PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
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Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Reserve Force Pension Plan backlog needs to be resolved
Ottawa, April 04, 2012 -
OTTAWA – The Reserve Force Pension Plan has to improve on the deficiencies with its implementation and eliminate existing backlogs in distributing pension benefits, according to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ report presented today to the House of Commons.
In 2007, the government introduced the Reserve Force Pension Plan, which is a defined benefit pension plan that provides a pension for Reserve Force members based on salary and years of service that now has approximately 21,000 contributors.
In an audit included in its Spring 2011 Report, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) examined how the Reserve Force Pension Plan was planned and implemented, and whether the Department of National Defence (DND) had the means necessary to operate the pension plan, including organizational structure, resources, and information systems and control procedures.
The audit found that the Pension Plan was behind schedule with many reservists waiting for their pension benefits to arrive. The OAG concluded that the government should enhance hiring and training staff, redesign administrative processes, improve communication with reservists, undertake better performance reporting and implement system improvements so that the capacity to process pension benefits may improve.
The Committee recognizes that the creation of the Reserve Force Pension Plan is a positive development to bring equity to all those in the armed forces and show appreciation for their service to Canada. The Committee also notes the steps that have already been taken by DND to improve the Plan, such as hiring and training more staff to address backlogs and improving controls. However, the Committee encourages DND to take immediate action to remedy the problems identified by the OAG.
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