RCMP Dependants Pension Benefit Increase

Summary#

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Dependants) Pension Fund Increase in Benefits Order increases certain survivor payments from the RCMP dependants’ pension fund. It applies three small, yearly increases of 2% to widows’ pensions and related lump-sum amounts, and it came into force when registered on March 4, 2022.

What it does#

• Raises pensions for current and prospective widows by 2% on April 1, 2020, April 1, 2021, and April 1, 2022.
• Raises lump-sum death benefits for former members who paid into the plan by 2% on the same three dates.
• Adjusts how any leftover payment (residual amount) is calculated if a widow dies, by treating the deceased member’s contributions as increased by 1.381% (widow’s death in the 2021 plan year), 1.411% (2022), or 1.441% (2023).
• The changes were made under the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act and use a surplus in the fund to pay the increases.

Who's affected#

• The main people affected are the surviving dependants (widows) who already receive payments from the fund. There were 78 widows on April 1, 2019.
• A small number of former RCMP members who contributed to the fund are connected to these benefits; there were 23 such former members on April 1, 2019.
• If a widow died since the increases took effect, the extra amount would go to her estate or beneficiaries.
• The wider public and taxpayers are not affected. The increase is paid from the fund’s surplus of $0.9 million.

Why it matters#

• The fund had an identified surplus, so this order spreads that money out to current recipients instead of leaving it to a single last recipient.
• The increases give a small boost to retirement income for mostly elderly widows; the plan’s average pension was about $22,738.
• There is no new cost to taxpayers because the payments come from the fund itself.
• The Government of Canada Pension Centre will notify affected widows directly.