Ottawa – The federal public service pension plan, established through the Public Service Superannuation Act, provides employees of the federal public service and more than 60 other participating organizations, including the three territorial governments, with an income payable upon retirement. Benefits are generally based on an employee’s salary, pensionable service, and age. As of March 31, 2023, there were almost 400,000 active members in the plan.
Normally, the date an individual becomes a member of the public service pension plan determines when they will be eligible to receive an unreduced pension benefit:
- Individuals who became a plan member on or before December 31, 2012, are eligible to receive an unreduced pension benefit if they leave the public service at age 60 or over with at least 2 years of pensionable service (or age 55 or over with at least 30 years of pensionable service).
- Individuals who became a plan member on or after January 1, 2013, are eligible to receive an unreduced pension benefit if they leave the public service at age 65 or over with at least 2 years of pensionable service (or age 60 or over with at least 30 years of pensionable service).
The pension plan also offers a special operational service program, which allows certain eligible plan members to retire earlier with an immediate unreduced pension after completing 25 years of actual operational service, or at age 50 with at least 10 years of actual and 10 years of “deemed” operational service. This special retirement benefit is currently only available to employees of Correctional Service Canada working in a federal correctional institution. Similar provisions are also available to members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
On December 21, 2023, the Public Service Pension Advisory Committee (PSPAC) provided a recommendation to the President of the Treasury Board on expanding the operational service program to provide earlier pension eligibility to certain additional occupational groups who promote and protect the safety and security of Canadians.
The PSPAC is the legislated committee established pursuant to the PSSA to consult with employee representatives and provide advice to the President of the Treasury Board on the administration, design and funding of the pension plan. The Committee includes representatives of employees and retirees as well as the employer. The PSPAC conducted a review of occupations for consideration before providing its final recommendation to the President of the Treasury Board.
On June 13, 2024, acting on the PSPAC’s recommendations, the Government of Canada announced plans to introduce legislation in the fall to expand earlier pension eligibility to frontline employees in the following groups:
- Firefighters (federal and territorial governments)
- Paramedics (territorial governments)
- Correctional service employees (territorial governments)
- Border services officers (federal government)
- Parliamentary protection officers (federal government)
- Search and rescue technicians (federal government)
Providing the opportunity to retire after 25 years of service recognizes the demanding nature of the day-to-day duties for these occupational groups, who have a critical role in promoting and protecting the safety and security of Canadians.