More than 9,300 federal public servants have been approved for an early retirement package as part of the federal government’s plan to trim the size of its workforce. Eligible federal employees had until July 24 to apply for the Early Retirement Incentive program, which allowed employees to apply to retire with an “immediate pension based on years of service, with no reduction for retiring early.” A total of 10,006 applications were received for the Early Retirement Incentive program by the deadline. The government also received paper copies of the early retirement applications that will need to be processed. According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 9,346 applications have been “confirmed to meet the criteria” and approved for early retirement, as of Sept. 1. A total of 69 applications have been denied by the federal government so far. Federal employees approved for the early retirement package must retire by Jan. 20, 2027. Last December, approximately 68,000 federal public servants received notices they could be eligible for early retirement. Employees eligible for the retirement package fell into two categories: Front-line officers and staff in operational roles at the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were not eligible to apply for the Early Retirement Incentive program. Public service employees with the RCMP were eligible to apply for the early retirement incentive. The Canada Strong Budget 2025, released in November, outlined a plan to cut the size of the federal public service by 28,000 positions by 2029, including 12,000 employees and 350 executive positions cut through attrition and early retirement packages.
