Grandfathered Employees

The following information is intended to provide you, the employer, with an understanding of the full-time and part-time grandfather provisions established with respect to employment and eligibility to contribute status before the legislative changes that were implemented effective. The eligibility to contribute status of grandfathered employees may change depending on their term of employment and their Assigned Work Week.

On this page

• Grandfather protection defined
• Full-time grandfather protection: Average assigned work week of 30 or more hours per week at July 4, 1994
• Part-time grandfather protection: Average assigned work week of 12 hours or more but less than 30 Hours per week at July 4, 1994
• Part-time grandfather protection: Average assigned work week of less than 12 hours per week at July 4, 1994
• Acting appointment: Part-time employees who temporarily accept full-time employment
• Part-time grandfather protection: Option to contribute under the public service pension plan

Grandfather protection defined

The term grandfathered (as in "grandfather" provision) is used to indicate that specific employees have certain established rights with respect to their employment or pension status prior to the legislative changes which have been implemented.

For all employees Taken-on-strength (TOS) prior to July 4, 1994: effective July 4, 1994, they retain the employment and eligibility status (grandfather protection) that applied to them immediately prior to July 4, 1994.

Grandfathered employees are divided into three groups depending on the Assigned work week (AWW).

The following sections briefly explain how the groups are divided, what employment and eligibility status are retained and the circumstances under which employees in each group will lose their grandfather protection for pension purposes.

Full-time grandfather protection: Average assigned work week of 30 or more hours per week at July 4, 1994

Employees working an average AWW of 30 hours or more per week on or before July 4, 1994 continue to be considered full-time for pension purposes, and retain their grandfather protection unless their hours of work go below 30 hours per week or there is a break in their service of more than one day.

Pre-1994 Service of 30+ hours considered full-time

1. If a grandfathered full-time employee has a break in service of more than 1 day, he is no longer grandfathered. The grandfathered service accrued prior to the break in service remains as full-time service.

Should he become re-employed, his status is determined under the new part-time or full-time provisions in effect since July 4, 1994.

2. If a grandfathered full-time employee is appointed to a position where he is required to work less than 30 hours per week, he remains a plan member under the new part-time provision (as long as the average number of hours per week is 12 or more and all other eligibility requirements are met). The previous grandfathered service remains grandfathered as full-time service.

If the employee is later required to work 30 or more hours per week (but less than the Schedule work week [SWW]), he is no longer considered full-time and he is no longer grandfathered. The employee continues to be covered under the new provision in effect since July 4, 1994.

Example

• TOS and date of becoming a plan member effective November 12, 1990 (37.5/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective June 28, 1993 (30.0/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective September 18, 1995 (22.5/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective June 3, 1996 (30.0/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective October 7, 1996 (37.5/37.5)
  1. Service from November 12, 1990 to July 3, 1994 is full-time contributory service
  2. Service from July 4, 1994 to September 17, 1995 is grandfathered full-time contributory service
  3. Service from September 18, 1995 to October 6, 1996 is contributory part-time service (grandfathering protection as a full-time plan member ceased September 18, 1995)
  4. Service commencing on October 7, 1996 is full-time contributory service, as it meets the definition of full-time under the new part-time or full-time provisions in effect since July 4, 1994

Part-time grandfather protection: Average assigned work week w of 12 hours or more but less than 30 Hours per week at July 4, 1994

Employees working an average of 12 hours or more but less than 30 hours per week on or before July 4, 1994 continue to be considered part-time non-active plan members, and retain the grandfathering non-active plan member protection unless:

• they complete an option to become a plan member under the public service pension plan: PWGSC-TPSGC 2478 Election to Become a Contributor to the Public Service Pension Plan form 
• their hours of work increase to 30 or more hours per week
• there is a break in service of more than one day

Loss of grandfather part-time protection

1. If a grandfathered part-time employee has a break in service of more than 1 day, he is no longer grandfathered. Should he become re-employed, his status is covered under the new provision in effect since July 4, 1994
2. If after July 4, 1994, a grandfathered part-time employee is appointed to a full-time indeterminate or part-time indeterminate position of 30 hours or more, he is no longer considered grandfathered part-time and is required to contribute under the public service pension plan

If the employee is later required to revert to less than 30 hours per week, he remains a plan member under the new part-time provision (as long as the average number of hours per week is 12 or more and all other eligibility requirements are met). He is no longer considered grandfathered and continues to be covered under the new part-time or full-time provisions in effect since July 4, 1994.

