In 2007 the Campbell government re-instated gold-plated pensions for MLAs – the first government in Canada to bring back  unsustainable pension plans.They went one step further and gave current and former MLAs the opportunity to add more years into the gold-plated pension benefit calculation. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has learned that part of the taxpayer portion of the buyback bill for the period 1996 to 2007 is coming in at a whopping $16.4 million.
 


In 1996, at urging of the CTF, the Harcourt government sensibly appointed a Citizens’ Panel and adopted a recommendation to provide MLAs a matching RRSP-type pension plan. That plan had taxpayers contributing one dollar for every dollar contributed by an MLA. In opposition at the time, Gordon Campbell suggested the pension reforms could have been even more stringent. However, after a few years in office the Campbell government appointed a blue ribbon panel that brought back gold-plated pensions. To make matters more expensive for taxpayers, the panel made them available to all the politicians who lost out on gold under the sustainable RRSP-style plan. Now taxpayers are finding out what the cost of that decision will be.

A current or former MLA may buy back his or her pension by July 1, 2011 at a cost determined by the public service board on the basis of the full actuarial cost of the pension benefit. For the period from May 17, 2005, to March 31, 2007, the actuarial cost of the buyback is shared 50/50 between the member and the taxpayer. However, for the period 1996 to 2005, the MLA pays only 11 per cent of his or her salary and the taxpayer puts in what they already gave as the RRSP, then picks up  the actuarial cost of the remainder, no matter what that amounts to.

The CTF is awaiting a request of the names of which current and former MLAs have bought back into the gold-plated scheme, but has already been denied information on how much these former and current MLAs themselves paid. The CTF has said it will undertake to provide estimated pension benefits of these current and former MLAs under the new pension arrangements should names be forthcoming from the government. In 2007 the CTF did a study on the gold-plated pension plan showing that for every dollar contributed by an MLA to the pension plan, taxpayers contributed four dollars.

Taxpayers deserve to have the entire gold-plated pension boondoggle reviewed -- it's time to bring back a panel that understands the burden high-priced help creates for the average family, one in touch with the financial challenges of the average taxpayer. Taxpayers worry about funding their own retirement and cannot be expected to fund over the top benefits to politicians.