Proposed Expansion of the Operational Service Early Retirement Program
The following proposals are subject to approval by the Parliament of Budget 2025 and related budget implementation legislation. Bookmark this page for future updates.
The Government of Canada has reaffirmed its plan to broaden the operational service early retirement program to include frontline employees from more occupational groups. Implementing this plan requires changes to legislation and regulations.
Program Overview
The operational service program permits certain eligible plan members to retire early 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 service plus 10 years of “deemed” operational service.
Like all public service pension plan members, participants accumulate pensionable service at roughly 2% per year. Retiring after 25 years typically provides about a 50% pension benefit.
Impact on Frontline Employees
This expansion targets frontline federal workers in the following groups, acknowledging the demanding nature of their roles to maintain 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 challenging daily work performed by these frontline employees and aims to support their retirement options accordingly.
Author’s summary: The Government of Canada plans to expand early retirement benefits for frontline federal workers in several key groups, subject to Parliamentary approval in Budget 2025.