Proposed Expansion of the Operational Service Early Retirement Program
The following proposals are subject to approval by the Parliament as part of the 2025 Budget and related implementation legislation. Please bookmark this page for updates.
Government Commitment
The Government of Canada has reaffirmed its intention to broaden the operational service early retirement program to include frontline employees from additional occupational groups. Implementing this expansion will require legislative and regulatory amendments.
Program Overview
The operational service program allows eligible plan members to retire early with an immediate, unreduced pension after completing 25 years of actual operational service. Alternatively, members can retire at age 50 if they have at least 10 years of actual and 10 years of “deemed” operational service.
Like all public service pension plan members, participants accrue pensionable service at about 2% yearly. Thus, retiring after 25 years provides roughly a 50% pension benefit.
Expansion Details
This proposed extension targets frontline employees from specific occupational groups, acknowledging the challenging work they perform daily to ensure Canadian safety and security.
- Border services officers
- Parliamentary protection officers
- Search and rescue personnel
- Federal and territorial firefighters
- Paramedics
- Correctional employees
The Government of Canada recognizes the demanding roles of these frontline workers and aims to support them through this enhanced early retirement option.
Author's summary: The Government of Canada plans to expand early retirement benefits to more frontline workers, subject to legislative approval, acknowledging their vital contributions to public safety.