First

Session, 47th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2012

BILL 43

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

PUBLIC SERVICE PENSIONS ACT, 1991

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

THOMAS W. MARSHALL, Q.C.

Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Public Service Pensions Act, 1991 to

provide for consistency with certain provisions of the Pension Benefits Act , 1997 and

the Income Tax Act ( Canada ).

The Bill would also enact a number of

housekeeping changes to the Act including repealing lapsed provisions of the

Act.

The Bill would amend the Act to

allow a terminating employee

who is eligible for a deferred pension to elect to receive the commuted value

of the pension as determined at the date of election;

allow a terminating vested

employee who has reached 55 years of age to elect to take an actuarially

reduced pension; and

provide that the Public Service

Credit Union remain a participating employer under the plan only in respect of

those employees in the plan before January 1, 2013.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SERVICE PENSIONS

ACT, 1991

Analysis

S.5 Amdt.

Employee contributions

S.6 R&S

Deductions paid to fund

S.6.1 Rep.

Rejoining pension plan

S.7 Amdt.

Repayment of contributions

S.7.1 Amdt.

Election upon termination

S.8 Amdt.

Purchase of prior service

S.8.1 Amdt.

Purchase by designated employees

S.9 Amdt.

Pension rights on becoming an employee

S.11 Amdt.

Leave of absence without pay

S.13 R&S

Transfer from Government Money Purchase Pension Plan

S.14.1 Amdt.

Transfer

S.19 Amdt.

Pension upon retirement

13. S.23.1 Amdt.

Death of employee

14. S.24 Amdt.

Estate provision

S.25 Amdt.

When pensions payable

S.26.1 Amdt.

Subsections apply notwithstanding

S.27 R&S

Pension shall not be assigned or attached

S.28 Rep.

Attachment

S.34 Amdt.

Regulations re certain employees

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL1991 c12

as amended

1. Subsection 5(3) of the Public Service Pensions Act, 1991 is amended by striking out the

words "together with interest at the prescribed rate".

Section 6 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Deductions paid

to fund

(1) The

government of the province shall pay out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and

pay into the pension fund

(

a) an amount equal to the contributions of its

employees under this Act unless otherwise directed by this Act or a directive

of the minister; and

(

b) an additional amount that may be prescribed.

(2) The employers of those persons included in the

pension plan under

an Act of the Legislature or by a directive made under

section

34 shall pay into the pension fund

(

a) an amount equal to the contributions of their

employees under this Act unless otherwise directed by this Act or a directive

of the minister; and

(

b) an additional amount that may be prescribed.

(3) Excess government or employer contributions

required to match employee contributions paid in accordance with subsection 5(3)

shall be refunded to the government or the employer.

(4) Where the amount of government contributions

under subsection (1) or employer contributions under subsection (2) exceeds the

amount of the annual deductible contributions to a registered plan permitted

under the Income Tax Act (Canada),

the amount of the excess, as determined at the end of the calendar year in

which the contributions are made, shall be paid from the pension fund to the

supplementary account no later than the last day of February in the immediately

following calendar year.

(5) Where the contribution of the government of

the province or another employer to whom this Act applies was reduced under

this Act between the period of April 1, 1993 and March 31, 1996, an employee or

a former employee may elect to contribute an amount, in addition to the amount

which he or she is or was required to contribute under

section 5, to be

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may prescribe by regulation, which would place

the employee or former employee in the position he or she would have been in

respecting an award of pension if the government of the province, or another

employer to whom this Act applies, had not reduced its contribution.

Section 6.1 of the Act is repealed.

4. (1) Subsection 7(1.1) of the Act is

amended by striking out the words "personal representative" and

substituting the word "estate".

(2) Subsections 7(2), (3) and (4) of the Act are

repealed.

(1) Subsection 7.1(1) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

Election upon

termination

7.1

(1) A

terminating employee with at least 5 years of pensionable service who is

ineligible for an immediate, unreduced pension may elect within 180 days after

termination

(

a) a transfer of the commuted value of the

pension entitlement of the employee, in accordance with paragraph 40(1)(

a) of

the Pension Benefits Act, 1997 ;

(

b) a deferred pension in accordance with

section

20; or

(

c) a return of the contributions made by that

employee, with interest at a rate prescribed, for periods of pensionable service

credited

(

i) before January 1, 1987, and

(ii) before January 1, 1997 where the employee had

less than 10 years of pensionable service and is less than 45 years of age,

and a transfer of the commuted value of the

terminating employee's pension entitlement based on the remaining periods of

pensionable service under paragraph (a).

