We are pleased to announce that the Superannuation and Insurance Liaison Committee (SILC) has appointed the following employee representatives to the Civil Service Superannuation Board:

• Samantha Probetts was appointed for a three-year term from September 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025.

• Reed Winstone was appointed for a two-year term from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

• Doug Troke and Jody Gillis were appointed for a one-year term from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.

The Civil Superannuation Act requires that the Civil Service Superannuation Fund be administered by a board consisting of nine members. Four members serve as representatives of employees and retired members and are appointed by the SILC.

We are currently accepting applications for the position of Employee Representative on the CSSB. Please see see the call for applications document for details.

Bill 43, the Civil Service Superannuation Amendment Act passed and received Royal Assent on October 14, 2020.

A motion was introduced and carried to reinstate the bill at the stage it was at when the previous legislative session was prorogued. The bill then proceeded through the remaining legislative stages and received Royal Assent.

Bill 43 included changes to the Civil Service Superannuation Act that were jointly recommended by the Liaison Committee and the Employer Advisory Committee.

The CSSB has provided information on Bill 43 on its website.

With the news that a new session of the Legislature will begin on October 7th, Bill 43, the Civil Service Superannuation Amendment Act — from the previous session — will effectively “die on the table”. Bill 43 had its first reading on March 19, 2020 and second reading on May 27, 2020. The Committee stage was completed on June 16 and no amendments were made to the bill. We had expected the Second Session of the 42nd Legislature would resume on October 7, 2020 at 1:30 p.m., as was published on the The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba website for months; however, the government announced a new legislative session will begin instead. More information on the legislative process is available from the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

Bill 43 had included changes to the Civil Service Superannuation Act that were jointly recommended by the Liaison Committee and the Employer Advisory Committee.

The CSSB has provided information on Bill 43 on its website.

Last updated: September 15, 2020

Bill 43, the Civil Service Superannuation Amendment Act, had its first reading in the Manitoba Legislature on March 19, 2020 and second reading on May 27, 2020. The Committee stage was completed on June 16 and no amendments were made to the bill. The Second Session of the 42nd Legislature will resume on October 7, 2020 at 1:30 p.m., according to The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba website.  More information on the legislative process is available from the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

The bill includes changes to the Civil Service Superannuation Act that were jointly recommended by the Liaison Committee and the Employer Advisory Committee.

The change regarding commuted value (CV) withdrawals brings the plan in line with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries new commuted value standards which come into effect this August 1st and will bring fairer and more equitable allocations of pension values for members who are in the plan today and who retire from the Manitoba public service in the future. We should highlight that members can still withdraw CVs after age 55, which is unique for DB plans in Canada.

The bill also allows greater flexibility for purchase of service by employees on maternity or parental leave; it improves the governance of the CSSB by allowing the Liaison Committee to appoint employee representatives on the board; and it makes a number of housekeeping and language improvements.

The bill does not propose any changes to monthly pension payments, nor does it affect early retirement benefits such as the retirement bridging benefit, the rule of 80, or vacation time banking at a time when other Manitoba public sector plans are reducing their early retirement offerings.

The Liaison Committee will continue to advocate for a strong defined benefit pension plan for current and future members.

The CSSB has provided information on Bill 43 on its website.

In the Falll 2019 election, the following candidates were elected to serve three-year terms on the Civil Service Superannuation Board effective January 1st, 2020:

• Ray Erb
• Jody Gillis
• Doug Troke
• C. Reed Winstone – Manitoba Hydro representative

The election of CSSB Employee Representatives is underway.

Eligible voters should have received their ballots by September 30th.

October 31 is the deadline for completed ballots to be returned to the CSSB office.

The 2019 Annual General Meeting was held on March 1st. The next meeting will be on October 25th.

The 2019 AGM will be on March 1. Meeting notices will be sent out shortly.