Example

• TOS indeterminate part-time effective June 21, 1993 (22.5/37.5)
• Appointed to a part-time indeterminate position effective September 11, 1995 (30.0/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective October 1, 1996 (22.5/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective December 16, 1996 (30.0/37.5)
• Change in AWW effective March 3, 1997 (37.5/37.5)
  • Service from June 21, 1993 to July 3, 1994 is part-time non-contributory service
  • Service from July 4, 1994 to September 10, 1995 is grandfathered part-time non-contributory service
  • Service from September 11, 1995 to September 30, 1996 is part-time contributory service under the new part-time provision in effect since July 4, 1994. The grandfather protection as a part-time non-active plan member ceased on September 11, 1995
  • Service from October 1, 1996 to March 2, 1997 is part-time contributory service under the new part-time provision in effect since July 4, 1994
  • Service commencing March 3, 1997 is full-time contributory service as it meets the definition of full-time under the new part-time provision in effect since July 4, 1994

Exception

Grandfathered part-time employees who temporarily accept full-time employment (acting appointment) do not become subject to the pension plan unless the full-time employment is extended to more than 3 months or the initial full-time appointment is for a period of more than 3 months.

Part-time grandfather protection: Average assigned work week of less than 12 hours per week at July 4, 1994

Employees working an average of less than 12 hours per week continue to be considered part-time non-active plan members and retain the grandfathering protection.

However, should the working hours increase to 12 or more but less than 30 hours per week, employees now have the option to opt to become plan members under the public service pension plan. The option period for such an option expires on the later of July 4, 1996 or 6 months after the day on which a written notice is sent to the employee stating that the employee is eligible to make such an option.

These grandfathered part-time employees retain the non-contributory grandfathering protection unless:

• there is a break in service of more than 1 day
• their hours of work increase to 30 or more hours per week
• if and when they become eligible to opt to become a plan member, they exercise that option

Acting appointment: Part-time employees who temporarily accept full-time employment

Grandfathered part-time employees who temporarily accept full-time employment do not necessarily become subject to the pension plan, as long as the full-time employment does not extend beyond three months.

In the case of an acting appointment, if the initial appointment is for a period of 3 months or less, the employee would not become a plan member until the day after completing 3 months in an acting position. However, if the initial acting appointment is for a period of more than 3 months, contributions would be required from the effective date of the appointment, providing the requirement for the 6-month qualifying period has been met.

Example 1

• TOS in a part-time indeterminate position effective February 8, 1993 (20.0/37.5)
• Acting appointment from July 8, 1996 to October 4, 1996 (30.0/37.5)
• Appointment extended from October 7, 1996 to December 20, 1996 (30.0/37.5)
• Loses grandfathered non-active plan member status and becomes a plan member effective October 8, 1996, the day after completing 3 months in an acting position. Also, the employee has been substantially continuously employed for more than 6 months, so he meets the eligibility criteria to become a plan member

Example 2

• TOS in a part-time indeterminate position effective May 9, 1994 (25/37.5)
• Acting full-time appointment from March 18, 1996 to August 16, 1996 (37.5/37.5)
• Loses grandfathered non-active plan member status and becomes a plan member effective March 18, 1996, the effective date of the acting appointment for a period of more than 3 months. Also, the employee has been substantially continuously employed for more than 6 months, so he meets the eligibility criteria to become a plan member

Example 3

• TOS in a part-time indeterminate position effective June 14, 1994 (20.0/40.0)
• Acting full-time appointment from October 6, 1994 to October 24, 1994 (40.0/40.0).
• Acting full-time appointment extended from October 25, 1994 to November 12, 1994 (40.0/40.0)
• Acting appointment extended from November 13, 1994 to March 24, 1995 (40.0/40.0)
• Loses grandfathered part-time status effective November 13, 1994, as the appointment is for a period of more than 3 months
• Becomes a plan member effective December 14, 1994, as it is not until this date that the employee has been substantially continuously employed for more than 6 months and meets the eligibility criteria to become a plan member

