Release: Active member -Canadian Armed Forces pensions 

At release, the type of pension benefit you receive depends on your age and pensionable service or on your Canadian Forces (CF) service:

• If you are age 60 or older with at least two years of pensionable service, you release with an immediate pension
• If you are any age and have at least 25 years of CF service, you release with an immediate pension
• If you are any age and have less than two years of pensionable service, you release without being eligible to immediately start a pension
• If you are under age 50 with at least two years of pensionable service, you release without being eligible to immediately start a pension

You are entitled to an immediate unreduced pension when you:

• have 25 years (9,131 days) of CF service
• are age 60 with at least two years of pensionable service
• are age 55 with 30 years of pensionable service
• have 2 years of pensionable service and are disabled on release or
• are involuntarily released due to a reduction in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and either:
  • have 20 years of pensionable service or
  • are age 55 or older with 10 years of pensionable service

An unreduced pension is calculated according to the pension formula.

You are entitled to an immediate reduced pension if you don't meet any of the above criteria, are age 50 or older and have at least two years of pensionable service.

Check out the Scenarios to see examples of different situations at release.

Your pension is calculated using formulas.

For members of the Regular Force pension plan

• The lifetime pension formula uses your pensionable service and average earnings
• The bridge benefit formula uses the average maximum pensionable earnings AMPE or your average earnings (whichever is lower) and your pensionable service

Annual lifetime pension

Annual bridge benefit paid until you reach age 65 or until you become eligible for a Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan disability pension

For members in the Reserve Force Pension Plan

• The lifetime pension formula uses your pensionable earnings
• The bridge benefit formula uses the average Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) or your pensionable earnings (whichever is lower)

Annual lifetime pension

Annual bridge benefit paid until you reach age 65 or until you become eligible for a Canada Pension Plan /Quebec Pension Plan disability pension

Check out the Scenarios to see examples of different situations at release.

You may also be entitled to severance pay when you release (Not applicable to Reservists in the Reserve Force Pension Plan).

Contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre for an estimate of your pension.

If you are age 50 or older, have at least two years of pensionable service and are not entitled to an unreduced pension, you are eligible for a reduced pension. Your pension is reduced to take into account the fact that it will begin sooner than expected and you will receive it for a longer period of time.

Your pension is reduced for every year and fraction of a year by whichever of the following calculations provides the lowest reduction.

1. 5% × (60 minus your age) or
2. if you have 25 or more years of pensionable service and are at least age 50 when you stop participating in the plan, the greater of:
   • 5% × (55 minus your age) or
   • 5% × (30 minus your pensionable service)

In the reduction calculation, your age and pensionable service are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a year.

This is how it works:

Scenario: Jacky releases at age 52 with 25 years of pensionable service. To determine her reduction, consider which of the calculations below provides the lowest reduction:

Calculation 1

40% reduction, which means Jacky would receive a pension of 60% of the amount from the formula.

or

25% reduction, which means Jacky would receive a pension of 75% of the amount from the formula

Answer: The 25% reduction is the lowest, so Jacky gets 75% of her pension according to the formula.

Your most recent personal Pension Benefits Statement provides you with a summary of your entitlements and their approximate value.

This can be found on the Pension Portal, which can help you estimate your yearly and monthly pension based on the information you enter.

You may also contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre to get an estimate of your pension.

If you release before age 50 and have at least 2 years of pensionable service, you are entitled to the value of your pension earned up to the date of your release. Your earned pension includes the share of your pension paid by the Federal Government on your behalf. This pension is a valuable part of your overall compensation as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Although you may not need this money for many years, you have an important choice to make about your earned pension.

If you are not entitled to an unreduced pension on release and you have more than two years of pensionable service you are entitled to a deferred pension, payable at age 60 or as early as age 50 with a reduction (see calculation above).

If you are entitled to a deferred pension and are under age 50 on release you may opt for a transfer value instead.

A transfer value

Transfer the value of your earned pension out of the pension plan as a lump sum. The amount of money you transfer is called your "transfer value". You can choose to transfer the lump-sum, to the maximum allowed by the Income Tax Act (ITA), to:

• a locked-in retirement plan, such as a locked-in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or a locked-in retirement account (LIRA)
• an insurance company, to purchase a pension or
• to your new employer's registered pension plan (RPP), if that plan accepts transfers

Consider carefully when making your decision.

Check out the Scenarios to see examples of deferred pensions and transfer values at release.

You may also be entitled to severance pay when you release (not applicable to Reservists in the Reserve Force Pension Plan).

