CARRA > Service Statement
Service
Statement (PDF)
(The printable version may differ
from the one below.)
Note: The Service Statement is regularly updated in
accordance with the coming into force of various amendments to the
legislative or regulatory provisions of the laws governing pension
plans. In addition, all agreements entered into between CARRA and
its partners are updated and published in the annual management
report.
Our mission
CARRA’s mission is to offer its clients services enabling
them to receive benefits under the pension plans administered by
CARRA.
CARRA also provides expert advice by producing pension plan
actuarial valuations, and by conducting various studies for
bargaining parties and pension committees as well as for the
investment of the funds entrusted to the Caisse de
dépôt et placement du Québec (CDP).
To carry out its mission, CARRA works in close collaboration with
employers and members of pension committees, and maintains ties with
numerous associations, various government bodies, unions and the
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Our clients
CARRA’s clients are essentially former or current members of the
public service and the education and health and social services
networks, and pensioners and their spouses and heirs. Members of the
National Assembly, judges, Sûreté du Québec
officers, peace officers in correctional services and elected officers
of certain Québec municipalities are also CARRA’s clients.
Our services
CARRA works with its clients for a significant part of their life,
from the beginning of their career until their death. Our main services
for our clients are:
For members
- recording their contributions to a pension plan;
- buy-backs;
- benefits payable in the case of a terminal illness or
disability, depending on the pension plan;
- provision, on request, of statements of contributions, of
estimates of future pensions, of the cost of a buy-back, etc.;
- refund of contributions or transfer of the value of the
funds accumulated under a pension plan to a locked-in retirement
account (LIRA) or a life income fund (LIF);
- transfer of years of service from one plan to another.
For future pensioners
- information sessions and pre-retirement workshops for public
service employees and employees in the education and health and
social services networks;
- processing of applications for retirement pensions and, as
the case may be, applications for disability benefits.
For pensioners
- payment of benefits into the deposit account of their choice
and, in some cases, in the currency of their country of
residence;
- deductions at source.
For surviving spouses, children and heirs
- processing of pension applications filed by spouses and
payment of the orphan’s pension;
- payment of a death benefit or basic life insurance benefit
to a member’s heirs;
- recording of the renunciation of spousal benefits or the
revocation of that renunciation.
For all
- information services by phone, in writing, on the Internet
or in person, as well as information sessions and public
relations activities;
- distribution of a variety of printed and online
publications, such as information bulletins, guides, press
releases and forms.
Our commitments
Courteous and confidential services
- We treat you with courtesy and listen to you attentively.
- We strictly apply the rules on the protection of personal
information.
Quality information on your rights
- We provide you with a statement of contributions on request.
- We provide you with accurate and complete information.
Rigorous processing of your applications
Unless processing of your file is complex, which occurs in 10% of
cases, we deal with your requests within the periods indicated
below, provided you and your employer submit a complete application
and the information corresponds with your file.
- We will confirm the amount of your pension as of the month
you retire, provided we receive your complete application at
least 90 days before the month of your retirement. This includes
a 30-day period to inform us of your choice of personalized
benefits using the reply form enclosed with the "Your options"
document that we will send you.
- If your pension amount is not confirmed at the time of
the first payment, we will confirm it within 60 days
of receipt of your choice of benefits.
- We ensure the continuity of your income
- if you participate in a plan or are exempted from making
contributions, by making a payment on the 15th of the month
following the month you retire, provided we receive your
complete application at least 20 days before the date of
your retirement;
- if you no longer participate in a plan, by making a
payment two months following the month you chose to retire,
provided we receive your complete application at least 90
days before the month of your retirement.
- We pay your pension by direct deposit no later than the 15th
of each month. In the case of benefits paid by cheque, the
cheque is issued no later than the 15th of each month, then
mailed.
- We reply to letters concerning our client services within 30
days following receipt.
Accessible services
- You can go to our offices; the address is available in the
How to access our services
section. An information clerk
will meet with you as quickly as possible. However, if you have
an appointment, we will meet with you within 10 minutes after
the appointed time.
- We ensure that our services are accessible by various means:
in person, at our offices in Québec and by phone. Additionally,
there are other ways to contact us, in particular, by fax, mail,
Internet or when you attend exhibitions or fairs.
Help us to serve you better
To help us fulfil our commitments, we invite you to:
- provide us, within the prescribed time, with complete and
accurate information concerning your application. For the time
periods involved, please refer to the guides and forms related
to each type of request, available on our website;
- inform us without delay of any change concerning your file
or your application;
- share with us any suggestions and comments you have about
the quality of our services.
Complaints
The Bureau des plaintes deals
confidentially with complaints regarding the quality of the services
provided. However, it does not replace legal recourse, such as
reexamination and arbitration, which is available to you following a
decision rendered by CARRA.
The Bureau des plaintes deals with a
complaint within 30 days following its receipt. If we cannot meet
that time limit, the person in charge of complaints will contact
you.
How to access the Bureau des plaintes
- By phone
418 644-3092 (Québec region)
1 855 642-3092 (toll free)
1 866 239-2985, reference no.: 2009 (toll free)
- By email
By clicking on the
E-mail for the Complaints
Officer link.
- By mail
Bureau des plaintes
Commission administrative des régimes
de retraite et d’assurances
475, rue Saint-Amable
Québec (Québec) G1R 5X3
- By fax:
418 644-5050
How to access our services
Internet: www.carra.gouv.qc.ca
By phone
418 643-4881 (Québec region)
1 800 463-5533 (toll free)
418 644-3839 (fax)
Deaf or hearing-impaired persons
418 644-8947 (Québec region)
1 855 317-4076 (toll free)
In person
If you want to set a specific time to
meet with a member of our personnel, we recommend you call to
make an appointment. You can also write to us or go to our
offices, on the 5th floor, at the following address:
Commission administrative des régimes
de retraite et d’assurances
475, rue Saint-Amable
Québec (Québec) G1R 5X3
Our business hours are:
|
Monday to Wednesday
and Friday
|
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
|
|
Thursday
|
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
|
You can also contact your employer, who will assist you.
Register for our electronic mailing list
Registering for CARRA’s electronic mailing list will keep you
informed of what’s new with the various pension plans administered
by CARRA. The mailing list is accessible on our website, under
"Mailing list" at:
www.carra.gouv.qc.ca/liste.
Last update of the Service Statement : January 1,
2012
