Types of plan members

Regardless of occupation, there are four types of plan members: active, retired, inactive and limited. Learn what this means.


BC’s Public Service Pension Plan covers tens of thousands of members working in a variety of occupations: everything from administrative services to front-line workers. Regardless of occupation, there are four types of plan members:

  • Active
  • Inactive
  • Retired
  • Limited

You are an active member if one of the following is true:

  • Work and contribute to the Public Service Pension Plan
  • Are on an approved leave of absence
  • Receive benefits from an approved group disability plan
  • Are still working but have 35 years of pensionable service and therefore can no longer contribute to the plan

There are two types of active members: regular members and those members who have a public safety designation. In the Public Service Pension Plan, members who have a public safety designation are:

  • Full-time and regular part-time ambulance paramedics in CUPE Local 873
  • Correctional officers, probation officers and youth probation officers who are employed in a correctional centre with BC Corrections.

Note: Regular members may also work in BC Corrections.

You are an inactive member if you no longer work for an employer participating in the plan and decide to leave your contributions in the plan until you retire.

You are a retired member when you stop working for an employer participating in the plan and begin collecting your pension. If you are receiving a survivor's or limited member's pension, you are considered a retired member.

If you are a former spouse of a plan member and entitled to a portion of their pension, you can apply to become a limited member after your separation or divorce. As a limited member, you can receive your share of your former spouse's pension directly from the plan when your former spouse reaches their earliest retirement age.