Frequently asked questions for active members: Royal Canadian Mounted Police pension

The Pension Centre is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Pension Plan and associated benefit plans.

The Pension Centre's improved telephone system allows you to select the subject of your call from a list of services provided so that you are directed to a pension expert who is able to answer your questions.

The RCMP Pension Plan provides a lifetime pension amount payable for your lifetime and a temporary bridge benefit amount payable until age 65.

Generally, the formula for calculating the lifetime pension amount is as follows:

Lifetime pension

When you retire, you will receive a lifetime pension based on the average annual salary of your five consecutive years of highest paid service and your years of pensionable service, as follows:

If your pension includes part-time service, the benefits are adjusted to reflect the part-time assigned hours of work compared to the full-time hours of the position.

• Each period of full or part-time service must be calculated individually then summed
• Your years of pensionable service include any service you have bought back, whether or not fully paid for
• Your highest average annual salary is calculated for your five consecutive years of highest paid service, including any salary earned after completing 35 years of service and where, for periods of part-time service, it is based on an equivalent full-time salary
• If you are in receipt of an annual allowance, the unreduced annual pension amount is reduced by a factor based on your circumstances at discharge
• This benefit amount is coordinated with the benefit you will also receive from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and includes a "bridge benefit" paid until you begin receiving CPP benefits (usually at age 65)

Bridge benefit

Plan members who retire after age 65 or who are already receiving CPP or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) disability benefits do not receive the bridge benefit.

If you retire before age 65, you'll receive a bridge benefit in addition to the lifetime pension benefit. This temporary benefit helps to "bridge" your pension until age 65, when CPP or QPP begins or until you become entitled to CPP or QPP disability benefits, whichever comes first. The bridge benefit is calculated as follows:

When you retire, your retirement income generally comes from three sources:

• your RCMP Pension Plan
• the government pension plans, such as Old Age Security (OAS), the Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan (CPP or QPP)
• your personal savings

The Old Age Security benefit is payable to Canadian citizens who meet certain residency criteria. For details, refer to the Old Age Security (OAS) Program on the Service Canada website.

The Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan provides basic retirement income to Canadian workers.

For more information, please contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre.

In the absence of a qualified survivor, the RCMP Pension Plan will pay up to five years' worth of pension payments to your designated beneficiary. This includes any payments made to the pensioner. Should you not be entitled to a pension, the value of your Return of Contributions or Cash Termination Allowance would also be payable to your beneficiary. A qualified survivor will always be entitled first. If for any reason a survivor ceases to qualify prior to the previously mentioned five year amount, the residual is payable to your beneficiary.

You may have only one designated beneficiary. You may designate one of the following:

• any person 18 or more years of age at the time of designation
• your estate
• any charitable or benevolent organization or institution
• any educational or religious organization or institution that is supported by donations

You can name or change your beneficiary by completing the Designation of Beneficiary form. To cancel a previous designation and/or not name a beneficiary simply print "estate" in the space provided for the beneficiary. To be valid your beneficiary designation form must be received by the Pension Centre prior to your death. If you are unaware of who you have named as your beneficiary, you may contact the Pension Centre who will be able to provide you with this information.

The Designation of Beneficiary form only needs to be completed if you do not have a survivor and/or a dependent. If there is a survivor and/or dependent children at the time of your death, the payment of a lump sum amount or annual allowance will automatically be made to them regardless of the designation of beneficiary.

Yes. Your pension is indexed to take into account increases in the cost of living. Your pension will be adjusted every January 1, based on increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Consult the Protection from Inflation document for additional details.

For information on how the indexing rate is calculated and to find this year's rate, see the Indexing Explanation.

Contributions and benefits under the RCMP Pension Plan are coordinated with those under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP). As a result, the RCMP Pension Plan provides for the payment of a lifetime pension and a temporary bridge benefit amount. When you reach age 65 or if you start receiving CPP or QPP disability benefits before age 65, the bridge benefit portion of your RCMP pension stops.

The bridge benefit is intended to supplement your retirement income until you are entitled to receive an unreduced CPP or QPP pension. This is why the bridge benefit ends at age 65 or when you start receiving CPP or QPP disability benefits.