Example 4

• TOS in a part-time indeterminate position effective March 17, 1994 (10.0/40.0)
• Acting appointment from June 24, 1998 to August 25, 1998 (32.0/40.0)
• Acting appointment extended from August 26, 1998 to October 20, 1998 (32.0/40.0)
• Term appointment from October 21, 1998 to January 22, 1999 (24.0/40.0)
• Loses grandfathered part-time status effective September 24, 1998, the day after completing 3 months in the acting position
• Becomes a plan member (part-time subject to new provisions) effective December 24, 1998, upon completing 6 months of substantially continuous employment and upon meeting the eligibility criteria to become a plan member

Acting appointments prior to July 4, 1994

Prior to July 4, 1994, if a part-time employee had been appointed to an acting full-time position for 5 or more days, that period of service would count in calculating the period of 6 months of substantially continuous employment (which term employees must complete before contributing to the pension plan). That employee would become a plan member on the next full-time acting appointment of 5 days or more and would continue to contribute on every acting full-time appointment of 5 days or more after that. Periods of full-time acting appointments of less than 5 days would be treated as part-time and the employee would be considered to have been employed for the average number of hours of work per week established for his substantive part-time position. Likewise, after having been made a plan member on the basis of a full-time acting appointment, the employee would only subsequently be required to contribute on the basis of full-time acting appointments of 5 days or more.

Example

• 14/11/92 to 24/06/93 PT… 20 hrs
• 25/06/93 to 23/07/93 FT… 40 hrs 5 + days
• 24/07/93 to 31/10/93 PT… 20 hrs
• 01/11/93 to 12/11/93 FT… 40 hrs 5 + days
• 13/11/93 to 30/01/94 PT… 20 hrs
• 31/01/94 to 11/02/94 FT… 40 hrs 5 + days
• 12/02/94 to 29/05/94 PT… 20 hrs
• 30/05/94 to 03/06/94 FT… 40 hrs 5 + days
• 04/06/94 to 03/07/94 PT… 20 hrs
• 04/07/94 to 22/07/94 FT… 40 hrs 5 + days
• 23/07/94 to 99/99/99 PT… 20 hrs

In this case, the employee's first full-time acting appointment, effective June 25, 1993, is for 5 days or more, so we would start calculating the 6 months of substantially continuous service from that date. However, since the employee is working part-time on December 25, 1993, the first opportunity for that employee to contribute would be on the next full-time acting appointment of 5 or more days, that is, from January 31, 1994. The employee would then continue to contribute on the basis of any full-time acting appointment of 5 days or more after that. As well, since the employee is not grandfathered as a part-time employee on July 4, 1994, he would continue to contribute under the pension plan on the basis of any subsequent appointment of 12 hours or more after July 4, 1994.

Assigned work week exceeds 30 hours per week

Grandfathered part-time employees whose hours of work vary from week to week, or whose hours of work have been averaged, may be employed for periods when the AWW will exceed 30 hours per week. These employees do not necessarily become subject to the pension plan, as long as the period during which the AWW exceeds 30 hours per week does not extend beyond three months.

Part-time grandfather protection: Option to contribute under the public service pension plan

From January 1, 1954 to July 3, 1994, public service employees working on a part-time basis have been prohibited from contributing under the public service pension plan. On September 29, 1992, the Parliament of Canada passed Public Sector Pension Reform legislation, known as Bill C-55, which introduced several amendments to the PSSA.

One of the provisions of Bill C-55 provided for the repeal of the Sections of the Act which prohibited part-time employees from contributing under the public service pension plan. The Regulations defining the new Part-Time provisions were effective on the Coming into Force (CIF) date which was July 4, 1994.

The PWGSC-TPSGC 2478 Election to become a contributor to the Public Service Pension Plan is the form the plan member should use to exercise the option to contribute under the public service pension plan.

An employee may elect to contribute under the public service pension plan on or before the latest of:

1. July 4, 1996 (2 years from July 4, 1994)
2. 6 months after the day on which a written notice is sent to the person stating that the person is eligible to make such an election
3. Where the person was absent on Leave without Pay (LWOP) on July 4, 1994, 6 months after the day on which the person returns to duty