# 2018-012 Pay and Benefits, Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, Review of the Terms of Service Offered to Re-Enrollees Prior to May 2005, Terms of Service

Case summary

F&R Date: 2019-03-18

In March 2005, the grievor accepted terms of service (ToS) applicable to re-enrollees with assurances from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that she would be eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity upon completing 20 combined years of pensionable service, in accordance with the provisions of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) in force at the time. Many years later, the CAF informed her that she would not be eligible to those benefits due to legislative amendments made to the CFSA in 2007. As redress, the grievor requested a review of her situation and be deemed eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity upon completing her ToS.

The Initial Authority (IA) found that the grievor's circumstances do not meet the grandfathering criteria of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulation in force since 1 March 2007. As such, the grievor will have to serve 9,131 days (25 years) to be entitled to an immediate unreduced annuity upon her release from the CAF. The IA recognized that the CAF offered the grievor specific ToS in 2005 with the intent of rendering her eligible to those benefits, but concluded that unfortunately changes brought to pension regulations in 2007 will not allow it.

The Committee found that the CAF offered the grievor specific ToS with the intent of rendering her eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity upon completion. However, at that time, the CAF had not informed those responsible to make ToS offers of impending changes to pension regulations known to the CAF that would later preclude her eligibility. Upon review of a number of similar grievances, the Committee concluded that the CAF overlooked the circumstances of re-enrollees in the transition to a new ToS structure and revised pension regulations. The Committee made a systemic recommendation in that regard.

Given the preceding, the Committee found that the grievor had been aggrieved and recommended that the Chief of the Defence Staff replace the ToS she was offered in 2005 by an Intermediate Engagement of 20 years.

FA decision summary

The Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, acting as the Final Authority (FA), denied the grievance. He found that in 2003, Director Military Careers Administration and Resource Management and the grievor's Branch offered the grievor two consecutive SEs, taking effect six years and seventeen years in the future, with the understanding that these would permit her to complete twenty years of service and become eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity. They did not offer an Intermediate Engagement of 20 years because she was a re-enrollee; the CAF policy did not permit it. However, annuity entitlement is determined by the legislation and policy in force at the moment when a CAF member releases. The grievor was no longer entitled following the 2007 changes and she did not meet the criteria for grandfathering. The FA concluded that the only suitable remedy was to offer her the opportunity to serve for an additional five years in order to once again become eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity.