Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter says the province has no plans to review public sector pension plans.
Dexter says his government will look at what a New Brunswick government review concludes, but he says the biggest plan in Nova Scotia is in a “balanced position.”
That plan is the Public Service Superannuation Plan, which includes 29,000 active and retired civil servants and some other public sector workers.
New Brunswick Finance Minister Blaine Higgs announced the review in his province on September 15, to ensure the plans are affordable and sustainable and have secure benefits.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business applauds New Brunswick’s review and wants all provinces to review public sector pension plans.
But Leanne Hachey, the federation’s Atlantic vice-president, says pensions are just part of the compensation issue, which private businesses are competing with.
Changes the Nova Scotia government made to the Public Service Superannuation Plan in the spring of 2010 helped wipe out the $1.5-billion unfunded liability the plan carried in December 2009.
The province reduced indexing for inflation and changed survivor benefits and retirement eligibility for new hires.
In all, it cut $1 billion in benefits and transferred $536 million into the plan.
Those measures, along with improved market performance, boosted the plan to fully funded status and a small surplus last December.
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