Operational Service Provisions
Members of the public service pension plan who are employed in operational service are entitled to special retirement benefits. Members’ eligibility for benefits is established according to different age and service criteria.
What is operational service?
There are two types of operational service: actual operational service and deemed operational service.
Actual operational service
You accumulate actual operational service if you’re employed by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and your main workplace is not one of the following:
- CSC’s national or regional headquarters
- The office of the CSC Commissioner
- A regional Correctional Staff College or any similar training institution for CSC employees
This means that if you work directly in a correctional institution or another frontline operational setting, your service usually counts as actual operational service.
Deemed operational service
If you’ve stopped working in an actual operational role but are still employed by CSC, you can choose to continue earning operational service credit – called deemed operational service – if you meet all the following conditions:
- You have at least 10 years of operational service, including eligible service you’ve bought back.
Note: The following absences from actual operational service do not count in the 10 years required to qualify for deemed operational service:- absences of less than 6 months while employed in the public service other than the CSC
- the first 6 months of absences of up to 2 years while still employed by the CSC
- You first entered operational service before age 35.
Note: If you were between 30 and 35 when you first entered operational service, you must have had less than 5 years of non-operational pensionable service to your credit at that time
Important: There is a deadline to choose to continue earning operational service credits after you cease to be employed in actual operational service. Contact the Pension Centre for more details.
Operational service contribution rates
The following contribution rates are for employees who pay into the public service pension plan who are employed or deemed to be employed in operational service and are entitled to an operational pension benefit.
As a plan member, a portion of your salary goes toward your pension through payroll deductions. The rates at which you pay are based on your pensionable earnings up to and above the year’s maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE). The YMPE is $74,600 in 2026.
You pay at the following contribution rates for 2026:
- 9.10% up to the YMPE
- 11.69% above the YMPE
If you accumulate deemed operational service, you pay an additional 0.62% of pensionable earnings into the pension plan for that service.
Note
Once you’ve completed the maximum 35 years of pensionable service, you pay 1% of your pensionable earnings into the pension fund.
Your retirement options: accumulated operational service
If all your pensionable service is actual operational service or a combination of actual and deemed operational service, you may choose either a regular pension benefit, as described in Pension Options , or a special pension benefit–also called an operational pension benefit–as described below.
| If you have accumulated at least the following years of service | And have reached age | You will be entitled to the following benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Actual operational service only | ||
| 25 years | Any age | An operational immediate annuity |
| 20 years but less than 25 years | Any age | An operational annual allowance |
| A combination of actual and deemed operational service | ||
| 25 years | Age 50 | An operational immediate annuity |
| 25 years of actual operational service plus some deemed operational service | Age 45 but less than age 50 | An operational immediate annuity for your actual operational service and an operational annual allowance for your deemed operational service |
| 20 years but less than 25 years of actual operational service, and some deemed operational service | Age 45 but less than age 50 | An operational annual allowance |
| 20 years of operational service, including at least 10 years but less than 20 years of actual operational service, plus some deemed operational service | Age 45 but less than age 50 | An operational annual allowance |
The operational immediate annuity is calculated as a regular immediate annuity, based on the Pension Formula: Lifetime Pension and Bridge Benefit.
The operational annual allowance is calculated according to a formula based on either your age upon ceasing operational service or your years of operational service.
If you have accumulated actual and deemed operational service, you can choose to receive a pension benefit as described above.
Examples of benefit entitlements
| You cease operational service at age | And terminate your employment in the Public Service with | You have the choice between the following benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Age 46 | 25 years of actual operational service and 2 years of deemed operational service |
|
| Age 48 | 21 years of actual operational service and 3 years of deemed operational service |
|
Your retirement options: accumulated operational and non-operational service
If you have accumulated a combination of operational and non-operational service, you may choose one of the following pension benefit options:
- An operational pension benefit as described in this section for your operational service and a regular pension benefit for your non-operational service; or
- A regular pension benefit for your operational and non-operational service.
Protection from inflation
If you choose an operational pension benefit as described in this section, this pension benefit is indexed when the sum of your age and number of years of operational service equals 85 as follows:
| When you have reached | And have completed the following years of service |
|---|---|
| Age 55 | 30 years of service |
| Age 56 | 29 years of service |
| Age 57 | 28 years of service |
| Age 58 | 27 years of service |
| Age 59 | 26 years of service |
Indexing is not payable before age 55 and cannot be delayed past age 60. It is payable immediately in the event of disability.
Indexing is based on the year you cease your operational service. Accumulated indexing is paid for the full month in which you reach the required age. All subsequent indexing is effective on .
Example of when indexing is paid
Let’s say you retire at age 50 with 29 years of operational service. The sum of your age and pensionable operational service equals 79. Since indexing does not begin until the sum of your age and pensionable operational service equals 85, you will have to wait until age 56 (56 + 29 = 85) before indexing will be paid.
Again, let’s say you opt for an annual allowance at age 42 with 22 years of operational service. As the sum of your age and years of operational service will only equal 85 when you reach age 63 (63 + 22 = 85), indexing will start at age 60.
For more information on pension benefits related to operational service, refer to the Information Notice Proposed Expansion of the Operational Service Early Retirement Program or the Your Pension and Insurance Benefits - Guide for Operational Service (Correctional Service Canada). You can also contact the Pension Centre for federal employees.