# 2017-049 - Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) , Terms of Service

Case summary

F&R Date: 2017–07–18

The grievor accepted a Continuing Engagement (CE) prolonging his Terms of Service (ToS) beyond his Intermediate Engagement of 20 Years (IE20) in order to serve out obligatory service he incurred following a voluntary occupation transfer to the fire fighter occupation, which is subject to a restricted retirement date/restricted retirement period (RRD/RRP). The Director Military Careers Administration (DMCA) brought a premature end to the IE by replacing it with the CE. This rendered the grievor ineligible to an immediate unreduced annuity upon completion of his service under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA). The grievor maintained that he had been advised the CE would have no impact on his eligibility and requested the reversal of the CE and reinstatement of the IE20.

The Director General Military Careers, as the Initial Authority (IA) rejected the grievance, determining that the grievor knowingly and without duress accepted all the conditions of his occupational transfer, including the terms of the CE offer. He concluded that the CE became effective on the date it was signed, and that it had the irrevocable effect of ending the grievor's IE20. Finally, the IA determined that DMCA's decision to not revoke the CE was correct.

The Committee determined that the grievor would have been eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity after completion of 20 years of continuous service, had the CE not replaced the IE20, as per the protection clause found at paragraph 16.1(a) of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulations. Since his IE20 was prematurely replaced by the CE, the grievor's eligibility for an immediate unreduced annuity is either deferred to the age of 60 or on completion of 25 years of service (9,131 days of paid service).

The Committee also found DMCA's practice contrary to the relevant sections of the Chief Military Personnel Instruction 05/05 (CMP Instr 05/05), governing Regular Force ToS. The Committee also determined that CMP Instr 05/05 clearly specify that in these circumstances the CE must follow but not replace the IE20, regardless of the date on which the military member signs the ToS form. Furthermore CANFORGEN 031/09 states that a CE is “projected,” in other words, that it may be accepted at any moment, but that it does not begin until completion of the IE20. The Committee therefore found that the way in which the CE was administered contravened the prescribed policy.

The Committee also noted that the promulgation of CANFORGEN 231/15 on 21 December 2015 reduced the period of RRP for the fire fighter occupation by two years. Such that, in the grievor's circumstances, bringing its end date back within the timeframe of his original IE20, rendering any extension to the grievor's TOS needless.

On the basis of this fact alone the Committee recommended that the CDS nullify the CE and re-instated the original IE20, thus making the grievor eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity at the end of his service under the protection clause of the CFSA.

FA decision summary

In September 2017, the grievor's original IE20 was reinstated and his CE was cancelled.  Notwithstanding the fact that these actions rendered the grievance moot, the Final Authority (FA), the Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, rendered a decision at the grievor's request which confirmed this fact.