Pension and Employment Benefits

At Memorial University, our total compensation package is key to the success of recruitment and retention activities. As an employer, we provide a strong mix of direct compensation and benefits within a supportive environment.

Memorial’s defined benefit (DB) pension plan is a central component of the benefits package and provides members of the plan with retirement pensions based on a pre-determined formula utilizing an employee’s best five year average salary, years of pensionable service and a 2 per cent accrual factor. The university’s DB plan is mandatory for full-time permanent employees and for contractual employees who have been appointed for a period of six months or greater and work at least 20 hours per week.

Our comprehensive group insurance plan complements the pension plan with automatic coverage for eligible employees under the following programs: Basic Group Life Insurance, Dependent Life Insurance (note: this is only available with the family health option), Basic Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Long Term Disability Insurance, Supplementary Health Plan, Dental Plan, and a Travel Health Plan.

Eligible employees may also choose to participate in optional plans such as: Term Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, and Spousal and Dependent Child Term Life Insurance. Detailed information including eligibility and coverage in the Group Benefits Plan is available in the Employee Benefits Guide.

A number of wellness and employee development opportunities are also offered to Memorial employees. On the wellness front, a Preferred Rate Program, a Health Improvement Program (HIP), a Workplace Mindfulness Program and an Employee Assistance Program are offered. In the area of employee development, eligible employees can avail of an academic credit course program and Memorial employees have free access to SkillsBuild, IBM's digital training program. Also, university employees who are members of CUPE 1615 are eligible to apply for funding from the CUPE Professional Development Fund to support their professional development goals and objectives.  Various free webinars are also offered regularly for all employees and posted to the HR calendar of events. For more information on the wellness and employee development opportunities available, please click on the  Employee Development and the Healthy Workplace tabs on the left. 

Memorial offers employees annual leave as well as various leave options to assist during times of illness, injury, and various life changes. For more information on these options, please consult the applicable collective agreement or in the case of non-bargaining, management and professional, and senior administrative management employees, please review the Guide for Non-Bargaining Employees.