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

• Samantha Probetts has been re-appointed for a 4-year term as an Employee Representative, beginning January 1^st, 2026 and ending December 31^st, 2029. Congratulation Samantha!

The Civil Superannuation Act requires that the Civil Service Superannuation Fund be administered by a board of nine members. Four members serve as representatives of employees and retired members and are appointed by the SILC. The responsibilities and authorities of this position are found in the The Civil Service Superannuation Act, the Civil Service Superannuation Board Employee Representatives Election Regulation, The Public Servants Insurance Act, and the Members of the Legislative Assembly Pension Plan Regulation.

The SILC represents employees and retired employees on pension and group insurance benefits.

 The SILC negotiated the agreement with the Employer Pension and Insurance Advisory Committee on how the surplus in the fund would be used. 

These are the improvements to insurance coverage and costs that will take effect on May 1st, 2025. 

Premiums and costs: 

• Premiums for the Group Life Plan decrease to $0.20 per $1,000 of insurance coverage monthly from $0.23 per $1000 of coverage. 

• Cost sharing under the Group Life Plan on classes 1-4 changes from 27.5% employer funded to 30% employer funded. This means that employees will pay a lesser share of the premium for insurance coverage for the 1x through 4x salary classes of insurance. 

Paid up insurance: 

• Paid up insurance under the Group Life Plan increases from $6,000 to $8,000. At age 75, all employees and retirees in the plan will now have $8,000 of coverage. 

• On a plan member’s 75th birthday, their coverage becomes the paid-up amount of $8,000. 

Full insurance coverage for all active employees to age 75: 

• There are no longer any coverage reductions under the Group Life Plan up to age 75. (Insurance coverage was previously reduced to 75% for employees aged 65-69, and to 62.5% for employees aged 70-74.) 

Please download the Group Insurance Plan Booklet from the CSSB for all the information about the group life insurance plan. 

We are pleased to announce that the Superannuation and Insurance Liaison Committee (SILC) has re-appointed the following employee representative to the Civil Service Superannuation Board: Reed Winstone was re-appointed for a four-year term from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2028.

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

The Superannuation and Insurance Liaison Committee (SILC) represents employee and pensioner members of the Civil Service Superannuation Fund (CSSF) Pension Plan (“Plan”). The SILC is actively engaged in the future health of the plan; we discuss potential changes to the plan with the Employer Advisory Committee.

The 2023 CSSB Annual Report highlighted the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) account (beginning on page 35).

In addition to the core pension benefits provided by the CSSF, the Plan provides for Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for retirees. Cost of living adjustments are funded from a separate COLA account. 10.2% of pension contributions by active members of the Plan and pre-funding employers are allocated to the COLA account. The new COLA granted each year is limited to the extent that the COLA account is able to afford it. COLA adjustments have been granted annually but they are not guaranteed.

The cost-of-living benefit payments are limited to the extent that the amount in the separate Indexing Benefits Account is actuarially able to finance one-half of the payment. Legislation limits the maximum annual adjustment to two-thirds of the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) unless the Indexing Benefits Account can pre-fund anticipated adjustments for the next twenty years.

The COLA account’s ability to pay COLA is affected by factors that include CPI, investment returns, and plan demographics. When inflation is low, the COLA account is more likely to be able to pay a greater percentage of the last year’s CPI.

The SILC engages with the Employer Advisory Committee on an ongoing basis on several issues, including improving the funding status of the primary pension fund, COLA and intergenerational equity. Improving funding of the primary pension fund may allow for greater focus to be given to improving cost of living adjustments.

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:

· Jody Gillis was appointed for a three-year term from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026.

· Doug Troke was appointed for a four-year term from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2027.

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.