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Veterans have won certification of their proposed Class in a Canada military pension class action lawsuit.
Lead plaintiff, Douglas Jost, alleged in his class action lawsuit that upon retirement that his pension benefits were reduced by the Canadian government on two occasions without any explanation.
Further, the funds, a lump sum representing a lifetime pension for 25 years of service, were also delayed for more than six months, says Jost.
According to the Canada military pension class action lawsuit, Jost was not the only former service member who suffered reduced and delayed pension payments since 2007. Jost alleges these service members are owed more than $100 million in damages.
A federal court certified the proposed Class of former military members who can now join the legal action. The newly certified Class includes ex-reserve members of the Canadian Armed Forces whose lump sum pension payouts were delayed and/or reduced.
The Canadian Press reports that the plaintiff and his attorney are prepared to begin settlement negotiations or go to trial as soon as possible, though the government could appeal the court’s decision.
The Canada military pension class action lawsuit alleges that certain ex-military members who chose a lump sum payout of their lifetime pension benefits after serving in the Canadian Armed Forces as reserve members faced inexplicable reductions in benefits and extensive delays.
Jost claims that he was originally told he would receive more than $850,000 in a pension payout; however, when his actual retirement date came, his payout was reduced to approximately $726,000. That amount was further reduced to $701,180 and only came to Jost after significant delay.
Other Class Members allege that they were faced with significant delays in their pension payouts, up to 3.5 years in one instance.
“We are obviously pleased with the result,” an attorney representing the Class told The Canadian Press. “The ball is now squarely in the federal government’s court. They must decide whether they will attempt an appeal. The veterans impacted by this fiasco have already been waiting for a long time. We would like to move quickly to secure them fair compensation.”
According to the Toronto Sun, there were thousands of complaints made by former Canadian Armed Forces members over late and reduced pension payments.
For its part, the Canadian government, specifically the Department of National Defence, says that there is no backlog of pension claims ready to be paid. The Department of Defence argues that the Canada military class action lawsuit should be dismissed. They claim that the lead plaintiff’s pension was paid out in a reasonable time.
Further, the Department of Defense argues that it did not owe a duty of care to ex-military members. An argument that was shot down by the federal judge who certified the Class.
Have you had problems with your pension or retirement payments? Tell us more about it in the comments below!
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One thought on Canada Military Pension Class Action Certified
I was a member of the Canadian Naval Reserves for 35 years. I retired in July 2015 and made application to receive a monthly pension. I sent in all requested forms and required information. In July 2020 I just received a partial payment. It took exactly 5 years for a pension payment to be paid to me. There was no explanation as to why it took so long.