MURAnews Winter 2026

Compiled by Kathy Overholt

MURA Walks

by Mary Gauld, Special Events Coordinator

In October, twelve of us walked around the Dundas Driving Park. It was a lovely day. We walked up to the cemetery and found some interesting markers. The Driving Park is such a lovely place to walk. You can do it fast or slow and go around as many times as you like. It's a good fallback for a walk anytime.

In November, just four of us walked the rail trail from Fortino's to Chedoke Golf Course. It wasn't a great day - one of the first cold ones. There is no photographic evidence for either of these ventures!

Our December walk was along the Chedoke Trail. We walked through the golf course, along Scenic Drive, and down the Chedoke stairs. It was an invigorating walk!

Upcoming walks:
Thursday, February 19th at 12:45pm: McMaster Nuclear Reactor
The McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) offers complimentary tours of the nuclear reactor facility to interested parties. Each tour is approximately 60 minutes in duration and is conducted by a trained guide or a Nuclear Operations & Facilities staff member. We have already reached the 20-person limit, but if you would like to be on the waiting list for a tour on a different date, you can reach Mary by text at 905-906-5604 or email gauld@mcmaster.ca.

March, April, and May walks:
Put the following dates in your calendar – and look for more information from Mary soon:

• Thursday, March 19th at 1:30pm, in Hamilton

We will meet at the Williams Fresh Cafe at 47 Discovery Drive at the Waterfront, Pier 8 park at 1:30pm. If the weather is too cold, we can still meet for coffee!

• Tuesday, April 14th at 1:30pm, at the Royal Botanical Gardens
• Tuesday, May 26th at 11:00am, along the Niagara Parkway

Ideas for future walking locations are welcome! Reach out to Mary with your ideas by text at 905-906-5604 or email at gauld@mcmaster.ca.

See you at the walks!

MURA Holiday Luncheon 2025

by Mary Gauld, Special Events Coordinator

The Annual Holiday Party was held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, with a sold-out crowd of 120. A big thank you goes out to the Alumni Office for assisting us with the registration and to the Parking Office for supplying us with parking vouchers and allowing people to park on campus early and easily.

The staff at the CIBC Hall were very professional and helpful. The meal was wonderful – plenty of festive food and the buffet lineups went along quickly.

There was lots of chatter, lots of hugs and in general, it seems that a good time was had by all.

We recommend putting next year’s Holiday Party in your calendar! The tentative date is Tuesday December 1, 2026, in the CIBC Hall – we will update you closer to the event.

Retirees in the News

Your Money/Your Health

January 2026 Pension Plan Updates

By Brian Beckberger, MURA Representative, Pension Trust Committee, and

Robert Stevens, MURA Representative, Hourly Pension Plan Committee

McMaster retirees are members of one of three pension plans: the Hourly Pension Plan, the Salaried Pension Plan 2000, and the Original Pension Plan. Each of the pension plans provides for potential increases to pensions in pay effective January 1 each year. The increases to pension are determined in accordance with the provisions of the applicable pension plan text.

In December 2025, MURA notified its members via email of increases in pensions effective January 2026 as follows:

• Annual pension increase of 2.00% for all retirees in the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 and the Original Pension Plan who retired prior to July 1, 2024. Individuals who retired between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025 received a pro-rated increase.
• In addition to the annual pension increase of 2.00%, individuals in the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 who retired as a member of Unifor Local 5555, Unit 1 and who were hired on or after May 1, 2010, received a supplementary pension increase of up to 0.902%. The supplementary pension increase received depended on the date of retirement. Individuals in this group who retired on or before November 1, 2023 received a supplementary pension increase of 0.902%. Individuals in this group who retired between December 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024 received a pro-rated increase. Individuals in this group who retired after June 30, 2024 did not receive a supplementary pension increase in January 2026.
• In addition to the pension increase of 2.00%, all other retirees in the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 and the Original Pension Plan received a supplementary pension increase of up to 1.392%. The supplementary pension increase received depended on the date of retirement. Individuals in this group who retired on or before May 1, 2023 received a supplementary pension increase of 1.392%. Individuals in this group who retired between June 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024 received a pro-rated increase. Individuals who retired after June 30, 2024 did not receive a supplementary pension increase in January 2026.
• Annual pension increase of 1.90% for all retirees in the Hourly Pension Plan who retired prior to July 1, 2024. Individuals who retired between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025 received a pro-rated increase.
• There was no supplementary pension increase for retirees of the Hourly Pension Plan.
• Individuals who retired after June 30, 2025 did not receive an increase in January 2026.

