Treasury Board president accuses PSAC of sharing 'misleading information' on $1.9 billion public service pension surplus

The President of the Treasury Board is accusing a federal public service union of providing "misleading information" to its members, after the Public Service Pension Fund posted a non-permitted surplus of $1.9 billion.

"To say that we are, as a government, stealing the pensions from public servants is completely inaccurate," Anita Anand told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.

Anand announced at the end of November that the pension fund posted a $1.9 billion "non-permitted surplus" as of March 31, 2024.  The public service pension fund's total actuarial value of assets is $186 billion.

Anand said as defined under the Public Service Superannuation Act, the government would transfer the non-permitted surplus to the Consolidated Revenue, "where it would be held until the next steps are considered."

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Last week, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) launched a "national pension campaign" called "Stop Pension Theft," urging the "Trudeau government to respect workers and keep its hands off pensions."

"The Liberal government's plans to pocket $9.3 billion from the federal public service pension plan is a betrayal of workers in Canada," PSAC said on its website. "This reckless decision jeopardizes the retirement security of over 700,000 federal public service workers."

Speaking with reporters at an announcement in Kanata on Monday, Anand said this is "part of misinformation that the PSAC is promoting."

"In particular, it relates to the non-permitted surplus and the use of the non-permitted surplus and I want to stress the important role the democratic institutions, such as the PSAC, have in sharing accurate and genuine information," Anand said. "The non-permitted surplus is required to be transferred under legislation, and as a result of the legislation and the government's pension plan exceeding the amount specified in legislation, we are required to transfer it. We transferred it to the consolidated revenue fund while we consider next steps with the $1.9 billion."

Anand says the federal government will be "engaging with all stakeholders" while considering the next steps.

Under the Public Service Superannuation Act, a registered pension plan's assets cannot become 25 per cent greater than its liabilities, according to the Treasury Board website.

"In a non-permitted surplus situation, the government is required to take action to bring the surplus amount below the threshold."  The Consolidated Revenue Fund for Canada is for taxes and revenue, and funds are withdrawn in order to defray the costs of public services.

Anand notes that if there is a shortfall in the Public Service Pension Fund, the federal government is required to cover it.

"I would expect the PSAC to take the time to correct the misleading information being shared with its members about the public service pension plan, which is fully guaranteed by the government of Canada on behalf of Canadian taxpayers," Anand said.

The PSAC campaign says the federal government will "raid $9.3 billion" from the federal public service plan.

"This is a betrayal of trust,” Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said in a statement. "Workers and the government contribute equally to this pension fund, but now the government is taking a break while workers are left to shoulder the burden.” 

The union says on its website that the Liberal government has "taken $1.9 billion from the pension surplus and plans to suspend $7.4 billion in government contributions – without consultation or transparency."

DeSousa tells CTV News Ottawa Anand had options.

"I think the minister is misinforming the people when it comes to the decision-making process and what her capacity is. What the pension plan, the legislation requires her to take action and there are a variety of options available to her that would have benefited workers as well," she said. 

"The legislation allows them to take the full surplus, but this is a question about fairness, really. If you're paying 50 per cent into the pension plan, shouldn't you see the rewards as well? And I can tell you, our members are angry. They're upset that the government is doing this. It's an arbitrary decision. They have other options available to them."

In an open letter to DeSousa on Monday, Anand said, the "union has continuously misled Canadians to believe that the non-permitted surplus is over $9 billion. This is incorrect."

"What the actuarial report presents is a projection of what might happen based on the Chief Actuary's best estimates and the minimum legal requirements under paragraph 147.2 (2)(d) of the Income Tax Act and subsection of 44.4 (1) of the Public Service Superannuation Act," Anand writes.

"These projections are not reflective of any deliberate or predetermined government decision as to how it would manage a future non-permitted surplus should one be confirmed."

Anand says whether there is a non-permitted surplus or shortfall, "plan members continue to have a guaranteed and predictable income in their retirement."

"Despite these facts, the union is misleading its members into thinking that their pension is at risk and that the government is taking away pension funds from its employees. That is incorrect, and I want to reiterate that transferring the non-permitted surplus amount to the CRF has no impact on the pension benefits of current or future public service retirees," Anand said in the letter.

The Treasury Board president also said the union's suggestion the government is suspending contributions for the next four years "is false."

PSAC says it is proposing "fair and reasonable solutions" to address the pension surplus, including suspending employee contributions and reversing the "two-tier system" introduced in 2012. The previous Conservative government made changes to the pension system, requiring anyone hired after 2013 to wait until age 60 to retire.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katelyn Wilson