Notices and Information for All Groups
Please be advised of an upcoming change in Alberta Blue Cross's Medical Underwriting (MUW) communication move from paper-based mail outs to secure email using Brightsquid (an Alberta based secure communication platform). This change will improve efficiency and member experience, while allowing for faster and more reliable communications.
What does this mean for members?
Going forward, members (and their spouses, if applicable) will receive and send underwriting documents via Brightsquid. Here’s how the process will work:
- Alberta Blue Cross's MUW team will send a Brightsquid secure email containing the required forms to the member’s email address on file.
- The member will receive a notification prompting them to create a Brightsquid account. They’ll log in using a password and their date of birth.
- The member can complete and return the forms securely through Brightsquid—or alternatively, still has the option to submit by mail, fax, or drop-off.
- Once a decision is made, the MUW team will send the decision letter via Brightsquid.
If a member’s email address is not on file, Alberta Blue Cross will continue to use traditional mail.
May 2, 2025
Alberta Blue Cross is making a change to their claiming process. Starting on June 18, 2025, you will need to upload a receipt when you submit any claim on the Alberta Blue Cross member site or app.
For more information on this change, see this easy-to-follow guide on the new claiming process and frequently asked questions.
January 17, 2025
Blue Cross has released their updated guide to dental fee coverage maximums for 2025.
Please refer to your plan documents and talk to your dentist to determine what your out-of-pocket expenses may be for dental services.
A decision has been made by the Compulsory Arbitration Board respecting the City’s Collective Agreement with the Edmonton Fire Fighters Union (EFFU) for the years 2019-2023.
EFFU represents approximately 1,300 City of Edmonton employees in emergency services positions such as firefighters, fire prevention officers and emergency communications specialists. They play a critical role in the safety of our community, and we deeply value their public service.
We value our employees and recognize they have been waiting patiently for this decision. Administration is working to implement this award as quickly as possible, including processing retroactive pay for employees.
Current employees can find information about retroactive pay and benefits on OneCity.
Effective March 1, 2024, the City of Edmonton and ATU 569 have agreed that glucose monitoring systems will be approved under the Part II Health and Benefits Plan for Alberta Blue Cross coverage.
We are pleased that the City of Edmonton and ATU are making this change for the good of those managing life with diabetes.
The cost of this additional coverage will align with the cost sharing arrangement within the collective agreement (currently City at 75% and Employees at 25%) and premiums will be adjusted in the future based on the actual experience. Information for staff will soon be available through Alberta Blue Cross and in the “By Union and Topic” section of this page where they regularly find benefit information.
While this change is effective March 1, 2024, it will take some time for Alberta Blue Cross to implement it in their systems. This notice will be updated with further information once retroactive claims can be submitted to Alberta Blue Cross.
For more see Benefit Plan Changes
The Canada Revenue Agency has introduced a new box, Box 16A, which will appear on 2024 T4 slips.
What is Box 16A?
Box 16A reports the amount of second CPP deducted from the employee's additional pensionable earnings.
If you have further questions, please refer to the resources provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
December 13, 2024
ATU (DATS) has amalgamated with ATU (MAIN).
ATU (DATS) "Out of Province Emergency Medical Plan" benefits are terminated as of end of day December 15, 2024.
Members have a 4 month claiming submission period to submit claims that are dated December 15, 2024 and prior.
October 31, 2024
The SFPP (Special Forces Pension Plan) Sponsor Board has decided to decrease member and employer contribution rates effective January 1, 2025.
Contribution rates will decrease slightly, effective January 1, 2025, following a positive actuarial valuation of the Plan as at December 31, 2023.
The Plan member contribution rate will drop to 13.20% from 13.45%, and the employer contribution rate will drop to 14.30% from 14.55%.
As a result of the actuarial valuations that were filed for the year ending December 31, 2023:
- Fire Fighters Supplementary Pension Plan (FFSPP) members will see a decrease in their contribution rates
Effective January 1, 2025, the City’s contribution rate for FFSPP members will change to reflect the new contribution rate of 2.2% (reduced from 2.7%) of pensionable salary and employer contribution will be 2.8% (reduced from 3.3%).
