Hugh Message

A "message" from Message - Order Paper Question Q-263 "Claw back"

Good afternoon everyone. Please find below a copy of Order Paper Question Q-263. We have submitted this to further the research into the issue of RCMP and Veterans pensions. Once the Government provides us with answers to the many sub-questions. I will share them with you.

I thank everyone who helped us put this Order Paper Question together with their suggestions and information.

Thank you for your time. - Lorne 

Lorne R. Berndt
Executive Assistant
Office of Bill Casey, M.P.
646S - Centre Block
House of Commons  
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
(613) 992-3366
caseyb8@parl.gc.ca
 

Q-263² — May 1, 2008 — Mr. Casey (Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley) — With regard to the pension claw backs alleged to be affecting both Canadian Forces (CF) veterans and retired members of the RCMP: (a) did the government ever make promises to CF personnel in 1965, 1968 or in 1971 that no person would receive less after the amalgamation of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Superannuation at age 65 and prior to superannuation reduction;

(b) can the government confirm that public service members, who contributed to superannuation, prior to January 1, 1966 enjoy specific protections within the Superannuation Act with regard to their pensions;

(c) is the same protection for public service members as discussed in (b), extended to CF veterans and retired members of the RCMP, or have these groups been excluded from this protection;

(d) in the years following 1966, were superannuates awarded full and indexed CPP benefits despite having contributed for a very short time;

(e) if it can be confirmed that there is not the same protection for CF Members and retired RCMP members that public service members currently enjoy within the Superannuation Act, is the government prepared to make the corrections required to make the law more equal for all three groups;

(f) if the government is not prepared to make the corrections, why not;

(g) how has the government acted to alleviate the concerns of retired CF Veterans and RCMP members who believe that their pensions have been clawed back because of the integration of the CPP with their pensions in 1966;

(h) what steps has the government taken to explain or clarify their pension policies to specifically address the claw back concerns of CF veterans and retired RCMP members;

(i) with regards to (f) what groups or veterans associations has the government communicated with in regards to the pension claw back issues, with the goal of addressing the concerns of these groups, from 2000 to the present day;

(j) in 1966, when the CF and RCMP Superannuation plans were reportedly coordinated with the CPP, how were members of the CF and RCMP members notified or briefed on the effects or benefits of such a policy change on individual pensions;

(k) what recommendations has the government considered, since 2000, to change the CPP-related reduction calculation contained in the three primary federal public sector pension plans, including the CF Superannuation Act and the RCMP Superannuation Act, to address the concerns of CF veterans and retired RCMP members that they are losing an amount of pension income because of current policy;

(l) does the government intend to meet with national organizations representing veterans and retired RCMP members in 2008 to work on ways to reduce or alleviate their concerns about the alleged pension claw backs and, if so, when are meetings planned, and for what cities in Canada; and

(m) how many messages have been received by the Minister of National Defence from veterans, requesting that he personally become involved in terminating the benefit reduction formula being allegedly applied to the pension annuities of the CF veterans and retired RCMP members?

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Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 1:47 PM by Hugh Message