How these Annual Pension Updates are Calculated
Annual pension increases, if any, are based on the five-year average annual rate of return on the pension funds as of the previous June 30. The five-year average annual rate of return as of June 30, 2025 was 7.92% [(10.74 + 12.63 + 12.71 – 13.20 + 16.73)/5] for the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 and the Original Pension Plan and 7.90% [(12.61 + 9.82 + 16.66 – 13.57 + 13.97)/5] for the Hourly Pension Plan. Increases are paid if this average exceeds 4.50% for most members of the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 and the Original Pension Plan, 5.00% for employees hired on or after May 1, 2010 in the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 and who retired from the University as a member of Unifor Local 5555, Unit 1, and 6.00% for members in the Hourly Pension Plan. This figure is then compared against the percentage increase in the 12-month average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the previous year, and the lesser of these is the percentage pension increase. The 12-month average monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index for the year ending June 30, 2025 was 2.00%.

For employees in the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 who were hired on or after May 1, 2010 and who retired from the University as a member of Unifor Local 5555, Unit 1, the five-year average annual rate of return of 7.92%, less the 5.00% limiting factor described above, resulted in excess interest of 2.92%. Since the 12-month average CPI to June 30, 2025 of 2.00% is less than the excess interest, the pension increase for January 1, 2026 was 2.00% for these retirees.

For other members of the Salaried Pension Plan 2000 and the Original Pension Plan, the five-year average annual rate of return of 7.92%, less the 4.50% limiting factor, resulted in excess interest of 3.42%. Since the 12-month average CPI to June 30, 2025 of 2.00% is less than the excess interest, the pension increase for January 1, 2026 was 2.00% for these retirees.

For members of the Hourly Pension Plan, the five-year average annual rate of return of 7.90%, less the 6.00% limiting factor, resulted in excess interest of 1.90%. Since the 12-month average CPI to June 30, 2025 of 2.00% is greater than the excess interest, the pension increase for January 1, 2026 was 1.90% for these retirees.

Supplementary Pension Increases
Supplementary pension increases are based on the current five-year average rate of return and the previous three years of annual pension increases. If the annual pension increases were less than the CPI in any of the previous three years and if the current five-year average rate of return exceeds the limiting factors mentioned above, the supplementary pension increases are intended to allow a ‘catch-up’ to the full CPI of any of those previous three years.

Additional information on the Salaried Pension Plans and the Hourly Pension Plan can be found on the Human Resources Services website.

2025 Tax Documents

If you retired during 2025, you will receive both a T4 and a T4A tax slip:

• T4: Issued electronically by McMaster University via Mosaic for employment income earned in calendar year 2025.
• T4A: Mailed to your home address by CIBC Mellon, typically by early March, for pension income received in calendar year 2025.

If you are re-employed by McMaster University after retirement, a T4 will be issued electronically via Mosaic for employment income earned during that year.

For questions about a T4 issued by McMaster University, contact the Human Resources Contact Centre at:

• Email: hr.mcmaster@mcmaster.ca
• Phone: 905-525-9140, extension 22247.

For questions about a T4A from CIBC Mellon, contact them online or by phone at 1-800-565-0479.

Notifying Human Resources of Address Changes

Are you moving? Don't forget to update your address with McMaster University. The Human Resources Contact Centre provides retirees with a single point of contact to update their address. Upon receiving your address change, the HR Contact Centre will update the following on your behalf, as applicable:

• McMaster University Retirees Association
• Sun Life (for benefit purposes)
• CIBC Mellon (for pension purposes)
• McMaster HR System

• Phone: 905-525-9140, extension 22247
• Email: hr.mcmaster@mcmaster.ca
• Mail: Complete the Human Resources Retiree Address Change Form and mail it to the HR Contact Centre at the address on the form. NOTE: The Address Change Form is the preferred method of notifying HR. The Mosaic self-service portal will not change your address in the HR system.

