This notice is provided on behalf of SFU Human Resources, Pension & Benefits team:

You may be wondering if the retiree-paid portion of the Pacific Blue Cross premiums for SFU extended health and dental benefit plans can be claimed as medical expenses. 

To confirm:

-private health plan premiums are NOT a taxable benefit; no T4A will be issued by SFU
-the premiums paid by the retiree can be claimed as a medical expense for tax purposes

A letter from SFU confirming the total premiums paid is NOT required by Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) to claim the expense on your tax return.  As such, letters confirming annual benefit premiums paid will not be provided to all retirees. 

Premiums paid will be confirmed by the following sources:

If you receive a written request from CRA to submit receipts for your medical expenses, you should provide CRA with the annual letter from SFU and/or the premiums summary document, along with the applicable record of your premium payments made (ie. copy of bank statement or T4A, as per table above). 

If CRA then requests further proof of the expenses, please email us at pensions@sfu.ca and provide a copy of the CRA request and the documentation that you submitted. We will review your submission and, if necessary, a confirmation letter may be provided at that time. 

If you are receiving a monthly pension and have not received your annual tax slip from CIBC/Sun Life, please contact the respective Customer Care Centre:   

Members were sent a letter in December from Human Resources outlining the tax information, as well as the breakdown of premiums paid in the past year for filing your taxes. 

If you did not receive this letter in the mail, please make sure that your address is currently up to date with the HR office.

Enquiries can be emailed to pensions@sfu.ca.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

T4As are mailed out by our pension custodians each February.

If you are receiving a monthly pension and have not received your annual tax slip from CIBC/Sun Life/BCCPP, please contact the respective Customer Care Centre.

• (Staff) CIBC 1-800-565-0479
• (Faculty) Sun Life 1-800-733-8612
• (Faculty) BCCPP 1-800-322-8277

Attachment 1

Faculty (pre Sept 1, 2001) | APSA (pre July 1, 2001)  CUPE (pre May 1, 2003) | Poly Party (pre April 1, 2003)

Retirees pay 50% of the monthly premiums  

Premiums effective April 1, 2023:

Amounts shown are the retiree monthly benefit cost 

Attachment 2

• Faculty hired on or after September 1, 2001, and retired from the University
• APSA hired on or after July 1, 2001, and retired from the University 

Retirees pay 100% of the monthly premiums  

Premiums effective April 1, 2023:

Amounts shown are the retiree monthly benefit cost 

BCCPP Plan

If you are enrolled in the BCCPP Plan, see links at https://www.sfu.ca/human-resources/retirees-health-benefit.html (scroll to bottom).