Public Service Superannuation Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. P-36)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Public Service Superannuation Act.

Equality of Status

Marginal note:Status of males and females

2 Male and female contributors under this Act have equality of status and equal rights and obligations under this Act.

PART ISuperannuation

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 3 (1) In this Part,

  active service in the forces

  active service in the forces means any service in the forces of a kind designated in the regulations to be active service, which service is deemed for the purposes of this Part to have terminated on discharge or, in the case of a person who underwent treatment in a veterans’ hospital, as defined in the regulations, immediately following his discharge, on that person’s release from hospital; (activité de service dans les forces)

  child

  child means a child or stepchild of — or an individual adopted either legally or in fact by — a contributor who at the time of the contributor’s death was dependent on the contributor for support; (enfant)

  contributor

  contributor means a person required by section 5 to contribute to the Public Service Pension Fund, and, unless the context otherwise requires,

  • (a) a person who has ceased to be required by this Act to contribute to the Superannuation Account or the Public Service Pension Fund, and

  • (b) for the purposes of sections 25, 27 and 28, a contributor under Part I of the Superannuation Act who has been granted an annual allowance under that Act or has died; (contributeur)

  disabled

  disabled means incapable of pursuing regularly any substantially gainful occupation; (invalide)

  Force

  Force means the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; (Gendarmerie)

  forces

  forces, except in the definition “regular force”, means the naval, army or air forces of His Majesty or of any of the Allies of His Majesty during World War I or World War II; (forces)

  Minister

  Minister means the President of the Treasury Board; (ministre)

  misconduct

  misconduct[Repealed, 1999, c. 34, s. 53]

  pensionable employment

  pensionable employment means any employment in respect of which there was an established superannuation or pension fund or plan, approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Part, for the benefit of persons engaged in that employment; (emploi ouvrant droit à pension)

  period in pensionable employment

  period in pensionable employment means any period of service to the credit of the employee in the fund or plan referred to in the definition “pensionable employment” at the time he left the employment therein referred to; (période d’emploi ouvrant droit à pension)

  provincial pension plan

  provincial pension plan has the same meaning as in the Canada Pension Plan; (régime provincial de pensions)

  public service

  public service means the several positions in or under any department or portion of the executive government of Canada, except those portions of departments or portions of the executive government of Canada prescribed by the regulations and, for the purposes of this Part, of the Senate, House of Commons, Library of Parliament, office of the Senate Ethics Officer, office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Parliamentary Protective Service and office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and any board, commission, corporation or portion of the federal public administration specified in Schedule I; (fonction publique)

  Public Service Pension Fund

  Public Service Pension Fund means the fund established under section 44.2; (Caisse de retraite de la fonction publique)

  Public Service Superannuation Investment Fund

  Public Service Superannuation Investment Fund means the fund established under section 44.1; (Fonds de placement du compte de pension de retraite de la fonction publique)

  regular force

  regular force means the regular force of the Canadian Forces and includes

  • (a) the forces known before February 1, 1968 as the regular forces of the Canadian Forces, and

  • (b) the forces known before February 1, 1968 as the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army Active Force, the Permanent Active Militia, the Permanent Militia Corps, the permanent staff of the Militia, the Royal Canadian Air Force (Regular) and the Permanent Active Air Force; (force régulière)

  Retirement Fund

  Retirement Fund means the Retirement Fund established under Part II of the Civil Service Superannuation and Retirement Act; (Fonds de retraite)

  salary

  salary means

  • (a) as applied to the public service, the basic pay received by the person in respect of whom the expression is being applied for the performance of the regular duties of a position or office exclusive of any amount received as allowances, special remuneration, payment for overtime or other compensation or as a gratuity unless that amount is deemed to be or to have been included in that person’s basic pay pursuant to any regulation made under paragraph 42(1)(e), and

  • (b) as applied to the regular force or the Force, the pay or pay and allowances, as the case may be, applicable in the case of that person as determined under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act; (traitement)

  Superannuation Act

  Superannuation Act means the Civil Service Superannuation Act, chapter 50 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1952; (Loi sur la pension de retraite)

  supplementary benefit

  supplementary benefit means a supplementary benefit payable under Part III; (prestation supplémentaire)

  survivor

  survivor, in relation to a contributor, means

  • (a) a person who was married to the contributor at the time of the contributor’s death, or

  • (b) a person referred to in subsection 25(4); (survivant)

  World War I

  World War I means the war that was declared on August 4, 1914 and that is deemed, for the purposes of this Part, to have terminated on December 31, 1920; (Première Guerre mondiale)

  World War II

  World War II means the war that was declared on September 10, 1939 and that is deemed, for the purposes of this Part, to have terminated on September 30, 1947. (Seconde Guerre mondiale)

• Marginal note:Persons deemed employed in Senate or House of Commons

  (2) For the purposes of the definition public service in subsection (1),

  • (a) employees of a member of the Senate or House of Commons, and

  • (b) any other category of employees prescribed by regulation made by the Governor in Council under paragraph 42(1)(vv)

  whose salaries were or are paid out of moneys appropriated by Parliament for use by the Senate or House of Commons shall be deemed to have been or to be employed in the Senate or House of Commons, in respect of periods of service in a category described in paragraph (a) or (b) preceding as well as following June 29, 1984.

• Marginal note:References to other Acts

  (3) A reference in this Part to the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act shall be construed as including a reference to any other enactment of Parliament in force either before or after July 14, 1960 providing for the payment of pensions to members of the regular force or members of the Force, as the case may be, based on length of service.