Decluttering and Downsizing

By Dawn Elston

In with the new — downsize the old?
This season, many of us are surrounded by abundance: lively gatherings, rich food, and an ever-growing collection of “stuff.” As you make room for generous gifts from loved ones, it may be worth pausing to ask whether it’s also time to let a few things go.

Decluttering, the Swedish (and Canadian) way
The Swedish have a word for decluttering: döstädning (literally “death cleaning”). It means reflecting on what belongings you truly value — from household items to sentimental keepsakes — and thoughtfully letting go of what you no longer need or use. Just as important, it encourages people to start this process well before it becomes overwhelming. Margareta Magnusson’s book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, popularized the idea as a kind, practical gift to those we love.

I experienced the opposite of death cleaning with my own father at the end of his life — an experience I affectionately call The Garage of Good Intentions (full of half-finished projects and every tool imaginable). You may have your own version: the Just-In-Case Collection (should you ever need five 12-piece sets of China), or the Inherited Clutter Closet (because throwing out Grandma’s foot bath just feels wrong). I joke, but these situations are deeply familiar to many of us.

After retiring from McMaster University, I wanted to put both my professional and my personal experiences to good use. Today, I work with a downsizing and moving company in Victoria, BC, called Changing Places, supporting older adults as they move into housing that better suits their needs. Along the way, I’ve learned a few practical lessons:

Start small. Downsizing can feel emotional and overwhelming, so resist the urge to tackle the entire house at once. Choose one room — or even one drawer — to begin.

Sort intentionally. Pull items out of closets and drawers and sort them into four categories:

1. Keep: Focus on what you use and value now. Let someone else benefit from items you no longer need.
2. Donate: Local thrift stores and charitable organizations welcome donations. Cerebral Palsy and Declutter for Diabetes offer free home pickup for smaller household items.
3. Dispose: Not everything keeps its value. Some items may need to be recycled or safely discarded. Many municipalities offer free bulk-item pickup several times a year.
4. Sell: Selling items can ease the sting of letting go, though it takes time. Items like gold, silver, records, vintage hi-fi, musical instruments, tools, and sports equipment often move well online.

Why downsizing matters
One of the most overlooked benefits of downsizing is being prepared for the unexpected. A sudden illness, serious accident, or hospitalization can change a person’s needs overnight. Downsizing is a bit like insurance — you may never need it, but if you do, you’ll be very glad you are prepared. With thoughtful planning, you can decide what to keep and what to let go of on your own terms. Approached this way, downsizing becomes less about “giving things up” and more about creating space for what matters most: time together, meaningful conversations, and shared moments of connection.

You’re welcome to contact me with comments or feedback at elstond@mcmaster.ca.

courtesy of Rose Anne Prevec
Instagram: @groundhog_hill

Parking on Campus

Retiree parking permits are issued on a 12-month basis and must be renewed annually. Renew prior to your expiry date byemail,phone or by postal mail. Your transponder number is on the front of your transponder. If you have questions or have not made a note of your expiry date, please contact McMaster Parking Services by email at parking@mcmaster.ca or at 905-525-9140 ext. 24232.

Parking lots with the entry gate arms open operate on the HONK app. These lots do not work with transponders or parking Exit Ticket passes, so please do not park in a lot with the arm up or you will receive a ticket.

Computer Tips & Tricks

Phishing and Online Scam Links

By Diana Parker

The type of internet scam that relies on tricking people into believing that they're working with a genuine service is called "Phishing". Phishing is defined as deceptive messages that appear legitimate but are designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive data such as a password or financial information. These scams range from the laughable to the dangerously believable.

Recently, I googled a vendor I'd used before and started my purchase. The experience felt a little weird. They offered a discount coupon in exchange for my email - not uncommon - but after I entered my information, the discount code was for a very limited time, and a 10-minute timer started a count down. At first, I felt a sense of urgency to complete my business, but then I pulled back and reconsidered the uncomfortable feeling I had. I backed up to my original search results and realized that the actual vendor I wanted was the THIRD choice. The first two were using similar domain names and similar colours and themes. Just close enough to mislead when I wasn't being careful. I was lucky that I left before entering any more personal or financial information; all they got was my email address, and I'll need to be extra careful with emails relating to that vendor in future.

