Update on the Expansion of the Operational Service Early Retirement Program
In Budget 2025, the Government of Canada reaffirmed its commitment to expand the operational service early retirement program to frontline employees of additional occupational groups.
To implement this commitment, the necessary legislative changes were approved by Parliament on . Regulatory changes will be required to be made before the program expansion comes into effect. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat plans to advance these regulatory changes as soon as possible. Please bookmark this page and refer to it for further updates.
About the Operational Service Early Retirement Program
The Operational Service Early Retirement Program allows certain eligible plan members to retire earlier with an immediate unreduced pension. They can retire at:
- Any age with 25 years of actual operational service, or
- Age 50 with a combination of 25 years of actual and deemed operational service (at least 10 years must be actual)
Like all other members of the public service pension plan, employees who participate in the Operational Service Early Retirement program accrue pensionable service at a rate of approximately 2% per year. This means that retiring after 25 years will provide an approximate 50% pension benefit in retirement.
Who would be eligible
This expansion, once in effect, would apply to frontline federal workers in the following groups: border services officers, parliamentary protection officers, search and rescue personnel, and both federal and territorial firefighters, paramedics, and correctional employees. It would recognize the demanding work they do every day to keep Canadians safe and secure.
Next steps
The expansion of the Operational Service Early Retirement program requires regulatory changes to be made before it comes into effect. Once these changes have been made, all the necessary information will be communicated to frontline employees of additional occupational groups, including any steps they would need to take.
For more information
- Expanded Early Retirement Eligibility under the Public Service Pension Plan backgrounder
- Pension options currently available to operational service