CD 2010-017

• Annex A - Organization Codes
• Annex B - Descriptions and Procedures for Paper Forms

October 15, 2010

SUBJECT: Canada Savings Bonds Campaign 2010-2011

1. PURPOSE

1.1 The purpose of this directive is to provide information concerning payroll deductions for the upcoming Canada Savings Bonds (CSB) Campaign.

This directive applies to all departments and organizations participating in the CSB campaign Payroll Savings Program.

1.2 A notice of information to employees concerning the CSB campaign has been included with this directive and will also be posted in the " Are You a Public Service Employee " page of the Compensation Sector Web site.

2. CANCELLATION

2.1 This document supersedes Compensation Directive 2009-020 dated September 23, 2009.

3. BACKGROUND

3.1 The CSB Payroll Savings Program allows public service employees to contribute to CSB plans through regular payroll deductions. These deductions are continuous and employees can make changes to their deductions during the yearly October campaign.

4. POLICY

4.1 Deductions are forwarded to the Bank of Canada every two weeks, and are put towards the employee's CSB plan(s). The interest starts accruing as soon as the Bank of Canada receives these payments.

4.2 Once a year, in January, purchasers will receive a statement from the Bank of Canada documenting their CSB purchase(s), interest earned and any transactions conducted during that year. Purchasers will also be able to verify their account at any time during the year by going on-line at Canada Savings Bonds or by calling the Bank of Canada at 1-877-899-3599.

4.3 Existing and new payroll deductions are taken from all pay periods, including the pay period plus (PP+).

4.4 For the Payroll Savings Program, CSB s may be registered in the following manner:

• in the purchaser's name only,
• in the purchaser's name together with the name of another individual, either an adult or a minor; and
• in the name of an individual, other than the purchaser, either an adult or a minor.

4.5 Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) Option

4.5.1 As of October 2010, employees will no longer have the option to open a Canada Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) account.

Employees who already contribute to a Canada RSP plan through payroll deductions will be able to continue to do so and may increase or decrease contributions. The minimum purchase for CSB s is $20 per biweekly pay.

4.5.2 Employees who currently own a Canada RSP will receive a statement of account on a semi-annual basis, on June 30 and December 31.

Please note that the purchaser cannot view his Canada RSP accounts on the Canada Savings Bonds Web site, but can ask for an update by calling the Bank of Canada at 1-877-899-3599.

4.5.3 Employees making contributions to the Canada RSP will receive two RRSP tax receipts each year. One receipt will be for contributions made up to and including December 31 of the current tax filing year, and the other receipt will be for contributions made during the first 60 days (or as otherwise determined by the Minister of the CRA) of the following tax filing year.

4.5.4 It is important to note that the employee's deduction amounts are not transferred directly to a Canada RSP account. The deduction amounts are first remitted to the Bank of Canada, which then transfers the deduction amounts into the employees' Canada RSP accounts. The Canada RSP contributions will not be tax deductible at source, and will not affect how deductions are forwarded to the Bank of Canada.

If employees wish to have the Canada RSP portion of their deduction amount exempted from federal income tax at source (or from Quebec income tax for employees who both work and reside in Quebec), they must obtain a letter of authorization from the CRA (or the Ministère du Revenu du Québec [MRQ]). Please refer to Compensation Directive 2002-020 entitled "Reducing Source Deductions of Income Tax" for details.

5. PROCEDURES/INSTRUCTIONS

5.1 An Organization Identification Number has been created so that the Bank of Canada can identify each purchaser's department or agency. Please refer to Annex A - Organization Codes for a list of these numbers and other references applicable to the CSB campaign.

5.2 Employees who do not want to increase their current CSB deductions, do not have to take any action for the October 2010 campaign. Accordingly, their CSB deductions will continue to be ongoing.

5.3 Paper Application Forms

5.3.1 Although all departments and organizations now participate in the campaign online, employees who do not have Internet access or who have a disability that prevents them from using the Web site may request a paper application form from their departmental campaign director. The procedures for the completion and processing of paper forms are included in Annex B - Descriptions and Procedures for Paper Forms.

5.4 E-campaign Web Site

5.4.1 To open a new plan or make changes to existing plans, employees must log in to the campaign Web site at Canada Savings Bonds and follow the on-line instructions. Employees will be able to log in to the campaign Web site and complete their CSB transactions from October 4 to 31, 2010.