Some cautions you should be taking with every online business encounter:

• Don't click on links without checking the website or email domain carefully. Remember that bad actors can use obscure fonts to pretend to be a legitimate domain
• Don’t open links without inspecting them
• Don't open attachments unless you are sure they are from a trusted source
• Be very wary of artificial time pressure, especially very short time offers
• Be aware of missing information, bad grammar, or if something just feels "off"

Phishing can come from fake websites mimicking genuine business; emails or phone calls that pretend to come from real companies; and these days, text messages. The goal is always the same: to make you give the hackers your data.

Keep aware how services and businesses legitimately communicate with you.
If you already have a relationship with a company, they know the name you used to register with them. “Hi Dear” and “Dear Customer” are vague salutations that can signify a scam. Using part of your email address as a name (e.g. "Dear parkerd") can be another flag.

Beware of information requests. Legitimate companies do not ask you for your login information, security questions, or other such information. None of these are needed for the company to manipulate your account – they have the backend tools for that.

Be on the lookout for grammar mistakes. The bigger the company, the more money and time they’ll have dedicated to ensuring their communications are clean and error-free. Scammers count on the fact that many of us are reading quickly, and we may gloss over their errors.

Phishing emails will push you to click the provided links. Those links may lead to a cloned website where any information you enter will be stolen. Even when I'm expecting a parcel, I don't click on 'track my package' links directly. If anything, I'll find my own way to the courier's website and manually put in my package tracking number. Similarly, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not usually phone a taxpayer. If I was even slightly concerned it was real, I would not verify my identity to the caller, but hang up and either log in independently to my online CRA account, or look on the CRA's website for a legitimate phone number to call to verify.
I used to be fond of link shortening services like tinyurl and bit.ly. Sadly, these are now risky services as they're used to bypass filters and firewalls or simply to make it difficult to check out bad URLs before clicking. I now avoid links that use link shorteners.

What to do if you clicked a bad link or opened a phishing attachment

• Run an antivirus scan
• If you entered any bank details, notify your bank (or credit card provider) of what happened
• If you entered any login data, go to the website directly (and not via any links), and change the password and other login information, including your password reset questions
• Check that your personal data on the affected account, including password recovery, phone number and postal address, are all still correct. Remove any authorized devices you don’t know as hackers may have authorized their own
• Activate two-factor authentication where possible
• Cancel any orders you didn't make
• Remove credit card information stored on compromised accounts; consider reporting those cards to the provider as compromised
• Run another antivirus scan a few days after the incident in case there was a delay trigger
• Warn others about what happened to you. This can help others avoid falling for similar scams.

We need to remove the stigma of falling for phishing so we can all fight it together.
Having external backups of the data on your devices will help minimize the impact of clicking on compromising links, as well as providing security in case of hardware failure. Backing up my laptop is one of my regular monthly tasks.

More information about phishing, including a link to a phishing training module on Avenue to Learn (A2L), is available from the McMaster University Technology Services (UTS) webpage: What is Phishing. To access the training module:

• Scroll down to the “Training” section of the webpage
• Click on the “Complete the Phishing Module” arrow
• Login to A2L with your active MacID
• Click on the “Office 365” button
• Click on the “Open Course” button under the Phishing Awareness at McMaster University box

The A2L course and short quiz will take about 20 minutes to half an hour to complete. Please note that if you receive a suspicious email to your McMaster email account, forward it to: is-spam@mcmaster.ca. If you believe that you have accidentally disclosed or lost your McMaster credentials, please contact the UTS Service Desk immediately.

Additionally, the following Government of Canada training links (getcybersafe.ca) will also help you recognize and avoid these scams.

Phishing Awareness Training:

• Phishing: Don’t get reeled in
• Signs of a phishing campaign: How to keep yourself safe
• Google Phishing Quiz

What’s Happening at Mac

By Judith Shedden

McMaster Museum of Art Wins Ontario’s Exhibition of the Year Award

The McMaster Museum of Art, M(M)A, has earned a major honour, winning Ontario’s Exhibition of the Year award for its Fall 2024 exhibition: The Clichettes: Lips, Wigs, and Politics. The Clichettes were a group of McMaster faculty members, Janice Hladki, Louise Garfield, and Johanna Householder, active between 1978 and 1993. Their performances challenged cultural ideas about femininity and masculinity through costumes, satire, drag, theatre, and dance. The winning M(M)A retrospective was an impressive collection and presentation of costumes, props, videos, and photographs.

