Questions and responses 44th Parliament, 1st session November 22, 2021, to January 6, 2025

With regard to British pensioners living in Canada and impacted by the United Kingdom’s (UK) frozen pensions policy, under which the UK government does not index pensions: (a) have any ministers raised this issue with British officials since November 4, 2015, and, if so, for each instance, what were the (i) date, (ii) context, (iii) UK government's commitments to act, if any; and (b) for all instances in (a), which minister raised the issue and with which British official?

With regard to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and broken down by year for each of the last five years: what was the number and percentage of new CPP recipients, broken down by their age at the time that they received their first CPP payment, starting at age 60?

With regard to Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments: (a) has the government conducted any analysis into (i) how much it would cost to allow individuals who continue to pay into and don’t start collecting CPP payments until an age later than 65, such as 70, to defer those payments and receive larger payment when they do start collecting CPP payments, (ii) any proposal similar to that outlined in (a)(i); and (b) if the answer to (a)(i) or (a)(ii) is affirmative, what are the details, including the findings and projections associated with the analysis?

With regard to the Public Service Pension Plan, as of January 1, 2024: (a) what is the number of (i) public sector employees, (ii) retirees, (iii) former employees, in Group 1 of the Public Service Pension Plan; (b) what is the number of (i) public sector employees, (ii) retirees, (iii) former employees, in Group 2 of the Public Service Pension Plan; (c) what is the projected surplus in the Public Service Pension Plan; (d) what percentage of the plan is funded; and (e) what plans, if any, does the government have to distribute funds over the permissible surplus level?

With regard to advertising expenditures promoting the Canada Pension Plan, since 2016: (a) how much has been spent on such advertising, in total, and broken down by year; (b) what are the details of each such advertising campaign, including the (i) start and end dates, (ii) amount spent, (iii) purpose of the campaign, (iv) types of outlets that advertising was purchased in (television, newspaper, radio, social media, etc.); and (c) what are the details of all contracts awarded related to the advertising campaigns, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) vendor, (iv) description of goods or services, (v) manner in which the contract was awarded (sole-sourced, competitive bid)?

With regard to the Canada Pension Plan survivor's pension: (a) how many recipients are currently receiving the survivor's pension at the 60 percent level, in total and broken down by gender; (b) what is the total amount paid out in the last year to seniors receiving the survivor's pension at the 60 percent level; (c) what are the government's projections for (i) how many individuals will be eligible for survivor's pensions, both in total and broken down by gender, (ii) the total amount expected to be paid out to recipients, for each of the next five years; and (d) of those currently receiving the survivor's benefit at the 60 percent level, how many are living below the poverty level?

With regard to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), broken down by province and constituency since 2022: (a) how many Canadians experienced a reduction in their GIS as a result of increases in Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments; (b) how many Canadians became ineligible for GIS as a result of increases in CPP payments; and (c) how many of the Canadians in (a) and (b) experienced an overall reduction in income?

With regard to retirement policies for firefighters employed by the Department of National Defence (DND): (a) what are the specific differences in pension eligibility requirements between firefighters employed directly by DND compared to those employed by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF); (b) what is the rationale for the differences; and (c) is the government planning on reducing the pension eligibility requirements for firefighters employed by DND, and, if so, (i) when will this change be made, (ii) will the change involve aligning the requirements with CAF requirements?

With regard to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF): (a) how many CAF members have been forced to take a lower pension amount due to being sent to a lower paying transition unit, due to age, injury, or other factors, prior to retirement; (b) are the CAF members in (a) able to have a pension based on their highest earning years, including allowances, and, if not, why not; (c) what measures are in place to ensure that the CAF does not try to intentionally lower pension payments by placing higher earning CAF members into lower earning transition units prior to the CAF member's release; (d) how many CAF veterans are currently receiving a pension based on a rate based on a transition unit rather than based on their highest earning unit; (e) what is the CAF doing with the extra money resulting from lower pension payments; (f) how many Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) members have participated in missions or operations but still been denied full danger pay and risk allowances; (g) what is the rationale for providing regiments operating at the same time and place with full danger pay and risk allowances while denying it to special forces; (h) does the rational take into consideration that special forces tasking is often more dangerous, and living conditions are equally poor, and, if not, why not; (i) what mechanisms are in place for CSOR members who have been denied danger pay or risk allowances to appeal the denial; (j) how much money is the government saving by denying danger pay and risk allowances to CSOR members; (k) what is the government doing with the money it is saving by denying danger pay and risk allowances to CSOR members; and (l) how does the government justify denying full danger pay and risk allowances to CSOR members who participate in assignments abroad when their conditions are worse than other CAF regiments in the same place at the same time?

With regard to retirement benefits for the Canada Border Services Agency law enforcement officers in the FB bargaining group, who are employed by the Department of National Defence in the SV (FR) bargaining group: (a) what has the government done to proceed with its commitment to pursue the necessary legislative amendments to enhance early retirement benefits under the public service pension plan for these employees; (b) what are the details of all consultations that have been undertaken concerning the legislative amendments in (a), including the (i) date of the consultation, (ii) parties consulted, (iii) suggested changes as a result of the consultation; (c) what is the timeframe for the government to introduce legislative amendments to enhance the retirement benefits of these employees; and (d) what efforts has the government made to ease the physical burden on these workers as a result of doing their job?

With regard to the public service pension plan: (a) what is the total value of the payments made to deceased pensioners, broken down by year since 2016; (b) of the payments in (a), what is the value of the amounts recovered to date from the estates of the deceased; (c) what is the percentage and value of the amounts not yet recovered in (a) which are expected to be (i) recovered, (ii) written-off; and (d) what are the details of the government's process for recovering pension plan payments made to deceased individuals?

With regard to the Canada Pension Plan's (CPP) investments in Russian state owned enterprises, or enterprises with significant ties to Vladimir Putin or the Russian oligarchy: (a) what enterprises are currently owned by the CPP, and what is the value of each investment; (b) has the government directed or advised the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to divest such holdings, and, if so, what are the details including the date of the direction or advice; and (c) does the CPPIB have plans to eliminate all such holdings from their investment portfolio, and, if so, when will these holdings be eliminated?

With regard to members of the Border Services (FB) group who work at the Canada Border Services Agency and the commitment made by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat during the 2021 round of bargaining to resubmit the Border Services (FB) group’s proposal to introduce legislative amendments providing enhanced early retirement benefits under the public service pension plan, to facilitate an expedited opportunity to bring forward its related business case to the Public Service Pension Advisory Committee (PSPAC), and to facilitate a streamlined process to have these issues reviewed and ensure that related recommendations are brought forward in a timely manner: (a) who has the government consulted with through this process, including, but not limited to, members of the Border Services (FB) group, through their bargaining agent; (b) what information, advice, and recommendations have the (i) PSPAC, (ii) Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), (iii) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), presented to the Treasury Board; (c) what information, statements, advice, and recommendations has the Treasury Board presented to the (i) PSPAC, (ii) PSAC, (iii) PSPIB; (d) what is the timeline to implement the promised changes; and (e) what steps still need to be taken to ensure these changes take place?