WEBVTT

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This is a story
of commitment and resilience.

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Born from modest beginnings,

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when teachers faced uncertain
futures,

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TRAF has grown into a strong,
enduring organization —

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built to serve those who 
continue to shape generations

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to come.

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Late in the 1800s, Manitoba's
teachers faced conditions

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that were far from the ideals
we cherish today.

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Their pay modest and futures
uncertain,

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teachers began banding together,
laying the groundwork for

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what would eventually become
a formidable collective force.

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By 1905,
the Winnipeg Public School Board

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pioneered its first pension plan
for urban teachers.

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Later, a more ambitious goal
would follow: a pension

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plan for all teachers
in the province.

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The outbreak of World War I
halted their progress,

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and the 20s brought new
setbacks, but also new hopes.

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The relentless advocacy
of teachers led to the passage

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of the Teachers'
Retirement Fund Act in 1925,

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and the Teachers' Retirement
Allowances Fund — TRAF

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— was born extending pension 
rights across the province.

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The act did not
initially include government

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contributions, reflecting
the fiscal caution of the times.

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Yet still, Manitoba teachers
reflected optimism

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in the achievement.

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We have a feeling that a piece
of enduring work has been done,

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a piece of work whose scope
will gradually widen,

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a piece of work

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for which

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many teachers in the not distant
future will be very grateful.

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Change

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wasn't coming fast
enough, though, and in 1929,

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the TRAF Board wrote a letter
to the Minister of Education.

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The board is now paying pensions
to nine retired

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teachers,
ranging in amount from $3.60

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to $8.65 a month.

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These amounts are absurdly low,
and while the board

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is at present helpless
to improve them,

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it is heartily ashamed of having
to pay such insignificant

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amounts to people

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who have served the province
for long periods,

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and who have become old
or infirm in the service.

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Despite
the severe economic conditions

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of the Great Depression,

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the 1930 Subcommittee
on Pensions reported

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a larger measure of success
than on any former occasion

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when the government began paying
half of teachers' pensions.

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With post-World War II
prosperity and the baby boom,

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TRAF evolved,

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adapting to the growing demands
of Manitoba's education system.

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The 50s and early 60s brought

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expansion and legislative
refinement, and TRAF’s

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continuous growth.

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In 1957, the Teachers' Retirement
Allowances Fund

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and the Winnipeg City Pension
Plan for teachers amalgamated.

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From then on, it was just one
plan for all teachers — TRAF.

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In 1963, the recommendations
of the Royal Commission

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on Education
Report were adopted,

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making significant changes
that formed the basis

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of the framework of today's
plan.

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Pat Bowslaugh
began her teaching in 1960,

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and began a career long practice
of turning to TRAF for help.

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After taking
a substituting engagement.

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Instead of

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being there for six weeks,
which I had committed myself to,

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I was there six months
and so I went, "Self,

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this is almost a year,

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like I should be getting pensionable
service for this."

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I phoned here
and I was very well

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taken care of because they went,
"Oh that's easy!"

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When I was many decades
later ready to retire,

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they went, "Oh yes.

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and that pensionable service

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from when you were subbing, it's
$100 for each of those 3.8 years."

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I have a comfortable life now.

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I have a pension plan
that looked after every

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classroom teacher that was with
the public school system.

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The 60s through to the 80s

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were a period of big changes
for TRAF, overseen

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by Secretary-Treasurer
Glen Buhr.

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When I first started,
there were a number of

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many teachers
that were getting pensions

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that were less than $100
a month kind of thing.

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That changed over time
for investments, for example,

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they were limited to 
investing in government bonds.

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That was it.

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The Pension Benefits Act
came into being for Manitoba

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and legal investments allowed
under it were also now allowed.

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Became an opportunity to invest
directly in real estate.

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Actually, it was the first
complex thing we got in.

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With these changes, TRAF began
a pivotal transformation

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from a modest pension plan

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into a professionally managed
investment fund,

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starting
with an Investment Committee

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and eventually a dedicated
investment department,

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TRAF began building
a diverse, resilient portfolio.

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In the 80s and

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beyond, even as technology
changed,

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Brenda Venuto says

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customer service remained
at the centre of TRAF’s mission.

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This was, a very important,
significant, amazing

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service that we were part of
right from the beginning.

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And, during that time,

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so I was hired as a clerk,

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we were doing
all the calculations by hand,

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and at the end of the day,

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the calculator tape
was really long

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because of all the work
that you had done.

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Of course, things evolve
with email and websites,

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but the communication program
became very critical when,

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the programmer first came in
and wrote the pension

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estimate program.

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We just started asking for more
and more programming because,

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you know, we needed to — we knew
how beneficial this was for us.

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Like, this is not just providing
facts and figures to people.

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This is actually providing them
information that they take

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seriously.
They need this information

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in order
to make the best decisions.

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Jeff Norton became President
& CEO of TRAF in 2005.

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The average TRAF member
that retires today in 2025,

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is expected
to draw out of the pension plan

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just over $1.5
million in their retirement.

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So it's an extremely large
asset. For many of our members,

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it probably represents
their largest

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financial asset in retirement.

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So we recently had a member, 
Hazel Skuce

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— she lived in Brandon —

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she passed away
in January of this year.

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She was 112 years old.

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So it was a fantastic story.

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Hazel collected a pension
for over 53 years from TRAF,

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so she was able

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to have the comfort
knowing that every month

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she would get

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that deposit from TRAF so
she was able to spend the money,

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enjoy her retirement

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and not worry
about outliving her money

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because it's

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technically not possible in the
context of the pension plan.

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We do feel this tremendous
sense of pride and purpose

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for what we do every day,
because we are doing something

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that's very meaningful
for the teachers of Manitoba,

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and we passed a major milestone
just earlier this year in 2025.

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Since inception,

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TRAF has paid out over
10 billion dollars to retired teachers.

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And when we look forward,
we expect to pay out

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the next 10 billion dollars
within the next 15 years.

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TRAF isn't
just a story of a pension fund.

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It is a story of a movement,
of a community,

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and of a profound legacy

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that continues to
shape lives across Manitoba.