APGO introduces Life Membership to retirees

They say that geoscientists never retire. We do, however, eventually, get longer in the tooth and less inclined to scale cliffs and wade swamps. Or perhaps, as is happening currently in the mineral exploration field, work has simply dried up, with little near-term relief in sight.

We at APGO have recently had an uptick in questions about retirement and the non-practicing membership category and so here’s an attempt to provide a bit of clarity on the subject.

Firstly, if you are not planning on practicing geoscience for the next while, you may move to the Non-Practicing member category. You must use the designation P. Geo. (non-practicing). Non-practicing members can serve on committees and receive all other benefits of APGO membership, except they cannot vote or hold office.

As a non-practicing member your annual dues will be $78.75 plus HST.

Note that 13% HST will be applied to all fees noted here. Non-practicing members may easily return to the Practicing member category by paying a $78.75 change of designation fee plus the normal Practicing member fee of $420.00.

Non-practicing is likely the best option if you don’t plan on actively performing geoscience, but are not fully committed to burning your boots and hanging up your hammer. You can return to active practice without a lot of fuss. Just make sure you keep up your Continuing Professional Development hours to avoid problems.

Retirement, on the other hand, is more final, but not always completely final.

Note that there is not a formal Retired member category. If you indicate you wish to retire from APGO you will be required to return your stamp and membership certificate; your certificate will be replaced by one that says ‘Life Member’, and you must use the designation P. Geo. (Retired).

As for Non-Practicing, members, Life Members can serve on committees, etc., but cannot vote or hold office. There are no annual dues.

If you have been retired for five years or less, you can ask for full practicing membership to be reinstated upon payment of the Reinstatement Fee ($183.75) plus the current Practicing member fee of $420.00, however you may have to justify what you have done to remain current during your period of retirement, and it’s possible you may have to pay back annual dues in lieu of the Reinstatement Fee.

If you have been retired for more than five years you would almost certainly have to go through the entire registration process again if you wanted to be reinstated as a Practicing member. So, different options for different situations. If you have questions about your individual situation, please feel free to contact the Registrar.

David S. Hunt, P.Geo.
President