November 3, 2020

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

It was a message delivered to its members by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The news stated that foreign-born Toronto Blue Jays players, who were not born in Canada, were eligible to qualify for Canada Pension Plan monthly payments when they reached the age of 60.

In the last two months since this information was divulged to remind those who were eligible, many former Toronto players have been calling or attempting to call pension plan administrators and filling out forms.

All each player needs to do is supply his Social Security Number to get the process going. It’s all legit. Although the news about the pension benefits was good for former Blue Jays players, this payment plan has been in effect for years.

Yet, few people know about it. The trick is trying to get a government clerk to the phone to talk to former players and officials. Ditto for anyone trying to get an official from the MLBPAA to help out.

Some of the long-time Jays alumni benefitting from this CPP bonus stipulation are Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy, Jimmy Key, George Bell, Jesse Barfield and Lloyd Moseby.

This news also applies to non-uniformed personnel such as Pat Gillick, a Blue Jays executive from 1976-94.

Buck Martinez, who played six seasons for the Blue Jays, was a team manager for 1 1/2 seasons and has been an analyst and game caller for many years, also qualifies.

Long-time broadcaster Jerry Howarth spent some 36 seasons behind the Jays microphone and is taking a CPP pension. He paid into the fund so he collects from the fund. He’s entitled to the money.

Shirley Cheek, widow of long-time broadcaster Tom Cheek, qualifies for a surviving spouse's CPP pension because he was employed for 27 seasons until he died in 2005.

"The CPP was not changed, nor was a deliberate choice made in order to include members of the Toronto Blue Jays or any other sporting team,'' CPP spokesperson Megan Fulton said in an email statement to this reporter. "Rather, all individuals working in Canada (outside of Quebec) with wages from employment or self-employment above the minimum threshold participate in the Canada Pension Plan, regardless of their nationality or country of origin. This has always been the case, dating back to the Plan’s inception in 1966.''

Fulton confirmed that Jays' players and non-uniformed personnel, born in the U.S. and other countries such as the Dominican Republic, have had money taken from their pay cheques, going back to the franchise's inception in 1977, and put into the CPP fund.

"Yes, such individuals would make contributions on their wages above the minimum threshold of $3,500 up to the annual limit, which is $58,700 in 2020, in each calendar year they work in Canada, as is the case with any other worker, as would their employer,'' Fulton said.

"In 2020, the total CPP contribution rate (including the enhancement) paid by a worker on that band of earnings is 5.25%, which is matched by their employer. Given the league minimum salary is nearly 10 times above the limit on pensionable earnings, most players (those here for even a small part of the season) would be maximum contributors. In 2020, this would represent a contribution of $2,898.''

The monthly payment for each individual is unclear but it would depend on a player’s service time. Stieb pitched for the Jays for parts of 15 seasons.

Clancy threw close to 12 seasons. Clancy’s wife told me that the couple wasn’t aware of the former pitcher’s eligibility for the CPP.

Stieb, 63, said in an interview that he became so frustrated trying to navigate the CPP website that he gave up but he’s certainly interested in finding out the amount of money he would receive.

This reporter volunteered on Nov. 4 -- on Stieb’s behalf -- to let the CPP folks know that he would appreciate a phone call to get the application process going after a request form was filled out online.

“It’s so complicated, it’s not very simple,’’ Stieb said of the online issues. “I can’t figure this out. I kinda gave up on it. It’s crap.

“I don’t turn 65 for a while so there is no big hurry but I want to weigh my options. It’s frustrating trying to get answers to it.’’

"The value of the pension is based on an individual’s career average earnings up to the annual limit,'' said another CPP spokesperson, Marie-Eve Sigouin-Campeau. "This means that while an individual who played in Canada for only one or two years would be eligible to a pension, the value of that pension would be relatively small as it generally takes about 39 years of contributions to be eligible for a maximum benefit.''

Among those also affected by the CPP’s foreign-born scenario are athletes and officials, who have played in the CFL, who were employed by the Raptors, Toronto FC and Canadian-based teams in the NHL. Swedish-born Borje Salming, 69, who played 16 seasons for the Leafs, would qualify.

Similarly, former Expos players and other employees qualify for monthly payments from the comprehensive Quebec Pension Plan and aren’t eligible for the CPP. The Expos/QPP scenario was revealed by this reporter a few weeks ago in the Montreal Gazette.

Danny Gallagher’s Expos book Always Remembered is available at Indigo and Amazon.