Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulations (C.R.C., c. 396)

Election for Reserve Force Service

• 12.2 (1) For the purposes of this section and subsection 12.4(2), reserve force service is service in the reserve force

  • (a) in respect of which the contributor was not required to contribute to the Superannuation Account or the Canadian Forces Pension Fund;

  • (b) during which the contributor was not a participant under the Reserve Force Pension Plan Regulations, other than any period in the reserve force in respect of which the contributor was entitled to a return of contributions within the meaning of section 38 of those Regulations;

  • (c) that the contributor is not counting as pensionable service for the purposes of, or in respect of which the payment of a transfer value or a commuted value has not been effected under, the Public Service Superannuation Act or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act; and

  • (d) in respect of which the contributor has not lost the right to make a pensionable earnings election.

• (2) In respect of a member, or former member, of the reserve force who becomes a contributor on or after March 1, 2007, clauses 6(b)(ii)(G) and (H) of the Act are adapted as follows:

  • (G) any period of reserve force service referred to in subsection 12.2(1) of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulations, if — during the period beginning on the day on which they become or, if the contributor ceased to contribute to the Canadian Forces Pension Fund before the end of the last period in which the contributor was entitled to make the election, again become a contributor and ending the later of one year after the date of the written notice advising the contributor that they have become entitled to make it, and March 1, 2011 — the contributor elects to pay for that service,

• (3) The election for reserve force service set out in clauses 6(b)(ii)(G) and (H) of the Act, as adapted by subsection (2), is for all of the contributor’s reserve force service. However, there shall be counted as years of pensionable service, starting with the most recent, only those that would result in a maximum of 35 years of pensionable service to the credit of the contributor.

• (4) The contributor referred to in subsection (2) may not make an election for reserve force service under clause 6(b)(ii)(K) of the Act.

12.3 [Repealed, SOR/2010-101, s. 2]

• 12.4 (1) In respect of a contributor who makes an election for reserve force service under clauses 6(b)(ii)(G) and (H) of the Act, as adapted by subsection 12.2(2) of these Regulations, paragraphs 7(1)(g) and (h) of the Act are adapted as follows:

  • (g) in respect of any period specified in clauses 6(b)(ii)(G) and (H), as adapted by subsection 12.2(2) of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulations, the full amount calculated under subsection 12.4(2) of those Regulations or a lesser amount for which the contributor opts at the time of making the election;

• (2) The full amount referred to in paragraphs 7(1)(g) and (h) of the Act, as adapted by subsection (1), is the total of the following amounts:

  • (a) the full amount, under subsection 15(2) of the Reserve Force Pension Plan Regulations, of a pensionable earnings election made under those Regulations, as if it had been made on the day of the election for reserve force service, calculated as if the contributor were a participant under the terms of those Regulations, and their past earnings, determined under the terms of those Regulations, were the past earnings that relate to the periods included in the contributor’s reserve force service; and

  • (b) the full amount of a top-up election made on the day of the election for reserve force service, using the formula in paragraph 14.6(3)(b) as if the value of E were equal to one and as if the reserve force service had become pensionable service to the contributor’s credit under the Reserve Force Pension Plan Regulations as a result of the pensionable earnings election.

• (3) The contributor may not modify the amount for which the contributor has opted.

Revocation of Election

• 13 (1) An election made by a contributor under the Act to pay for a period of service may be revoked by the contributor in whole or in part, on request by the contributor,

  • (a) as to payments made and to be made for the period of service mentioned in the election, if the contributor received erroneous or misleading information in writing, with respect to the amount to be paid or the consequences of the election on their benefits, from a person whose normal duties include giving information about those matters, and the contributor, in making the election, acted on that information; or

  • (b) as to payments to be made for the period of service mentioned in the election, if the contributor establishes that financial hardship will be caused to them if they are required to continue to make the payments.

• (1.1) A revocation that relates only to a portion of the period of service may only apply to the portion of the period of service that is earliest in point of time.

• (2) If an election made by a contributor is revoked for the reason referred to in paragraph (1)(b), the contributor shall pay to Her Majesty an amount in respect of any benefit that accrued to the contributor during the subsistence of the election as a consequence of the election, calculated in accordance with Canadian Life Table No. 2 (1941), Males four per cent or Females four per cent, as the case may be.