5.4.2 The departmental campaign directors will provide their employees with an Organization ID to access the campaign Web site. Employees must log in using the ID number or the department or organization through which they are being paid. Employees who have already used the Web site will also require their client ID and password to access the site. Once logged in, employees must provide their current pay office and paylist numbers. This information can be found in the upper left corner of their most recent statement of earnings (pay stub).

5.4.3 The campaign Web site contains the procedures for purchasing new plans and making changes to existing plans. A step by step manual called the "Employee How-To Guide for Online Purchases" is available at Payroll Savings Program (PDF 381K) (Help on File Formats).

The campaign Web site also has a link to "Frequently Asked Questions" for employees who require more information.

For each on-line application, employees must indicate if the purchase is for themselves, for themselves and another individual, or for another individual only such as their spouse or children.

5.4.4 All changes will be made effective for the first pay in December 2010.

5.4.5 At the conclusion of the campaign (October 31, 2010), the Bank of Canada will complete a bulk transfer to Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) of the CSB deduction information received from employees using the campaign Web site. This information will be processed through the Regional Pay System (RPS) on November 18, 2010. Any rejects or error messages from the RPS will then be forwarded to the appropriate department in the error analysis report. Compensation advisors will have until the close-out date of the first pay period of December 2010 to complete their corrections. The close-out date for RPS clients is November 24, 2010.

5.4.6 Should a compensation advisor be unable to correct a rejected CSB transaction before the close-out date, he or she will increase the remaining deductions to compensate for any missed deduction amounts upon a written request from the employee (see Section 5.6 below).

5.4.7 Details regarding reject and error messages, as well as the corrective action to be taken, can be found in the Personnel-Pay Input Manual (PPIM) at ppim-7-3-3-1.

5.5 Decreasing CSB Deductions Outside the Campaign Period

5.5.1 Once the campaign period has ended, employees may still request a decrease in their CSB deductions in writing to their compensation advisors. If they wish to revise the individual amounts allocated to each of their CSB plans, they should contact the Bank of Canada at 1-877-899-3599. Unless otherwise advised, the Bank of Canada will prorate the new total deduction amount across all of the employees' CSB plans, including their Canada RSP plans.

5.6 Deductions Not Withheld

5.6.1 Should one or more deductions be missed during the year, employees may submit a written request to their compensation advisor to amend their deductions to an amount that will make up the difference in their yearly CSB deductions. Employees should ensure that this amended amount does not cause the total yearly deduction to exceed an amount equal to the purchase amount on record for the year.

5.7 Deduction Cancellations

5.7.1 If, at any time, employees wish to cancel their existing deduction, they should submit a request to their compensation advisor in writing. The compensation advisor will then take the necessary action to cancel the deduction in the RPS.

5.8 CSB Redemptions

5.8.1 If employees also wish to cancel their CSB plan(s), they should contact the Bank of Canada at 1-877-899-3599 for further information concerning the redemption of their plans.

5.8.2 To redeem a CSB held in the Canada RSP , employees should contact the Trustee of the Canada RSP in writing at the address shown below.

Canada Savings Bonds
Registered Products
PO Box 2390, Station D
Ottawa ON K1P1K8

5.9 Restarting a Cancelled Deduction

5.9.1 At the discretion of departments and organizations, employees may request that their deduction be restarted outside of the campaign period. To make such a request, employees must have an active CSB plan (or plans). The new deduction amount requested must not exceed an amount equal to the employees' purchase amount on record for the year.

5.10 Deduction Transfers from Pay to Pension

5.10.1 Pensioners cannot open new CSB payroll savings plans. The only way a pensioner may have a CSB deduction from his or her pension is by transferring his or her CSB deduction from pay while still an employee. Compensation advisors are asked to remind employees of this restriction when completing the "Deduction from Annuity or Annual Allowance" (PWGSC - TPSGC 1422) form.

If employees wish to transfer their CSB deduction, their compensation advisors should indicate the appropriate amount on line5 of the form. Employees should ensure that this amount does not cause their total yearly deduction to exceed an amount equal to their purchase amount on record for the year.

Further information regarding this issue can be found in Compensation Directive 2003-014.

6. INQUIRIES

6.1 Any inquiries on the information contained in this directive should be addressed to your Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) Compensation Services Office.

6.2 General information concerning the CSB campaign can be found at the following Web site address: Canada Savings Bonds Any individual inquiries concerning existing CSB plans should be directed to the Bank of Canada at 1-877-899-3599.

Original Signed by
Carrie E. Roussin

Carrie E. Roussin
Director General
Compensation Sector
Accounting, Banking and Compensation

Reference(s): CJA 1065-2-1