• Marginal note:When specified age deemed to be reached

  (4) For the purposes of paragraph 8(2)(e), a person is deemed to have reached the age of eighteen years at the beginning of the month following the month in which the person actually reached that age and, for the purposes of paragraph 11(2)(a), a person is deemed to have reached the age of sixty-five years at the beginning of the month following the month in which the person actually reached that age.

• Marginal note:Persons deemed employed on full-time basis

  (5) For the purposes of this Act, a person who, immediately before the coming into force of this subsection, is employed in the public service on a full-time basis within the meaning of this Act as it reads at that time is, until such time as that person ceases to be so employed, deemed to be employed in the public service on a full-time basis.

Superannuation

Marginal note:Scope of Part I

• 4 (1) Subject to this Part, an annuity or other benefit specified in this Part shall be paid to or in respect of every person who, being required to contribute to the Superannuation Account or the Public Service Pension Fund in accordance with this Part, dies or ceases to be employed in the public service, which annuity or other benefit shall, subject to this Part, be based on the number of years of pensionable service to the credit of that person.

• Marginal note:Superannuation Account

  (2) The Superannuation Account, established in the accounts of Canada pursuant to the Superannuation Act, is hereby continued.

Persons Required to Contribute

Marginal note:Persons required to contribute

• 5 (1) Subsections (2) and (3) apply to persons employed in the public service, other than

  • (a) [Repealed, 1992, c. 46, s. 2]

  • (b) an employee who is engaged for a term of six months or less or a seasonal employee, unless he or she has been employed in the public service substantially without interruption for a period of more than six months;

  • (c) subject to section 5.2, a person who, immediately before July 4, 1994, was employed in the public service as a part-time employee within the meaning of this Act as it read at that time and who has been so employed substantially without interruption since that time;

  • (d) [Repealed, 2012, c. 31, s. 476]

  • (e) persons in positions, as determined by the Governor in Council with effect from July 11, 1966, in the whole or any portion of any board, commission or corporation that has its own pension plan while that pension plan is in force;

  • (f) an employee on leave of absence from employment outside the public service who, in respect of his or her current service, continues to contribute to or under any superannuation or pension fund or plan established for the benefit of employees of the person from whose employment he or she is absent;

  • (g) an employee whose compensation for the performance of the regular duties of his or her position or office consists of fees of office;

  • (h) an employee engaged locally outside Canada; or

  • (i) a sessional employee, a postmaster or assistant postmaster in a revenue post office, a person employed as a clerk of works, a member of the staff of Government House who is paid by the Governor General from his or her salary or allowance or an employee of a commission that is appointed under Part I of the Inquiries Act and added to Part I of Schedule I, unless designated by the Minister individually or as a member of a class.

  • (j) [Repealed, 1992, c. 46, s. 2]

• (1.1) to (1.4) [Repealed, 2012, c. 31, s. 476]

• Marginal note:Contribution rates — 2013 and later

  (2) A person is required to contribute to the Public Service Pension Fund, in respect of every portion of the period beginning on January 1, 2013, by reservation from salary or otherwise, at the contribution rates determined by the Treasury Board in respect of that portion on the recommendation of the Minister.

• Marginal note:Contribution rates — 35 years of service

  (3) A person who has to his or her credit, on or after January 1, 2013, a period of pensionable service — or a period of pensionable service and other pensionable service — totalling at least 35 years is not required to contribute under subsection (2) but is required to contribute, by reservation from salary or otherwise, to the Public Service Pension Fund, in respect of the period beginning on the later of January 1, 2013 and the day on which the person has to his or her credit those 35 years, in addition to any other amount required under this Act, at the rates determined by the Treasury Board on the recommendation of the Minister.

• (3.1) [Repealed, 2012, c. 31, s. 476]

• Marginal note:Limitation — determination of contribution rates

  (4) In determining the contribution rates of Group 1 contributors described in subsection 12(0.1) and of Group 2 contributors described in subsection 12.1(1) for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), the rates must not result in a total amount of contributions that would exceed 50% of the current service cost of Group 1 or Group 2, as the case may be, for the portion of the period in respect of the benefits payable under Parts I and III.

• Marginal note:Other pensionable service

  (5) For the purpose of subsection (3), other pensionable service means years of service giving rise to a superannuation or pension benefit of a kind specified in the regulations that is payable

  • (a) out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, or out of any account in the accounts of Canada other than the Superannuation Account;

  • (b) out of or under a superannuation or pension fund or plan pursuant to which contributions have been paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in respect of employees engaged locally outside of Canada; or

  • (c) out of the Canadian Forces Pension Fund within the meaning of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Fund within the meaning of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act.

• Marginal note:Contributions not required

  (6) Despite anything in this Part, no person shall, in respect of any period of his or her service on or after December 15, 1994, make a contribution under this Part in respect of any portion of his or her annual rate of salary that is in excess of the annual rate of salary that is fixed by or determined in the manner prescribed by the regulations.

Marginal note:Contributions not required

• 5.1 (1) Notwithstanding section 5, a person employed in the public service is not required to contribute to the Superannuation Account or the Public Service Pension Fund under that section if that person is engaged to work on average less than twelve hours a week or the lesser number of hours a week that may be prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Contributions not required

  (2) Notwithstanding section 5, a person employed in the public service who was so employed on September 9, 1993 and who, on September 8, 1993, was not required to contribute to the Superannuation Account by reason of the person being a person described in paragraph 5(1)(j) of this Act, as it read on September 8, 1993, is not required to contribute to the Account or the Public Service Pension Fund under that section in respect of any period of service on or after that day.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a person who makes an election under section 5.4.