For more see FFSPP Change to Contribution Rates
- Fire Chief, Deputy Chiefs and Assistant Deputy Chiefs' Supplementary Pension Plan (FCSPP) members will see an increase in contribution rates.
Effective January 1, 2025, the City's contribution rate for FCSPP members will change to reflect the new contribution rate of 4.38% (increased from 3.22%) of pensionable salary and employer current service contributions will be 4.38% (increased from 3.22%).
For more see FCSPP Change to Contribution Rates
October 31, 2024
LAPP is pleased to announce that contribution rates for 2025 will remain unchanged.
The contribution rates effective January 1, 2024, are as follows:
| Contribution Rates for 2023 | Contribution Rates for 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Member rate on pensionable salary up to the Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE)* |
7.45% | 7.45% |
| Member rate on portion of pensionable salary over the YMPE | 11.23% | 10.65% |
| Employer rate on pensionable salary up to the YMPE | 8.45% | 8.45% |
| Employer rate on portion of pensionable salary over the YMPE | 12.23% | 11.65% |
*The YMPE is set at $71,300 for 2025.
YMPE is a figure set each year by the Canadian government that specifies the earnings amount that can be used in calculating contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and can be used in calculating contributions to registered pension plans, such as LAPP, for each year.
June 17, 2024
Some employees will see changes to the premiums deducted from their July 9, 2024 pay advice for some of the employee benefit plans. These changes come from the 2023 financial review of the plans.
The LAPP Sponsor Board announced that a one-time enhancement will be applied to LAPP’s January 1, 2024 Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA). The enhancement will increase LAPP’s COLA from 60 to 100 per cent of the increase in the Alberta Consumer Price Index (CPI). You can read more about the one-time 100 per cent cost-of-living enhancement in LAPP’s newsroom.
Effective January 9, 2024
The Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) determine the maximum amount on which Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions are calculated. On November 1, 2023, the CRA announced the maximum pensionable earnings and contributions for 2024. Starting in 2024:
- YMPE will be referred to as the first earning ceiling.
- The maximum pensionable earnings under CPP will be $68,500, up from $66,600 in 2023.
- The basic exemption amount for 2024 remains at $3,500.
- Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YAMPE) will be referred to as the second earning ceiling.
- YAMPE will be the new limit up to which earnings are considered pensionable.
- A higher, second earnings ceiling of $73,200 will be implemented and used to determine second additional CPP contributions (CPP2). As a result, pensionable earnings between $68,500 and $73,200 are subject to CPP2 contributions.
- The second earning ceiling will be 7% higher than the first earning ceiling in 2024; then 14% higher in 2025, where it will remain at this level for the foreseeable future.
Second CPP Contributions
Second CPP contributions will have a different contribution rate. This new rate will be 4% for employees and employers. Starting in 2024:
- Base CPP Contributions (also known as the original CPP) have a rate of 4.95%.
- First CPP Contributions (contributions above the 4.95%) were phased in between 2019 and 2023.
- The combined Base and First Contributions equal 5.95%.
- Second CPP Contributions (contributions above the YMPE) have a rate of 4%.
Please note: In 2024 there will be an additional T4 box for all Second CPP Contributions. This box will be 16A.
Questions:
How will the enhanced CPP deduction be handled on a biweekly payroll?
- The second CPP will calculate based on YTD amounts using the YMPE and YAMPE. It won’t begin calculating the second CPP until the first YMPE ceiling is met.
Does the CPP deduction start from pay period 1 based on annual salary?
- CPP and enhanced CPP do not calculate based on annual salary. They calculate based on the amount in the current pay run processing using YTD totals. Since enhanced CPP deductions don’t start until the first YMPE ceiling is reached, it won’t impact employees’ first pay of 2024.
If you have further questions, please refer to the resources provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).