Presented at the 48th Annual Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries Awards, this significant achievement places the M(M)A ahead of some of the province’s largest art galleries. The M(M)A team, pictured accepting the award, is (from left to right) Samuel de Lange, Jenn Helsdon, Hope Wickett, Nicole Levaque, Julie Bronson, Melissa La Porte, Carol Podedworny, Rob Gray, and Betty Julian. The winning exhibition was curated by Ivana Dizdar, produced in partnership with V-Tape, and encompassed a wide collaboration that included the M(M)A team as well as contributions from alumni and community partners.

For Clichettes member Janice Hladki, the recognition is deeply meaningful. “The Clichettes were always about pushing boundaries with humour and an unwavering dedication to collaboration, performance, and feminist social critique,” she said. “To have this retrospective embraced so widely and to see our work resonate with new audiences decades later is really moving.”

photos courtesy of Nora Gaskin

For more information, see the McMaster News article “McMaster Museum of Art wins Exhibition of the Year, topping Ontario’s biggest galleries” and the M(M)A website “McMaster Museum of Art wins Exhibition of the Year for The Clichettes: Lips, Wigs and Politics”.

Lost on McMaster campus! Test your spatial skills!

How well do you know McMaster campus? Can you recognize (or guess!) the location based on a photograph?

Research at McMaster

By Dawnelle Hawes

Health & Medicine: McMaster research team digitizes more than 100 years of Canadian infectious disease data

The new, publicly accessible database can be used to study the patterns of disease incidence and strengthen public health preparedness. December 17, 2025

Canada was officially considered measles-free in 1998 with few reported cases since then. However, in 2025, there were 5,353 confirmed and probable cases of measles (compared to 147 cases in 2024). The outbreak seemed to have originated in New Brunswick in October 2024 and spread when the visitors returned home.¹

This outbreak emphasizes the significance of current research on infectious diseases undertaken by David Earn, professor of Mathematics and Statistics, and his team at McMaster University. The aim of their research is to “study patterns of disease incidence, to learn from historical surveillance efforts, and to strengthen public health preparedness.”²

Twenty-five years ago, Professor Earn embarked on his quest for historical public health data. The storage area at the Ontario Ministry of Health housed documents that contained historical information on the temporal and geographical spread of infectious disease (cases of measles, polio, tuberculosis, and influenza among others). These public health documents brought to light 50 years of weekly infectious disease incidence reports for the period between 1939-1989. Earn personally tackled the immense task of uncovering handwritten documents that lay overlooked at the Ministry, as OMH didn’t have the time or resources to search these archives. He was convinced that this information could help “contextualize current and future infectious disease outbreaks.”²

The study picked up speed in 2021 with a network grant through NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) that was stimulated by the COVID pandemic. This grant afforded the opportunity to add Dr. Steven Walker to the McMaster team as a data scientist. Dr. Walker was tasked with developing data structures that would be more conducive to analysis and discovery.

A prodigious effort on the part of the research team allowed Professor Earn to string “together more than 100 years of historical epidemiological information” producing a new dataset — the Canadian Notifiable Disease Incidence Dataset, or “CANDID” — which “contains more than a million infectious disease incidence counts that date back as far as 1903.”²

Professor Earn, now a member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, hopes that the new dataset will promote changes to the way infectious diseases are reported. Currently, PHAC (Public Health Agency of Canada) produces only annual and national data (not weekly or regional) with the intent of protecting patient privacy. Professor Earn, however, feels that privacy can be maintained in the new dataset as no information identifying individual patients is contained in the aggregate counts.

References

1. Week 50 (December 7 to 13, 2025). Weekly surveillance reports and monitoring maps for measles and rubella. Last updated: 2025-12-22. Accessed at: Measles and rubella weekly monitoring report, Government of Canada
2. McMaster research team digitizes more than 100 years of Canadian infectious disease data. Available at: McMaster News, by Blake Dillon, December 17, 2025
   

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