You receive a refund of your contributions, plus interest. You can choose to:

• take your contributions, plus interest, in cash less income tax or
• transfer your contributions, plus interest, to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). If you do, no income tax is deducted

Once the Government of Canada Pension Centre is notified of your release, the Pension Centre will provide you with a personalized Pension Benefit Options Statement outlining your pension choices.

Find more information at Pension Entitlement.

Contact your Pension Centre at the Federal Public Service or at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for information on whether or not you can transfer or buy back your service.

The decision of whether or not to transfer your pension credits to the Federal Public Service or to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is a personal one and depends on many factors. You may wish to consult an independent financial advisor before making the decision.

The following table lists some of the questions you may wish to ask yourself if you are considering transferring your pension credits:

Yes. You can transfer the value of your pension to another employer's pension plan, if that plan accepts the transfer. Consider your decision carefully, since it may not always be to your advantage. Inquire with your new employer about how your transferred funds will be treated.

If you leave the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) before you are eligible to start collecting your pension, you will need to make a number of financial decisions, including what to do with the money you have accumulated in your pension plan. These decisions can affect your financial security for the rest of your life. Even if you have only a few years in the CAF, your pension is a valuable asset and can make a difference in financial security at retirement down the road.

It is important to weigh your options carefully to make an informed decision. Be sure to take your entire financial situation into account before making this decision.

For assistance with these decisions, you may wish to seek the advice of an independent financial advisor. An independent advisor can be a financial planner, an actuary or an accountant whom you trust to give you impartial advice and who is qualified to do so. However, remember that as a CAF member, you have exclusive access to Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) Financial Services, a division of the Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services. Their team of certified financial planners and licensed insurance representatives can help you access your financial status at time of release.

Your participation in the pension plan ends and the Government of Canada Pension Centre will advise you of your pension options.

Contact Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre for more information.

Contact Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre for an estimate of your deferred pension if you release today or in the future.

1. Buy-back estimate

If you have not missed the buy-back deadline and you previous service that you can buy back, you may wish to examine the benefit of buying back that service. Buying back service may increase your pension, deferred pension or transfer value. It may also increase the pension payable to your survivor or children and you can make payments in monthly life-insured instalments up to age 65 or for 20 years, whichever is longer.

For more information see Service buyback

2. Pension estimate

To obtain an estimate of your pension entitlement and the choices available to you at release, contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre

3. Consider consulting an independent financial advisor

To assist you with your decisions, you may wish to seek the advice of an independent financial advisor

4. Contact your Unit

Contact your Unit to ensure that your release date has been recorded.

No. If you transfer from the Reserve Force to the Regular Force, you begin to contribute to the Regular Force Pension Plan. Service for which you contributed to the Reserve Force Pension Plan or service that you bought back will be recognized as pensionable service under the Regular Force Pension Plan. If you are paying for your buy-back in monthly instalments, you continue making those payments under the Regular Force Pension Plan. Go to the Regular Force section of the website for more information.

Service in the Reserve Force Pension Plan for which you contributed or bought back counts towards your pensionable service in the Regular Force Pension Plan in two different ways:

In the pension formula

In calculating the amount of your pension according to the formula, only the number of days when you are paid is considered. For example: if you served one day per week, one year of Reserve Force service will be equal to one-fifth of a year of pensionable service

Eligibility for pension and amount of reduction

Your Reserve Force service is counted in full in determining when you are eligible to start an immediate pension and in determining the amount of reduction, if you release and are eligible for a reduced pension. For example, one year of Reserve Force service will be equal to one year of pensionable service in the Regular Force Pension Plan, no matter how many days you served

For Canadian Forces (CF) service, each day of paid Reserve Force service counts for one day of CF service, except:

• days of training or duty of fewer than six hours count for 0.5 days
• days of Class "A" service count for 1.4 days
• periods before 1 April 1999, when the length of the period can be verified but not the number of days, each day of the period counts as 0.25 of a day and
• during service without pay for maternity and parental reasons, days of CF service are counted based on CF service in the 12 months before the leave

Contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre and let them know you are transferring

No. You cannot receive a pension from the Reserve Force Pension Plan and contribute to the Regular Force Pension Plan at the same time. If you join the Regular Force, your Reserve Force pension stops and you begin to contribute to the Regular Force Pension Plan. Service for which you contributed to the Reserve Force Pension Plan or service that you bought back will be recognized as pensionable service under the Regular Force Pension Plan.