Participation in the pension plan is mandatory. For each hour worked in the construction industry in Québec:

• all workers, whether apprentices, journeymen, or in an occupation, contribute to the plan;

• employers also contribute.

Workers thus participate in a single pension plan even if they change employer, work region, or sector.

Contributions to the plan are determined by the union and employer associations, according to provisions set out in the collective agreements governing the construction industry’s four sectors.

The Committee on Employee Benefits in the Construction Industry (CEBCI), composed of representatives from industry unions and employer associations, sets the provisions of the pension plan in accordance with the Québec Supplemental Pension Plans Act and the Canadian Income Tax Act. It also adopts any amendments required under the Règlement sur les régimes complémentaires d’avantages sociaux dans l’industrie de la construction (a regulation concerning employee benefit plans in the construction industry).

The plan is administered by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ), in compliance with the Règlement sur les régimes complémentaires d’avantages sociaux dans l’industrie de la construction.

The Comité de placement (an investment committee) formed of representatives from the union and employer associations, monitors the application of the investment policy for the money in the pension plan and recommends modifications to this policy or its application. The fund manager is the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

As of December 31, 2022, the plan had more than 200,000 active members (members who worked at least one hour in 2021 or 2022), more than 170,000 inactive members (members who did not work any hours in 2021 and 2022), and more than 102,000 retirees and surviving spouses receiving a monthly pension.

The goal of the plan is to ensure that workers receive a retirement income. It also has provisions for what happens when a worker leaves the construction industry before retirement age, if a marriage, civil union, or common-law partnership breaks down, and when a death occurs.