Choosing to receive CPP/QPP benefits before age 65 will reduce your total pension income by an amount equal to the CPP/QPP reduction.

For information regarding health and dental benefits:

• Regular Members should contact their RCMP Occupational Health and Safety Services office
• Civilian Members and dependents of all active members should contact RCMP National Pay Operations at 1-866-729-7293

For information on all other RCMP Group Insurance benefit plans: contact SEB Administrative Services Inc., the RCMP Insurance Administrator, at 1-877-778-8084

The procedure for submitting claims varies by plan.

Regular Members should contact their RCMP Occupational Health and Safety Services office regarding all insurance benefits claims.

For Civilian Members and dependents of all active members:

Under Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP)

• When purchasing eligible prescription drugs and certain medical supplies at the pharmacy, you should present your PSHCP benefit card. If your card is accepted, you will only have to pay your share of the cost and won't need to submit a claim form. If you have any problems with your benefit card, contact Sun Life at 613-247-5100 for residents of the National Capital Region or 1-888-757-7427 (toll free in North America)
• For other types of eligible health care expenses (including prescription drugs purchased without your benefit card), complete a Public Service Health Care Plan Claim Form (PDF 423KB) and mail it to the address indicated on the form along with your original receipts

Under the Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP)

• Your dentist can submit the claim electronically to Great-West Life. In this case, it is your responsibility to authorize your dentist to submit the claim on your behalf and to ensure that your dentist has your current information including your plan and certificate number
• If your dentist does not submit the claim electronically on your behalf ask your dentist to complete his/ her section of the Public Service Dental Care Plan Claim Form (PDF 58KB), then complete your section and:
  • mail it to the address indicated on the form
  • submit your claim electronically by visiting the Great-West Life GroupNet website and click on "Submit Online Claims". You will need an Access ID and password to access these links

RCMP Group Life Insurance Claims: Must be directed to SEB Administrative Services Inc., the RCMP Insurance Administrator, at 1-877-778-8084

For information about:

Health care claims under the PSHCP

• Consult Sun Life Member Services on the Sun Life website and use your Access ID and password to log in
• Call Sun Life at:
  • for residents of the National Capital Region: 613-247-5100
  • elsewhere: 1-888-757-7427 (toll free in North America)

Dental care claims under the PSDCP

• Consult Great-West Life GroupNet online services and use your Access ID and password to log in
• Call Great-West Life at:
  • 1-800-957-9777
  • 204-946-1190 (outside of North America)

Health care claims under the PSHCP

• Read the "Details of your health claims" section on the back of the Explanation of Benefits letter (that is claim statement) returned from Sun Life and in your Member Services account on the Sun Life website (see next question)
• Call Sun Life at:
  • For residents of the National Capital Region: 613-247-5100
  • Elsewhere: 1-888-757-7427 (toll free in North America)
• Refer to the Appeals Procedures on the TBS website

Dental care claims under the PSDCP

• Read the adjudication information on the back of the Explanation of Benefits letter (that is claim statement) returned from Great-West Life or contained in your Group Net account (see next question)
• Call Great-West Life at:
  • 1-800-957-9777
  • 204-946-1190 (outside of North America)
• Refer to the Appeals Procedures on the TBS website

Members of the Public Service Health Care Plan and Public Service Dental Care Plan can access via the internet their personal accounts, including claims information for themselves and their dependants.

The online services available include the ability to:

• obtain coverage information
• download and print personalized claim forms
• download and print the Public Service Health Care Plan and Public Service Dental Care Plan benefit card
• view the status of claims and print details of past claims
• determine eligibility for the next vision care claim (Public Service Health Care Plan) or the next dental examination (Public Service Dental Care Plan)
• update positive enrolment information (Public Service Health Care Plan)
• sign up for direct deposit and paperless Explanation of Benefits (that is claim statement)
• view and elect for paperless PSHCP Bulletins with email notification

An Access ID and password is necessary to enter each of the websites. These can be obtained by registering online at the Web addresses listed below:

• Public Service Health Care Plan Sun Life Member Services
• Public Service Dental Care Plan Great-West Life GroupNet