Proposed Expansion of the Operational Service Early Retirement Program
The following proposals are subject to approval by Parliament through Budget 2025 and related legislation. Please bookmark this page for future updates.
Government Commitment
The Government of Canada has reaffirmed its plan to expand the operational service early retirement program to include frontline employees from additional occupational groups. This initiative requires changes to legislation and regulations.
Program Overview
The operational service program enables certain eligible plan members to retire earlier with an immediate, unreduced pension after completing 25 years of actual operational service. Members can also retire at age 50 if they have at least 10 years of actual and 10 years of “deemed” operational service.
Participants accrue pensionable service at about 2% per year, meaning a retirement after 25 years yields roughly a 50% pension benefit.
Impact on Frontline Employees
This expansion targets frontline federal workers in the following occupational groups, acknowledging their demanding roles in maintaining safety and security for Canadians:
- Border services officers
- Parliamentary protection officers
- Search and rescue personnel
- Federal and territorial firefighters
- Paramedics
- Correctional employees
The Government of Canada reaffirmed its commitment to expand the operational service early retirement program to frontline employees of additional occupational groups.
This change recognizes the vital and challenging work these employees perform daily.
Author's Summary
The Government of Canada plans to broaden early retirement benefits for frontline workers, acknowledging their crucial roles and demanding service requirements.