President’s Message

BPG: the Voice of Bell Pensioners

The Bell Pensioners’ Group (BPG) is a volunteer organization of Bell retirees and Bell
employees dedicated to the understanding and protection of one of your most important assets:
your Bell Canada pension and benefits promise. BPG also monitors the pension plans of Télébec
BCE and Bell Aliant.

We have a membership of approximately 11,500. We encourage all Defined Benefit and
Defined Contribution retirees and active employees of the Bell companies to join our
organization. The potential pool of retirees is in excess of 30,000 and the potential pool of Bell
Canada employees is 73,000.

We were created by Bell pensioners in 1994 as a federally regulated ‘not for profit’ organization,
to represent the interests of Bell Canada pension plan members.
BPG is also a founding member of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners (CFP). CFP was
formed in 2005 to bring together retiree groups across Canada for the purpose of addressing
Defined Benefit pension plan issues from a pensioner point of view at both the provincial and
federal levels of government.

We are fortunate to be retirees of Bell Canada. The pension plan is currently well funded and
Bell is on financially solid ground. We will continue to monitor Bell’s financial situation and to
meet with them at least twice a year, but at this point of time, we do not see any apparent risks.
BPG focuses on responding to, and lobbying for specific changes to legislation, rules and
regulations. If there are any risks for us – it is in this area.
BPG will continue to respond to government consultations and continue to meet with key
government officials. At this point, we are specifically focusing on:

Bankruptcy Legislation

The CFP with the support of its member organizations including BPG
was successful in having bill C-228 passed by both the parliament and the
senate and signed into law by the Governor General. We will continue to
monitor the situation given that the government has 4 years to implement
the legislation.

Defined Contribution Plans

Now that Defined Contribution Plan members are officially welcomed to
join BPG, we will need to explore issues that affect their plans (e.g.
investment rules, withdrawal rules, etc…) to determine if we need to
lobby the regulators.

Other Issues

The Federal Government and the Provinces may, from time to time,
change rules associated with pension plans including solvency ratios,
funding levels, etc…. BPG will stay vigilant to ensure changes aren’t
detrimental to pensioners and their pension plans.

Other initiatives

BPG recently introduced a group travel insurance program for members.
This program has been very popular. It has helped to increase our
visibility and increase our membership. Stay tuned as we explore other
benefits that are not related to pension issues.

BPG hires experts such as actuaries, consultants and lawyers to assist in understanding and
properly addressing issues related to pensions and benefits.
One of our top priorities is keeping our membership informed on pension issues. We share with
our members (through meetings, newsletters and our website) information that is of special
importance to pensioners, such as the situation of Bell’s pension plan, pension reform or tips and
advice on benefits.

Our voice is strong but it could be stronger. If you are not already a BPG member, I hope that
you will add your voice to the more than 11,000 colleagues who are already members. Please
take the time now to fill out the application form and make your voice count. A $20 annual
membership fee covers our administrative costs and the actions we may undertake on everyone’s
behalf.

We look forward to representing our membership and are ready to help with any pension or
benefit problems you may have difficulty in resolving on your own.

Warmest regards,

Tony Lepine
President