Hello! I am 23, and working in the public healthcare sector. I am registered for a ''Defined Benefit Plan'', which means that I can expect 70% of my salary once I retire, if I have at least 30 years of service and 65 years-old.
Also, I am in Canada, where I can expect Old Age Security (OAS) and Québec Pension Plan (QPP) at 65 as well.
I have been doing calculations for early retirement based only on my personal savings, disregarding completely my employer's pension, OAS and QPP. Based on those calculations, I would be able to retire at around 50 years-old, based on 5% annual return on investments.
However, I am trying to figure out how to incorporate the pension plan into these calculations, to see if I could actually retire earlier. I already have 3 years of contribution, so I would be at 30 years of service once I am 50 (assuming I stay with this employer, which is very likely considering the shortage of other employers for my type of work).
So, my questions are :
- Should I try to find out the value of the pension plan and add it to my calculations for early retirement?
- If I determine that this allows me to quit at 45, should I wait to ''claim'' the pension until I'm 65? I believe there are penalties of 5% per year early. If we calculate 20 years early, this means that I would receive zero? Or I guess they just give you whatever amount there is in your account?
I am sorry if this is very vague, but I have a limited understanding of this defined benefit plan, and it is very difficult to find more information (I have searched all our ''documentation'' for the pension). HR apparently doesn't deal with it, considering it is a province-wide plan. I will try to find out more, but I am afraid of not being taken seriously at 23.
Thanks a lot!