History - page 3 of 4
The 90's: the decade of change
This was a period of rapid growth with the Association reaching the threshold of recruiting its 70,000th member in 1992.
Another step in the right direction, although modest, was made when, in 1992, Bill C-55 provided an option to those who married after retirement to obtain, at the cost of a reduced annuity, a survivor pension for their spouses. This bill also increased the PS and CF Supplementary Death Benefit paid-up amount from $500 to $5,000.
FSNA was also instrumental in achieving other significant improvements such as enhanced government contribution to the GSMIP premiums and improved health benefits through this plan’s successor, the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) that was established in 1991.
FSNA executives were appointed to represent all pensioners on the PSHCP Board of Management, the PS Pension Advisory Committee, and the CF Pension Advisory Committee. These appointments provided a formal means to ensure that the concerns of pensioners were made known and considered.
In 1994, rumors that the CPP would be reduced or eliminated for those whom the government considered affluent prompted FSNA to join other seniors’ organization and to spearhead the formation of the Coalition of Seniors for Social Equity (COSSE). One of the Coalition’s aims was to ensure that the Government considered all the implications before initiating any further changes to seniors’ income security programs.
When the 1996 federal budget proposed the replacement of OAS benefits with a seniors benefits plan based on family income, the Coalition strongly objected to family income testing and played a key role in influencing the government not to proceed with this plan.
That year was also when the deduction of FSNA membership dues from federal pensions came into effect. Combined with another successful recruitment campaign, this method of payment contributed to reaching the membership goal of 100,000.
The long-awaited consultative process on the future of the PS Pension Plan was announced in 1998 with the recommendation to maintain the “old plan” and to establish a “new fund”. It was proposed that the new fund be managed by a pension management board that would have at least an advisory role with respect to the old plan.
It was expected that this new fund would also have a significant impact on the future form of the CF and RCMP superannuation plans.
The pension reform legislation (Bills C-71 and C-78) was adopted in 1999 without providing the fair and equitable distribution of the pension surpluses FSNA was requesting, hence FSNA’s participation in the pension surplus court challenge.
The Association’s efforts in the consultation stage of the pension reform legislation were, however, critical to the Supplementary Death Benefit improvements, and its advocacy work contributed to increasing FSNA’s profile with government decision-makers.
