I spent half an hour on CKNW’s Bill Good Show this morning, talking about public sector pensions and double dipping. NW reporters Janet Brown and Charmaine D’Silva dug up some information for the station’s Waste Patrol report about Delta police officers retiring and being hired back days later for the same job. Their report:

WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM PEOPLE IN DELTA WHO DON'T LIKE THE FACT SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS ON THE FORCE THERE RETIRED BUT THEN DAYS LATER, CAME BACK TO WORK FOR THE POLICE AS CIVILIANS, DOING THE SAME JOB AS BEFORE.

THAT MEANS THEY'RE COLLECTING THEIR PENSION AND ALSO A PAY CHEQUE. MANY THINK THAT'S DOUBLE DIPPING. LET'S LAY OUT THE FACTS:

DEPUTY CHIEF: RETIRED FEB 1, 2009.    RETURNED TO WORK AS A CIVILIAN 15 DAYS LATER.
DEPUTY CHIEF:    RETIRED DEC 1, 2009.   RETURNED TO WORK AS A CIVILIAN 20 DAYS LATER.
INSPECTOR:    RETIRED JAN 1, 2010     RETURNED TO WORK AS A CIVILIAN 24 DAYS LATER.

ALL MEN ARE IN THEIR 50'S AND ALL OF THEM CAME BACK ON CONTRACT AS OFFICERS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF THE DELTA POLICE DEPARTMENT.

There is no doubt that the Canadian public sector pension system needs reform. It was built at a time when life expectancy was shorter. But advanced health care and more active lifestyles have extended an individual’s work life by several years. Where once “Freedom 55” was the target, many people enjoy working into their late 60s and even 70s. They feel good, they want to keep contributing, so they keep on working. That should be welcomed and encouraged—but not at a cost to taxpayers of both a pension and a salary.

With 86.2% of Canadian government employees covered by a defined benefits plan, double dipping could become a huge cost to taxpayers, and one that needs to be examined. Bill Tufts over at Fair Pensions For All has done some meticulous, well-researched work on this issue and is a must-read for anyone concerned about this. Tufts estimates that by extending the standard federal government retirement age to 65, $67.6 billion could be saved over 30 years.

Anyway, double dipping is a hot topic. In recent months, we’ve seen news on Premier Gordon Campbell collecting a $100,000 provincial pension while serving as Canada’s $200,000 a year High Commissioner in London; the CTF award its Teddy Waste Award to Ontario tax collectors who received $56 million in severance payments when their business cards changed from being Ontario PST collectors to Federal HST collectors; and BC Premier Christy Clark blasted BC Conservative leader John Cummins for taking a $100,000 federal pension while seeking to be an MLA—and then admitted she herself had bought back into BC’s gold-plated pension plan.

Something has got to change.