A battle is brewing between a growing number of retired civil servants and the government they used to work for. New Brunswick is restructuring public sector pensions but retirees say they are treated unfairly.
“We’re only asking for what they said they would give us,” says pensioner David Wiezel. “That’s it, not a thing more.”
Wiezel is one of thousands of former provincial government employees worried about his pension. He spent more than three decades as a public servant with the province and the University of New Brunswick.
He paid into his pension, as did his employers.
“Now the government would like not to pay it the way they planned. I’m sure they would like not to pay the banks,” he says. “They are saying they’re going to default on paying retirees. If we were a bank, it would be a default, but we’re an easier target.”
Last May, Premier David Alward sat alongside union leaders to announce sweeping pension reforms aimed at pension deficit and liability issues.
However, retirees say adjusting their plans after their careers are over goes against a recent court decision and isn’t fair.
“The court system has already determined that vested, accrued benefits earned during your working life are out of bonds…but the government looks like it’s going to use its legislative authority to impose this on the retirees,” says Brian Durelle of Pension Coalition NB.
CTV News contacted the New Brunswick Department of Justice and Consumer Affairs, which oversees a pension task force, but phone calls were not returned.
Wiezel says the shared risk pension model the province is moving to is fine for those who can make lifestyle and income adjustments before they retire, but not for those who have already left the workforce.
“The government is starting at chapter three in promoting shared risk because they don’t want to start at chapter one and say, ‘well folks, we misled you,’” he says.
Pension Coalition NB hopes the government changes won’t affect pensions retroactively.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
