Loss of Accrued Reserve Force Retirement Gratuity Benefits
Topic
Loss of Accrued Reserve Force Retirement Gratuity Benefits
Case numbers
Description
CANFORGEN 062/12 announced the cessation of severance accumulation for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members. The Committee noted that this announcement was very similar and in line with the recent changes to severance pay for the core public administration, Governor-in-Council appointments, executives and law management groups for the public service, which saw the accumulation of Severance Pay type benefits progressively ceased across the federal government. However, individuals were not stripped of their accrued entitlements. They were simply no longer permitted to accumulate new entitlements.
The Committee determined that contrary to what had been done across the Federal Government and what was contemplated by CANFORGEN 062/12, a small segment of the CAF population, had, in fact, lost their accrued RFRG benefit because Compensation and Benefit Instructions (CBI) 204.40 no longer contained the “Deemed Service” provision previously contained in CBI 204.54(18). The Committee found this situation fundamentally unfair and concluded that all CAF members should have had their accrued severance type benefit recognized as it was for all Federal Government employees.
Recommendation
The Committee recommended that the Chief of the Defence Staff direct the Chief of Military Personnel to quickly develop, in conjunction with the Treasury Board Secretariat, a solution by which the entitlement to payment in recognition of the accrued RFRG benefit can be reinstated to all members of the CAF segment which lost it as a result of the failure to include the previous CBI 204.54(18) “deeming” provision in the current CBI 204.40.
Final Authority Decision
The CDS agreed with the Committee's systemic recommendation and he directed the Chief of Military Personnel (CMP), in conjunction with the TB, to develop a solution that will allow those members who lost their entitlement to an RFRG as a result of the deletion of the "deemed service" clause, to regain their eligibility for the CFSP. CMP should equally consider the aspect of retroactivity in this matter.