CN Pensioners Associations, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, not every CN pensioner or surviving spouse is currently a contributing member of the CNPA. Membership is optional; however, the CNPA is the only association that you have at your disposal to protect your interests, financial and otherwise regarding your pensions and/or benefits. Although the CNPA is a volunteer directed association, like any service organization it does require operating funds in which to conduct the business necessary for it to function successfully.
The membership fee is required to be a contributing member of the CNPA is $12 annually, which can be paid by (a) authorization of any CN pensioner or surviving spouse to have $1.00 per month deducted from their monthly pension cheque (payroll deduction) or (b) completion of a membership application accompanied by a cheque or money order in the amount of $12. By electing option (a) you never have to fill in any more applications and never have to worry about your membership dues as the $1.00 monthly deduction will continue each and every month unless you tell us to discontinue. So, the quick answer to the question is: If you elect payroll deduction, the answer is NO. If you wish to continue membership by paying annually, the answer is YES. More than 72% of contributing members have chosen payroll deduction and more are switching to PRD as they get to understand the benefits and convenience. We ask that you consider this method of paying membership dues so that we can keep our annual fee at the current low level of $12. We have unavoidable administrative costs and PRD helps us keep these costs at a minimum.
For those pensioners who receive their monthly pension payments via direct deposit, periodically (at least once per year) you will receive a "Statement of CN Pension Benefits and Deductions" slip from the CN Pension Trust Fund. This information slip will show your "Total Amount Before Deductions" along with a "Description of Deduction", i.e. Federal Tax, Blue Cross Monthly Premium and CN Pensioners" Association deductions. For those pensioners who still receive their monthly pension payment by cheque, the $1.00 deduction for CN Pensioners' Association is shown on your cheque stub.
YES, as a surviving spouse you are an important part of the CN pensioner population and we welcome your application to become a contributing member. The CNPA is there to protect the interests of both pensioners and survivors.
Absolutely! We welcome you as a contributing member of CNPA. It is important for you to note, however, that until you reach retirement age, you have to pay your annual membership fee by cheque or money order, as your monthly pay cheque does not come from the same fund as pensioners. However, the good news is that once you reach retirement age, you can switch over to payroll deduction.
We have 43 Local Councils strategically located throughout Canada. When we receive an application for membership we are obliged to assign the candidate to a Local Council. Our obligation is to associate the applicant to either (a) the closest local council to their geographical location or (b) a specific local council as chosen by the applicant. The choice is the prerogative of the applicant and you can be associated with any local council of your choice regardless of your current place of residence.
The CNPA is a tri-level association. The "parent" level is the National Council whose main objective is to be the liaison between the association and the company. The second level is comprised of (5) Regions and the third level is the Local Councils within these Regions as follows:
- ATLANTIC REGION - Campbellton, Edmundston, Saint John, Moncton, Charlottetown, Truro, Halifax, Sydney, Port aux Basques and St. John's.
- QUEBEC REGION - Abitibi, Mont-Joli, Coteau, Mauricie, Quebec City, Montreal, Montreal South Shore, New Carlisle, Riviere du Loup.
- ONTARIO REGION - Barrie, Belleville, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sarnia, Thunder Bay and Toronto.
- PRAIRIE REGION - Winnipeg and Saskatoon.
- MOUNTAIN REGION - Calgary, Edmonton, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Victoria, Vancouver, Fraser Valley South and Prince George
surviving spouses who remarry retain their monthly pensions.
No. To be entitled of a pension payment, the pensioner must be married at the date of retirement or living in a conjugal relationship at least one year prior to retirement.
Spouses are NOT considered members unless the Dues Fee has been paid for them. If anyone wants their spouse to be a member, we can increase their Payroll Deduction to $2.00. When a pensioner passes away, the spouse will be sent an application for membership so she/he will have the option to become a contributing member. Nothing is automatic.