Government to Reimburse Employees for Pension Overpayment

The province of Nova Scotia will reimburse a small group of government employees who paid too much to buy back pensionable employment time.

An administrative review completed by the department this summer concluded that pension regulations for the Public Service Superannuation Plan were not correctly interpreted after the year 2002 in one specific area.

As a result, about 150 full-time staff who once worked as casual employees were charged too much when they bought back pensionable time.

"The review has helped us clarify the interpretation of pension regulations," said Kim Blinn, director of pensions. "Refunds, including interest, will be made to all affected plan members since 2002 who may have paid too much to buy back pension time."

Legislation and regulations governing the Public Service Superannuation Plan allow full-time Nova Scotia government employees who worked as casual employees for a period of six months or more to purchase this time as pensionable service for pension purposes.

Employees who are eligible for reimbursement will be contacted directly by the pension services group of the Department of Finance.

The average amount to be paid is estimated to be in the range of $5,000. Employees may also take the amount as a credit to purchase additional time, if they are eligible.

More information is available on the Public Service Superannuation Plan website, at www.gov.ns.ca/finance/pension . Employees who have questions about pension time purchases may contact the Pension Services Group at 424-5070.

Other provincial pension plans are not affected by this change.