Medicus Pension Plan offers its first pension buyback opportunity!

After launching in 2023, Medicus is now pleased to announce an important opportunity for plan members to enhance their lifetime pension from Medicus by completing a pension buyback.

"We have been hard at work behind the scenes and we are excited about what this milestone means for Medicus, its members and the physician community in Canada” explains Stacey Parker-Yull, Director, Policy, Strategy and Communications for the plan. 

Medicus provides incorporated physicians with access to a registered pension plan specifically for them. It was designed to allow a physician’s professional corporation to make contributions as a participating employer throughout the physician’s career, so that the physician receives a predictable monthly pension in retirement, for their lifetime, from the plan. Until now, physicians who join Medicus have been limited to earning a pension on a go-forward basis, but the opportunity to elect to complete a pension buyback changes this!  

According to Danielle Amiel, Director, Governance and Risk Management for the plan: “Pension buybacks are a common offering in other large Canadian pension plans. With Medicus, a buyback will provide physicians with a valuable opportunity to top-up their pension to reflect years they were incorporated before Medicus was created and to receive an even larger pension in retirement – when they need it most.”  

A pension buyback is a one-time transfer of retirement savings into Medicus, generally from a registered retirement savings plan, that allows plan members to purchase additional pension for eligible years of past service. By completing a pension buyback, a plan member can boost their monthly pension in retirement and ensure a more comfortable future for them and their family.

Why might physicians consider a pension buyback?

1. Maximize secure retirement income: an increased pension from Medicus means less worry about income in retirement because pensions are payable for life.
2. Enhance family protection: a bigger Medicus pension also means an increase in any spousal and/or beneficiary benefits payable on death.
3. Simplify retirement: consolidation of retirement savings today can provide a feeling of security about retirement planning and save time spent reviewing different investments now and in retirement.
4. Optimize financial planning: incorporating Medicus into a retirement planning strategy is a great diversification option, especially when thinking about the tax implications of capital gains in professional corporations. Contributions to Medicus are tax deductible and the investments grow on a tax-free basis.

To complete a pension buyback, a physician must first be a member of Medicus. The 2024 pension buyback opportunity is available to physicians who joined Medicus before May 1, 2024.  To make sure you don’t miss out on the next pension buyback opportunity, sign up now to get started, and our Medicus Support Team will contact you to set up a personalized discovery meeting.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Medicus pension plan™ soon!