the University Pension Plan
Colleagues,
TUFA and its members belong to the University Pension Plan (UPP), a multi-university, jointly sponsored pension plan, with governance responsibilities split between employer and employee members of the Plan. A crucial component of this arrangement is the Joint Sponsors comprising an Employer Sponsor Committee with six members and an Employee Sponsor Committee (EESC) with six members (three from staff unions and three from faculty associations). The Joint Sponsors operate on a consensus governance model — where both Employer and Employee Sponsors must agree before any changes can be made — and have a variety of responsibilities, including: setting contribution rates and benefit provisions, establishing and maintaining the Funding Policy, appointing the Board of Trustees, and establishing terms for (and approving) new participants in the UPP. The Board of Trustees is tasked with oversight of the UPP: its administration, investment of assets, and delivery of member services and benefit payments.
As additional universities/members have joined the UPP, the arrangement for appointing individuals to the Joint Sponsors has changed according to the governing documents set in place when the Plan was established. This year, TUFA and the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) are responsible for appointing a delegate to the EESC. TUFA and WLUFA have negotiated an arrangement to accomplish this task and the organizations have agreed to bring forward up to two candidates each for consideration.
By mutual agreement, TUFA and WLUFA will share the cost involved in providing the parties’ appointee with 2.0 units of course release (4 half courses) in each year of their service in this role. It is our understanding that this level of release is commensurate with the expectations and duties of a delegate to the EESC. The role of the EESC is to collectively bargain the terms of the plan both on an ongoing basis and in relation to participation of new employers, faculty associations, and unions. It is not required that the appointee have prior experience with Benefits governance, nor particular training, expertise, or professional qualifications. We do, however, imagine that the successful candidate will demonstrate relevant financial literacy, a strong understanding of the labour relations context within which UPP operates, capacity to further Labour interests in respect of the Plan, and a commitment to faithfully represent both memberships’ mandates related to UPP. In response to a query from TUFA, the current members of the EESC identified the following helpful areas of knowledge/experience relating to the position.
• Labour relations
• Pension plan governance and administration
• Investment governance and institutional asset management
• Defined benefit pension design, funding, and actuarial concepts
• Pension legislation and regulatory frameworks
• Financial oversight, risk management, and audit matters
• Board governance, trustee recruitment, evaluation, and succession planning
• Human capital and organizational governance issues
• Familiarity with the work typically undertaken by the Board and its standing committees (including audit and finance, governance, human capital, investments, and pension services).
The following operational summary of the position was provided by the Employee Sponsor Committee:
Time Commitment
UPP continues to be in a growth phase. The EESC representatives currently participate in more than 50 scheduled meetings per year. The average meeting is about two hours in length. Three-hour meetings occur at least quarterly. Half-day or full-day meetings also occur; in the past year the ESC representatives attended about four full-day or half-day meetings. In addition to the scheduled meetings, there are also ad hoc meetings. There is often extensive reading and analysis to complete before meetings. A realistic time commitment for the role is at least ten hours per week for someone who is fully engaged, as we hope all representatives would be. Each representative serves as a co-chair for six months of every eighteen-month period, and during a term as co-chair the average workload is roughly 15 hours per week. Most meetings occur during regular business hours. Occasionally a meeting is scheduled in the evening, generally no more than once per month. Currently weekend meetings do not occur. Email business often spills over into evenings/weekends.
Term
The appointment is for a four-year term starting January 1, 2027, with the possibility of renewal for a second four-year term.
Compensation and Equipment/Supplies
Apart from the 2.0 units of course release provided by TUFA and WLUFA, and the reimbursement of travel costs as noted below, the UPP does not compensate representatives who serve on the EESC or provide them with equipment/supplies.
Travel Requirements & Reimbursement for Travel Costs
Most meetings are held virtually. Roughly 2-4 times per year, UPP hosts an in-person meeting in Toronto. No more than a couple of times a year, any given EESC representative might be asked to attend an information session about UPP (variously hosted by UPP and employers and/or employee groups interested in learning more about the plan) at some location within the province. In cases where an EESC representative needs to travel to attend any of these events, UPP reimburses the reasonable cost.
Other Details
All EESC representatives would normally be a member of UPP (employed by one of the participating institutions) or work for a union (nationally, provincially, or locally) or faculty association that represents members of UPP. In the event of a change in employment circumstances in the midst of an EESC representative’s term on the committee, it is likely that the appointing body (the collection of faculty associations other than UTFA, UGFA, and QUFA in this case) would prefer to appoint a different representative to fill the remainder of the term.
Interested TUFA members should contact the TUFA Office for additional information. Prospective candidates should email the TUFA Office with their CV and a brief statement (1 page) summarizing their interest in (and aptitude for) this role. The Executive Committee will review any prospective candidate statements received on or before November 11th.
In Solidarity,
Dwayne and Marcus,
—
Dwayne Collins,
President
Marcus Harvey,
Executive Director
Trent University Faculty Association