The CF Personnel Newsletter, Issue 5/06, 24 May 2006 had an article on the Reserve Force pension arrangements update. In the third para of the article, under the heading of: Are you considering releasing now?, it states " If you are not able to continue serving in one of these three sub-components (P Res, CIC, Cdn Rangers) for any reason, including medical disability or compulsory release age, please contact your administration officer and or release clerk for information on transferring to the Supplementary Reserve in order to maintain your options concerning the Reserve Force Pension Plan." This was also stated in several CANFORGENs.
The info I have is that sometime in possibly Jul, Supp Res will change to a maximum of 60 years of age. If you are in the Supp Res when this new regulation comes into effect, you will be grandfathered to 65 YOA. If you transfer after the the new regulation is promulgated you must be under 60 YOA.
You must release from the P Res or Reg F by age 60 YOA. You cannot serve until the day before your 61st birthday. I have checked the regulations. Additionally if you are to be medically released, and on an accommodation (which effective 1 Jun 06 is restricted to one 3 year accommodation), you cannot commence your rehabilitation program until you release from the CF completely. So if you were hoping to go to the Supp Res to stay eligible for a pension expected CIF Mar 07, you cannot. You must release. The head of SSIP went to Treasury Board specifiably on this issue and was denied.
So, with the changes pending to Supp Res, if you are on an accommodation, or coming up to 60 YOA, you may be screwed.
The buy back will be restricted to 35 years of Pensionable Service, which means from the date enrolled to the CIF date of the CFPMP. I always thought if would be calculated by adding up all your Cl A, B, B"A", and C service and converting this into years of Paid CF Service as it is done now. The Pensionable Service formula means for example is that you take your best 5 years of salary, times 2%, times the number of days you were paid in one year, divided by 365 days. That would be your pension entitlement for that year. Add all your years of pension entitlement up (max 35 years)and that's your annual pension. For myself, the formula means a reduction of $8/9,000 per year of what I estimated all my service would equal as Paid CF Service. Do not forget, as a Cl A reserve the number of days you could parade have always been restricted, thus so has future pension contributions
Using the formula of CF Pensionable Service ( vice Paid CF Service as it is now) , 7% compound interest ( vice 4% simple interest as it is now), is really shoveling this at us. Add the adjustment to actual earnings by a wage adjustments to reflect increases in pay over the years, the increased contribution rates this year, and next year, buy back will be very expensive and the continued delay of CIF plus the 7% compound interest is just plan screwing us.
This pension plan should have been in effect in one year, 2000, if not in 1986 when everyone else who was working for the federal government got access. The constant delay is very expensive.
Second, I may have "taken my individual responsibility seriously", but many others haven't. How and where do they find this type of coin? (Rhetorical question, however it would help to know if the "plan" to allow Reservists to buy back time using their RFRG was ever more than a rumour.)