(2) Subsection 7.1(3) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(3) An employee who elects or is considered to

have elected to receive a deferred pension may revoke that election and elect a

transfer under paragraph (1)(a), calculated at the date of election.

6. (1) Subsection 8(1) of the Act is amended

by striking out the words "refund of contributions or a commuted value

upon termination" and substituting the words "termination

benefit".

(2) Section 8 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (1) the following:

(1.1) Where an employee to whom subsection

(1) applies transferred his or her termination benefit to a registered retirement

savings plan, a deferred profit sharing plan or a registered pension plan, payment

by that employee for the purchase of prior pensionable service shall include a

transfer of the funds remaining in the registered retirement savings plan, the

deferred profit sharing plan or the registered pension plan from the amount

originally transferred.

(3) Subsection 8(2) of the Act is amended by

striking out the words "refund of contributions or a commuted value"

and substituting the words "termination benefit".

(4) Section 8 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (4) the following:

(5) For the purpose of subsections (1) and (3.1),

periods of pensionable service may be credited where that service qualifies as

a period of eligible service under the Income

Tax Act ( Canada ).

7. Subsection 8.1(1) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

Purchase by designated

employees

8.1

(1) Where

an employee was formerly employed by a company owned by the government of the

province, the employee may elect to purchase as pensionable service the period

of full time service worked with that company while that company was owned by

government, provided that service qualifies as eligible service under the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Section 9 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (3) the following:

(4) For the purpose of subsections (1) and (2), periods

of pensionable service may be credited where that service qualifies as a period

of eligible service under the Income Tax

Act ( Canada ).

9. (1) Subsection 11(5) is amended by

striking out the references "(2), (6) and (8)" and substituting the

references "(2) and (8)".

(2) Subsections 11(6) and (7) of the Act are repealed.

(3) Section 11 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (8) the following:

(9) Pensionable service credited under this

section shall be limited to a cumulative maximum of 5 years in respect of

periods of unpaid leave of absence or periods of reduced pay plus an additional

3 years in respect of periods of parenting and shall be subject to the limits

on prescribed compensation set out in regulations made under the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Section 13 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Transfer from Government

Money Purchase Pension Plan

13. The

minister shall accept the transfer of funds from the Government Money Purchase

Pension Plan created by the Government

Money Purchase Pension Plan Act and establish the amount of related

prescribed.

11. Subsection 14.1(2) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(2) Subsection (1) applies where the employee

(

a) has terminated his or her membership in the

exporting pension plan;

(

b) has not received a termination benefit from

the exporting plan; and

(

c) is entitled to transfer his or her full

entitlement from the exporting plan.

Section 19 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (5) the following:

(6) An employee who has reached advanced

retirement age and has been credited with not less than 5 years of pensionable

service may elect to retire and receive an actuarially reduced pension.

(7) For the purpose of subsection (6), an actuarially

reduced pension refers to a pension that has been reduced by an amount determined

by the actuary that reflects the fact that the pension is being paid from a

date that is earlier than the date the employee, based on his or her service,

would be eligible for an unreduced pension.

13. Subsection 23.1(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the phrase "and subsections 7(2), (3) and (4) apply to the

transfer".

Section 24 of the Act is amended by striking

out the words "in accordance with subsection 7(2)" and substituting

the words "to the estate".

Section 25 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (2) the following:

(3) Pension payments shall be equal and periodic.

Section 26.1 of the Act is amended by striking

out the reference "6(4.1)" and substituting the reference "6(4)".

Section 27 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Pension shall not

be assigned or attached

27. A

pension awarded under this Act shall not be assigned, charged, attached,

anticipated or given as security and is exempt from execution, seizure or

attachment, and a transaction purporting to assign, charge, attach, anticipate

or give as security such money is void, except in accordance with the Pension Benefits Act, 1997 .

Section 28 of the Act is repealed.

19. Paragraph 34(1)(

g) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

g) the Public Service Credit Union if those

persons were employed on a full time basis before January 1, 2013;

Queen's Printer