Government not issuing PS pension statements due to Phoenix problems

The federal government will not be sending out annual pension and insurance benefitsstatements to public servants due to the ongoing problems plaguing the Phoenix payroll system.

In a notice posted to the Treasury Board Secretariat website on Tuesday, government workers are being told not to expect their statements because they "may not currently be accurate." The statementsusually providepersonal information about pension and insurance benefit entitlements.

"To ensure plan members do not receive inaccurate statements, the pension and insurance benefits statement that would have been available in spring 2017, will not be issued in either print or electronic format," reads the notice.

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Despite the problems with statements, beneficiaries are still receiving their payments, said Alain Belle-Isle with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in a statement to CBC Ottawa.

"While the statements will not be available, employee pension and benefit plan eligibility or entitlements will not be affected," he wrote.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, which represents close to 60,000 federal government workers, fears this latest debacle will prevent some members from properly planning their retirement.

The union could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

But the federal government is urgingemployees not to change their retirement plans because of the ongoing issues.

The federal government has put a number of measures in place to help employees in the interim, Belle-Isle wrote. Those short-term actions include an online tool to help employees figure out how much they're entitled to for their pension and allowing employees who are nearing retirement or who have questions about a relationship separation to contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre.

Have your pension or insurance benefits statements been affected by the Phoenix pay system? We want to hear from you. Email us at cbcnewsottawa@cbc.ca.