By Brian Forbes, Chair of the National Council of Veteran Associations and Chair of The War Amps Executive Committee
The National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA) and our 68 member-organizations have made submissions to government for over 25 years with respect to our concerns vis-à-vis Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) retirees and the infamous “marriage after 60” clawback provision. This continues to be a very important issue within the NCVA Legislative Program, in view of the fact that more and more CAF retirees (including many NCVA members) are living longer and marrying for a second time.
As it currently stands, CAF retirees contribute to the Canadian Forces Superannuation account throughout their entire career and one of the important benefits is a 50 percent Survivor’s Benefit, save and except in those cases where the CAF retiree marries after age 60. In order to provide their new spouses any form of “Survivor Benefit,” veterans over 60 must exercise the statutory option to reduce their own Canadian Forces Superannuation in a commensurate manner.
The resulting impact on the financial well-being of veterans over the age of 60 and their new spouses is often quite distressing, as the married couple in question is frequently faced with a difficult decision which in many cases can lead to economic hardship. Furthermore, should the veteran opt for providing a Survivor’s Benefit for his or her new spouse, the immediate financial circumstances of the couple may be detrimentally affected as a consequence of the loss of current income. Moreover, utilizing this financial strategy in a situation where the new spouse predeceases the veteran, the funds contributed to the Survivor’s Benefit are lost as they are not returned to the veteran but instead recouped by the government.
Veterans and their new spouses should not be asked to confront this incredible conundrum. Without a crystal ball, the new couple has no way of knowing how their future lives will unfold and what the impact of their financial determination will be on each of them.
This archaic “gold digger’s clause,” in our respectful submission, should have no place in Canadian veterans’ legislation. It is of interest historically that, over 100 years ago when Canada’s Militia Pension Act was passed in 1901, it contained a section now referred to as the “gold digger clause” which authorized the government to exercise a discretion to deny benefits to widows deemed “unworthy.” As a result, a widow of that period could not receive Survivor Benefits if she was more than 20 years younger than her husband or if he had married her after the age of 60. This antiquated legislation was apparently drafted this way to protect the Canadian Military from “death bed marriages,” which were of known concern in the United States in relation to younger women marrying veterans of the 1865 Civil War for their pensions!
As a matter of advocacy background, over the last two decades both Conservative and Liberal governments have made unfulfilled promises and commitments to NCVA and various veteran stakeholders to expunge this punitive measure from the CFSA. Ministers of National Defence and Veterans Affairs of various political stripes have declared their intent to amend the legislation only to be overruled by the financial hierarchy of government.
In addition, a number of Private Member’s Bills/Petitions to Parliament have been initiated to rectify this unacceptable situation with no success, notwithstanding the grave discrimination that remains in the statute.
It is noteworthy that the Liberal 2015 election platform specifically indicated that it was the intention to “…eliminate the marriage after 60 clawback clause so that surviving spouses of veterans receive appropriate pension and health benefits.” Indeed, several Mandate Letters directed by the current Prime Minister to various Ministers of National Defence and Ministers of Veterans Affairs/Associate Ministers of National Defence have been issued with no legislative action achieved in this context.
Furthermore, the 2019 federal budget contained a rather nebulous provision which was ostensibly proposed to address this longstanding concern
The 2019 budget provided:
“To better support veterans who married over the age of 60 and their spouses, Budget 2019 announces a new Veterans Survivors Fund committing $150 million over five years starting in 2019-20 to VAC. With these funds, the Government will work with the community to identify impacted survivors, process their claims, and ensure survivors have the financial support they need. The Government will announce additional details on this measure in the coming months.”
Following this budget announcement, NCVA made continued enquiries with Veterans Affairs Canada which resulted in the rather shocking conclusion that no one in the department was aware of the substance of any legislative provision that actually would apply to this new policy. Our further communication recently with Ministerial officials has been to little avail, save and except that we were advised that a new policy was under consideration and further research was being carried out. The mystery remains as to why the Government did not simply eliminate the marriage after 60 clawback disqualifying provision in the CFSA as opposed to proposing a brand-new policy with little or no substantive detail.
Recommendation
NCVA recommends that the Minister of Veterans Affairs and/or the Minister of National Defence remove Section 31 of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act so as to allow the spouse of a Canadian Armed Forces retiree marrying after 60 to be eligible for Survivor’s Benefits without reducing the amount of superannuation in payment to the retiree in accordance with the Liberal Party’s election platform of 2015. NCVA takes the position that this amendment to the CFSA would be a more optimal solution when compared to the nebulous Veterans Survivors Fund contained in the 2019 federal budget.
In conclusion, NCVA submits that it is incumbent upon the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA), which is currently studying this particular legislation, to require the government to remove this inequitable and unjust legislative provision from the CFSA so as to ensure that veterans over 60 who remarry are able to enjoy their remaining years with appropriate financial security. After many years of tortuous advocacy, they deserve nothing less.
