What the move to a 12-month calendar means for principals and vice principals

Starting July 1, 2025, all principals and vice-principals will work a standardized 12-month work year, based on an agreement between the principals’ and vice-principals’ associations, the trustees’ associations and the Ontario government. This article provides information about the pension considerations that apply to the 12-month work year in the 2025/2026 school year and beyond. Here are the answers to your frequently asked questions:

How does this change impact me if I was previously on a 10-month calendar?

The change from a 10-month calendar to a 12-month calendar spreads the time during which salary and credit is accumulated over a longer period.  Because, for pension administration purposes, a standard school year runs from September to August, the 12-month calendar is applied starting in September. For principals and vice-principals who work a standard full-time school year, this won’t have an impact on their pension benefits.  However, there could be impacts if a partial year is worked, particularly in the year of retirement. See responses below regarding how this change affects your actual credit and average salary used in your pension calculation, along with the impact to your 85 factor, and re-employment.  

What if I'm already on a 12-month school year?

If you’ve already been on a 12-month calendar, the new agreement doesn’t impact you.  However, the responses below apply to all 12-month situations so please keep them in mind when considering your future retirement plans.

I’m retiring in the 2025/2026 school year or later. What’s the impact on my pension?

If you retire during the 2025/2026 school year or later, starting your pension in July will give you pension credit based on the number of months you worked compared to the 12-month school year. In addition to receiving proportionate pension credit (10/12ths) for your last school year, your average salary may also be affected as part of your 6th highest year may be included to make up the difference in the final partial year when calculating your best-five salary. To get a full year of pension credit, you’ll need to wait until the end of the school year to retire and have worked at 100% FTE from the start of the school year until it ends in August. 

I’m retiring in the 2025/2026 school year or later. What’s the impact on my 85 factor?

If you start your pension before the end of the school year in August, you'll receive a partial qualifying year up to your pension start date. Your 85 factor is based on your age plus your qualifying credit. The calendar change doesn't affect your age, but it does change how your qualifying credit is calculated. A partial school year will now be prorated using the 12-month calendar. For example:

• If you turn 56 in June and would have had 29 years of qualifying credit by June 30, 2026, you'll now have slightly less qualifying credit. Your final year will be calculated as 10/12 (or 83.33% of a year) at June 30.

You may wish to wait until August or September to start your pension to reach your 85 factor and avoid a reduction. However, we recommend that you compare that to starting in July with a small reduction. 

If I choose to work in education after I retire, will the work I do in July and August count towards the re-employment limit?

For pension administration purposes, the school year generally follows a September to August cycle. Any work, including training hours, during a given school year counts towards the re-employment limit for that school year. If you’re hired on a part-time basis, days count in direct proportion to your contract percentage. For example, if you’re on a 33% contract and work one-third of a day, three days would count as one day of re-employment. If you're paid by the hour or hired for a specific task, ask your employer what counts as a workday for your job.

The re-employment limit resets at the start of the school year. Since employers have slightly varying calendars, make sure to contact your employer to confirm which school year your workdays in August fall under. Learn more about re-employment.

If I’m retiring in the 2025/2026 school year or later, when can I start re-employment?

If you resign and return to work in education after starting your pension, any work you do counts toward the re-employment limit for the school year in which it occurs. For example:

• Work between August 31, 2026 and August 27, 2027 counts toward the 2026/2027 school year limit.
• Work before August 31, 2026 (such as in July or earlier in August) counts toward the 2025/2026 school year limit.
• Work after August 27, 2027 (such as August 30 or 31) counts toward the 2027/2028 school year limit.

Learn more about re-employment.

Is there a Pension Calculator update?

If you were already on a 12-month calendar, the pension calculator should work as expected. If you're moving from a 10-month to a 12-month work year, the calculator may not reflect the change right away. It‘ll update once your employer reports several pay periods, and we process your payroll data. After that, you'll see more accurate retirement scenarios.

When should I contact Ontario Teachers’?

If you’re considering retirement in the next few months, contact us to compare retirement scenarios.