There is no doubt that COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for our healthcare system and its dedicated frontline workers. The courage healthcare workers have shown during this pandemic has been an inspiration to all of us. We are inspired by their unwavering commitment to supporting our communities and those who need them the most.

Through this, our focus has been on providing all our members – like you, the same level of service we have always delivered. We quickly adapted to the new environment without experiencing any interruptions or delays to the service you have come to expect. Most importantly, the Plan remains financially stable and healthy, allowing us to continue delivering on our pension promise of providing members with a lifetime pension.

Recognizing the unique challenges facing healthcare workers across the province, we worked to provide support and flexibility for members by:

• Extending the deadline to make contributions following a leave of absence, and to apply and pay for buybacks
• Extending the deadline to apply for disability benefits
• Providing members on COVID-19-related unpaid emergency leaves (or within the first 15 weeks of an unpaid health leave) with contributory service at no cost to them or their employer during the provincial emergency period from March 17 to July 24, 2020
• Changing the format of our annual pension seminars from in-person events to an online, webcast format

These are just a few of the measures we introduced to lend a helping hand and, since the start of the pandemic, over thousands of members have benefited from these changes.