Report on the Administration of the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2016
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada,
represented by the President of the Treasury Board, 2017
Catalogue No. BT1-12E-PDF
ISSN: 1489-4866
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.
Governor General of Canada
Excellency:
I have the honour to submit to Your Excellency, the Report on the Administration of the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act for the Fiscal Year Ended .
Respectfully submitted,
Original signed by
The Honourable Scott Brison, P.C., M.P.
President of the Treasury Board
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act (SRBA) applies primarily to pension benefits payable to federal judges under the Judges Act, as well as to pension benefits payable under other statutes listed in Schedule I of the SRBA, such as the Diplomatic Service (Special) Superannuation Act, the Lieutenant Governors Superannuation Act, the Defence Services Pension Continuation Act of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act.
The SRBA does not apply to pension benefits payable under the major federal public service pension plans governed by the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA), the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act (RCMPSA) and the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act (MPRAA).
Year at a glance, fiscal year ended
- Active contributors decreased by 0.2% to 1,169 members (1,171 members in 2015).
- Retired members and survivors decreased by 2.8% to 1,371 members (1,410 members in 2015).
- As a result of indexation, pension benefits were increased by 1.3% in (1.7% in ).
Historical context
The SRBA provides supplementary benefits for recipients of pensions or allowances payable under the acts or regulations listed in Schedule I of the SRBA.
Effective , an annual increase in pensions reflecting the full increase in the cost of living was permitted, payable starting in January of each year. This increase is based on the percentage increase in the average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12 months ended on the preceding September 30, over the CPI average for the 12 months ended a year earlier. Since 1982, the legislation has required that the increase payable in the first year after a person retires be pro-rated to the number of complete months of retirement in the previous year.
In 1992, the SRBA was amended to reflect changes being made to the PSSA, the CFSA, the RCMPSA and the MPRAA and no longer applied to pension benefits payable under these statutes. Consequently, these statutes were amended to incorporate the authority to provide increases in their respective pensions as if they were determined under the SRBA.
Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account
The SRBA establishes an account known as the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account (the account) in the Public Accounts of Canada. Plan members who have not yet retired, except the Governor General, contribute to the account. The government matches these contributions.
Before , all supplementary benefits were charged to the account. Since that date, however, the benefits paid to former contributors have been charged to the account only until they equal the total amount credited to the account. Supplementary benefits paid in excess of that total are charged to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Under the 1992 amendments mentioned in the preceding section, the appropriate portions of the account were transferred to the superannuation accounts established under the PSSA, the CFSA, the RCMPSA and the MPRAA. These transfers have greatly reduced the size of the account.
Membership statistics
At , there were 1,169 members (1,171 members in 2015) contributing to the account and 1,371 retired members and survivors (1,410 members in 2015).
Figure 1 shows the number of contributors relative to the number of retired members and survivors from 2007 to 2016.
Figure 1 - Text version
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Contributors | 1,101 | 1,193 | 1,093 | 1,119 | 1,146 | 1,140 | 1,132 | 1,147 | 1,171 | 1,169 |
Retired members and survivors | 1,880 | 1,809 | 1,750 | 1,739 | 1,642 | 1,625 | 1,582 | 1,534 | 1,410 | 1,371 |
Funding
Between , and , members contributed 0.5% of their salary. Effective , this rate was increased to 1%.
Interest on the account is payable at the end of each quarter. It is calculated monthly on the minimum balance in the account at an interest rate that represents the yield on outstanding Government of Canada bonds having a term to maturity of five years, less 0.125% of 1%.
Account transactions
In fiscal year ended , total receipts from contributors and the government, including interest, amounted to $8.81 million ($9.81 million in fiscal year ended ).
The total amount paid under the SRBA was $30.70 million ($31.18 million in fiscal year ended ), of which $25,819 ($35,533 in fiscal year ended ) was charged to the account; the remaining $30.67 million ($31.14 million in fiscal year ended ) was charged to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in accordance with subsection 8(2) of the SRBA.
The balance in the account at the end of the year was $215.86 million ($207.07 million in fiscal year ended ).
Details of the transactions in the account during the fiscal year appear in the “Account transaction statements” section.
Account transaction statements
2016 | 2015 | |
---|---|---|
Table 1 Notes
|
||
Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account, opening balance (A) |
207,072 | 197,294 |
Receipts | ||
Contributions
|
||
Members
|
3,625 | 3,425 |
Government
|
3,625 | 3,425 |
Interest
|
1,560 | 2,964 |
Total receipts (B) | 8,810 | 9,814 |
Payments | ||
Annuities
table 1 note 2
|
30,700 | 31,180 |
Less charges to Consolidated Revenue Fund
in accordance with subsection 8(2) of the SRBA table 1 note 2 |
30,674 | 31,144 |
Net payments (C) | 26 | 36 |
Increase (B – C = D) | 8,784 | 9,778 |
Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account, closing balance (A + D) |
215,856 | 207,072 |
Judges | Others | Total | |
---|---|---|---|
Table 2 Notes
|
|||
Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account, opening balance (A) |
206,383 | 689 | 207,072 |
Receipts | |||
Contributions
|
|||
Members
|
3,576 | 49 | 3,625 |
Government
|
3,576 | 49 | 3,625 |
Interest
|
1,554 | 6 | 1,560 |
Total receipts (B) | 8,706 | 104 | 8,810 |
Payments | |||
Annuities
table 2 note 2
|
0 | 26 | 26 |
Return of contributions
|
0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Payments (C) | 0 | 26 | 26 |
Increase (B – C = D) | 8,706 | 78 | 8,784 |
Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account, closing balance (A + D) |
215,089 | 767 | 215,856 |
Page details
- Date modified: