Frequently asked questions – 2009 Public Service Pension Plan Survey

  • 1. When did you decide to launch this survey, and why?

    The survey preparation and design work have been in development at the Treasury Board Secretariat for over three years. The objective of the survey was to identify areas to improve communications with plan members.

  • 2. How was the survey conducted?

    The survey was conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives on behalf of the Treasury Board Secretariat from September to November 2009 with a representative sample of both active and retired members. The survey was conducted online with active members and online and by mail with retired members.

  • 3. What did you learn from the survey?

    Overall, the survey results indicate that employees and retirees value the information about the pension plan and are interested in knowing more.

    • 93% of active members (71% retired) attributed at least moderate importance to the pension plan in terms of their decision to keep working for the government
    • 68% (52% retired) attributed this level of importance to the pension plan as a reason for joining the federal public service.

    These survey results also highlight the importance of informing plan members of their pension plan throughout their career in the Public Service, not just in the years approaching retirement.

    The federal government also communicates with employees and retirees using a variety of means (Web, phone, mail) so the survey also tested how plan members prefer to receive this information (66% prefer the annual statement while 58% prefer information sessions).

  • 4. What do public servants know about their own pension benefits?

    Pension plans are very complex. There are contribution rates, various benefits, complex formulae and multiple players that can sometimes lead to confusion. While some members are well aware of certain aspects, such as calculating benefits, details surrounding spousal benefits and technical aspects are less clear.

    • Plan members have a high degree of knowledge on how to calculate their pension (86%) and the fact that the plan is indexed to reflect increases in inflation (73%).
    • 88% of retired members and 60% of active members are aware that their pension benefits are reduced at age 65 due to coordination with the Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan.
    • There was a lesser degree of knowledge about survivor benefits and the option to buy back or transfer pension contributions (66%).
  • 5. What is the Government going to do with the results?

    The results will enable the Treasury Board Secretariat to better understand what plan members need to know and the impact of these communications activities. The Secretariat will be working with plan administrators to communicate these results and, based on this valuable information, will be re-assessing its communications activities with employees and retirees to address this gap. Subsequent surveys in the coming years will enable the Secretariat to measure against these results to determine the level of success of any new activities.

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