• (3) Any payment made by a contributor under subsection (2) in respect of any benefit accruing to them during the subsistence of an election made under the Act that they revoked under subsection (1) for a reason referred to in paragraph (a) thereof prior to December 4, 1969, shall be refunded to that contributor.

• (4) Where an election of a contributor is revoked, in whole or in part pursuant to subsection (1) and the contributor has paid any amount pursuant to the election, the amount so paid shall be applied, firstly, in payment of the amount required to be paid by the contributor under subsection (2), and the remainder of the amount, if any, shall be applied as follows:

  • (a) if the contributor has revoked the election in whole under paragraph (1)(a), the remainder of the amount shall be refunded to them; and

  • (b) in any other case, the remainder of the amount shall be applied towards the payment for that portion of the period of service mentioned in the election that has not been revoked, calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations, and if any of the said amount remains thereafter, it shall be refunded to the contributor.

• (5) Where the election of a contributor is revoked in whole or in part pursuant to subsection (1) and further payments are required to be made by them, they shall make those payments in such amount and in such manner as the Minister determines and the payments shall be applied, firstly, in payment of the amount required to be paid by the contributor under subsection (2), if that amount has not already been paid, and the remainder of the payments, if any, shall be applied towards the payment for that portion of the period of service mentioned in the election that has not been revoked, calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations.

• (6) The amount required to be paid by a contributor under subsection (2) may be recovered on behalf of Her Majesty as a debt due to the Crown from any benefit payable under the Act to or in respect of the contributor, without prejudice to any other recourse available to Her Majesty with respect to the recovery thereof.

• (7) A request for revocation of an election to pay for service under this section shall be made in writing, dated and signed and sent to the Minister, or to a person designated by the Minister, within one week after the date that it bears.

• (8) Where an election to pay for a period of service is revoked by a contributor pursuant to subsection (1), it shall be considered, for the purposes of a future election to pay for that period of service, to be an election as contemplated by clause 6(b)(ii)(K) of the Act.

• (9) A contributor may revoke, in whole or in part, an election not to count a period of service as pensionable service under subsection 11(2.1) if the contributor received erroneous or misleading information in writing, with respect to the amount to be paid or the consequences of the election on their benefits, from a person whose normal duties include giving information about those matters, and the contributor, in making the election, acted on that information.

Manner of Payment for Elective Pensionable Service

• 14 (1) If, under paragraph 9(1)(b) of the Act, a contributor — other than a contributor who is a member of the reserve force or, in respect of a top-up election under section 14.2, a contributor who was a member of the reserve force — has exercised an option to pay in instalments for pensionable service, those payments shall be made by reservation from pay and allowances or otherwise, for life or for a period of years not greater than for life, and are payable in the following manner:

  • (a) the first instalment is due and payable on the first day of the month immediately following the month of election and succeeding instalments monthly after that time during the term corresponding to the plan of payment selected by the contributor, computed in accordance with Canadian Life Table No. 2 (1941), Males four per cent or Females four per cent, as the case may be; and

  • (b) the contributor may amend the plan of payment to provide for payment of the instalments still to be paid in a lump sum or by larger monthly instalments on a basis similar to that described in paragraph (a), calculated as of the date of the amendment.

• (2) If a contributor — other than a contributor who is a member of the reserve force or, in respect of a top-up election under section 14.2, a contributor who was a member of the reserve force — originally exercised an option to pay in one lump sum, and subsequently the total amount to be paid in respect of the service for which the contributor elected to pay is verified as a greater amount than that on which the original lump sum payment was based, the contributor shall pay the difference either in one lump sum or by instalments, at the contributor’s option, on a basis similar to that described in subsection (1).

• (3) If a contributor — other than a contributor who is a member of the reserve force or, in respect of a top-up election under section 14.2, a contributor who was a member of the reserve force — originally exercised an option to pay by instalments, and subsequently the total amount to be paid in respect of the service for which the contributor has elected to pay is verified as a greater or lesser amount than that on which the original instalments were based, the monthly instalment under subsection (1) shall be increased or decreased in accordance with the verified amount, but the instalment shall not be decreased by more than 5% of the original monthly instalment.

• (4) If a contributor originally exercised an option to pay by instalments for a period of years less than for life, and if they can establish that financial hardship will be caused to them if they are required to continue to pay those instalments, on the application of the contributor, the amount of the monthly instalment may be reduced to a lesser amount on a basis similar to that described in subsection (1), calculated as of the first day of the month following approval of the application.

