
The President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, has accused the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) of spreading “misleading information” about a $1.9 billion pension surplus. Anand spoke to reporters in Ottawa and said claims that the government is “stealing the pensions from public servants” are not true. At the end of November, it was reported that the Public Service Pension Fund had a $1.9 billion “non-permitted surplus” as of March 31, 2024.
The fund’s total assets were valued at $186 billion. The Public Service Superannuation Act says that these surpluses must be moved to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. PSAC started a “Stop Pension Theft” campaign in response, saying the government plans to take $9.3 billion from the pension plan.
Anand denied these claims. She said moving the extra funds follows the law and the government still guarantees the pension. She emphasized that PSAC’s statements are part of a misinformation campaign and asked the union to fix its story.
PSAC argues that the government’s actions are not fair, especially since workers and the government both pay equally into the pension fund. Union President Sharon DeSousa said workers are angry and feel betrayed by the government’s choice to take the surplus without talking to them first. Anand sent an open letter to DeSousa in response.
She explained that the union’s claim of a $9 billion surplus is not right because it is based on estimates, not real numbers. She repeated that moving the non-permitted surplus does not affect current or future pension benefits for retired public servants. The National Association of Federal Retirees is worried about how the federal government is handling non-permitted surplus funds.
This has led to $1.9 billion being moved into government accounts.
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