# 2018-039 Careers, Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, Re-Enrollment, Terms of Service

Case summary

F&R Date: 2019-08-07

The grievor, who is a re-enrollee, accepted a Fixed Period of Service (FPS) in 2004 that would bring him to 20 combined years of Regular Force (Reg F) service. Based on the established practice at the time, the grievor and his chain of command understood that those Terms of Service (TOS) would render him eligible to receive an immediate, unreduced annuity if he retired upon completing that FPS. In 2017, the grievor was informed that, given the changes to pension legislation that took effect on 1 March 2007, he now has to serve 9,131 days (25 years) of paid service to be so entitled. As redress, the grievor asked that his eligibility upon completing his FPS be restored.

The Initial Authority found that the grievor's Terms of Service (ToS) were administered in accordance with the applicable policy and denied redress.

The Committee noted that pension benefits are determined in accordance with the provisions of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) as enacted at the time the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member retires from the Reg F. The Committee found that the grievor was not eligible to an immediate, unreduced annuity upon completing 20 combined years of Reg F service, as his circumstances did not meet either the general provisions of the CFSA or the grandfathering provisions set out in the amended Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulations (CFSR), which also came into effect on 1 March 2007.

The Committee reviewed the TOS policy, noting that since the early 1990s re-enrolled non-commissioned members and officers were respectively offered successive FPS or Short Engagements to bring them to 20 combined years of Reg F service. This practice was instituted at a time when the CAF were undergoing a Force Reduction Program and aimed at ensuring re-enrollees competed for service beyond 20 years like all other CAF members. By virtue of a provision in the previous CFSA, if the Service Pension Board deemed the reason for retirement to be for economy and efficiency, which it did for re-enrollees retiring upon 20 combined years of service, the CAF member was eligible to an immediate, unreduced annuity. This was no longer possible for releases that took effect on or after 1 March 2007 with the enactment of the amended CFSA.

The Committee also found that, unknown to those responsible to administer TOS, the grandfathering provisions set out in the amended CFSR provided that CAF members with previous Reg F service must have accrued 10 years of qualifying service as of 1 March 2007 be eligible for grandfathering. As a result, until the new CAF TOS structure came in effect on 1 May 2005, a number of re-enrollees, like the grievor, continued to be offered FPS under the premise they would be entitled to an immediate, unreduced annuity upon completing their FPS, but were informed to the contrary many years later.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority (FA) afford redress by offering additional TOS that will allow the grievor to accrue 9,131 days of paid service so he may qualify for an immediate unreduced annuity.

FA decision summary

The FA, the Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that the grievance be partially upheld and that the grievor be offered additional TOS that will allow him to accrue 9,131 days of paid service so that he may qualify for an immediate unreduced annuity.