• (4.1) The application shall be made in writing, dated and signed and sent to the Minister, or a person designated by the Minister, within one week after the date that it bears. It shall be void unless the contributor has passed a medical examination similar to that described in section 10, within the period of 90 days before or after the date of the application.

• (5) Where a contributor, who has elected under the Act or Part V of the former Act to pay for any period of service and has undertaken to pay for that period by instalments, ceases to be a member of the regular force before all the instalments have been paid, the unpaid instalments shall be reserved from the benefits payable to them as follows:

  • (a) subject to paragraph (c), where the benefit payable is an annuity, the remaining instalments shall be reserved from that annuity;

  • (b) where the benefit payable is a cash termination allowance, the present value of the remaining instalments shall be reserved from that allowance to the extent that such allowance is not reduced below an amount equivalent to a return of contributions; or

  • (c) where during any period a pension granted under Part V of the former Act or an annuity granted under the Act is not payable or is reduced to an amount that is not sufficient to pay the instalments in full, the unpaid portion of the remaining instalments shall be reserved during such period from the pay and allowances or salary payable to the recipient or from any other amount payable to them by Her Majesty.

• (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, a contributor who, pursuant to subsection 9(3) of the Act, elects to surrender their right under subsection 56(2) of the former Act, to defer payment for their prior service in the regular force for which they were not required to pay until the date of their retirement, shall be required to pay the amount prescribed therein in the following manner:

  • (a) prior to their retirement, the whole or any part of the prescribed amount

    • (i) in a lump sum without interest, or

    • (ii) in monthly instalments of any amount without interest,

    at their option; and

  • (b) upon their retirement, any balance remaining of the contributions required to be paid, in the same manner and subject to the same terms and conditions as would be applicable to an amount required to be paid in accordance with subsection 56(2) of the former Act.

• (7) For the purpose of subsection 9(4) of the Act, where at the death of a contributor any amount payable by them into the Superannuation Account or Canadian Forces Pension Fund is due and payable but remains unpaid, the amount payable, with interest at four per cent per annum from the time it became due to the time of their death, shall be recovered from any allowance payable to the survivor or children as follows:

  • (a) in a lump sum from a cash termination allowance; or

  • (b) by monthly instalments from an annual allowance in an amount equal to 10 per cent of the net monthly allowance, but in any such case payment may be made by or on behalf of the survivor or children that will liquidate the amount at an earlier date.

14.1 In respect of a member of the reserve force who is a contributor and who makes an election under any of clauses 6(b)(ii)(A) to (F) and (I) to (L) of the Act and 6(b)(ii)(G) and (H) of the Act as adapted by subsection 12.2(2) of these Regulations, or a member or former member of the reserve force who makes a top-up election under section 14.2 of these Regulations, subsection 9(1) of the Act is adapted as follows:

• 9 (1) Any amount required to be paid by a contributor who makes an election under any of clauses 6(b)(ii)(A) to (F) and (I) to (L) and clauses 6(b)(ii)(G) and (H), as adapted by subsection 12.2(2) of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Regulations, or a member or former member of the reserve force who makes a top-up election under section 14.2 of those Regulations shall be paid on the same terms and conditions as those set out in sections 16 to 21 of the Reserve Force Pension Plan Regulations that would apply to a participant in respect of an election made under subsection 11(1) of those Regulations and section 23 of those Regulations applies to any member or former member of the reserve force, who is in receipt of an annuity or annual allowance, in respect of any instalments resulting from a top-up election as if that member or former member had been a participant under those Regulations.

Top-up Election for Contributions Paid Under the Reserve Force Pension Plan Regulations

14.2 A contributor is entitled to make a top-up election, once only, to contribute an additional amount in respect of all of the pensionable service that was counted to the contributor’s credit

• (a) under section 10.2, other than pensionable service described in paragraph (b); and

• (b) under section 10.2 that had been counted to their credit as a result of a pensionable earnings election.

14.3 A contributor may make the top-up election commencing on the day in respect of which they are entitled to receive pay.

14.4 The contributor shall make the top-up election no later than the later of one year after the date of the written notice advising the contributor that they have become entitled to make it and March 1, 2011.