Court Rules Pension Plan Members Not Entitled To Indexing

In a decision released this month, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that members of the Saskatchewan public service pension plan are not entitled to indexed pension benefits, beyond what was already provided for in legislation:  May et al. v. Government of Saskatchewan 2013 SKCA 11. 

The plaintiffs who were representative plaintiffs in a class action on behalf of members of the pension plan, alleged that the government of Saskatchewan had breached employment contracts with its employees and had also breached its fiduciary duties toward the members in failing to fully index the pensions payable from the plan.

The pension plan for public servants in Saskatchewan migrated from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan in 1977.  However, members of the plan at that date could elect to continue participating in the defined benefit plan.  It is a very rich plan, providing a benefit equal to 2% of a member's final average earnings, multiplied by years of