Pension

A pension is a retirement benefit, typically a regular payment or entitlement funded through an employer- or employee-supported pension arrangement. NATO materials describe its pension schemes as retirement plans, including defined-contribution plans in which the organisation and its staff both contribute to finance retirement benefits.

The term is used in employment, public-sector compensation, defence accounting and procurement declarations. For suppliers bidding on Canadian public contracts, it most often appears in solicitation documents that ask whether an offeror is a former public servant receiving a pension. This page explains the term in both settings.

How NATO pension schemes are structured

NATO runs several pension arrangements, including the NATO Defined Contribution Pension Scheme, the NATO Coordinated Pension Scheme and the former Provident Fund. NATO describes its Defined Contribution Pension Scheme as a retirement investment plan, because NATO is not subject to national social-security legislation. Both NATO and the employee make monthly contributions to an individual account.

NATO also states on its careers page that this scheme is funded by contributions from both the organisation and the staff member.

Defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans at NATO

The NATO Coordinated Pension Scheme is a defined-benefit retirement plan for staff recruited from 1 July 1974 through 30 June 2005. Staff recruited after 30 June 2005 participate in the Defined Contribution Pension Scheme instead, as set out in NATO's financial audit of the pension scheme.

The NATO civilian personnel regulations state that a staff member with at least 10 years of service is entitled to a retirement pension.

• Defined contribution: the organisation and the employee pay into an individual account, and the account finances retirement benefits.
• Defined benefit: a retirement plan covering staff recruited between 1 July 1974 and 30 June 2005.

Pension in Canadian federal solicitations

In Canadian federal procurement, pension is tied to former public servants who submit bids. A Public Works and Government Services Canada solicitation issued through CanadaBuys, solicitation and contract CSC 2025-2026-0452, refers to offerors who are former public servants in receipt of a pension or lump-sum payment. The reference falls under the federal post-employment framework.

The declaration is relevant to determining whether additional post-employment obligations, restrictions or payment disclosures apply to the offeror.

How the Public Service Superannuation Act defines pension

Canadian procurement documents can define the term directly. A CanadaBuys request for proposal defines “pension” as a pension or annual allowance paid under the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA). When a solicitation supplies its own definition, that wording governs how the declaration is read.

What pension means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Pension is not a cost line or a technical requirement in the solicitations cited here. It is a declaration item. If a solicitation includes the former-public-servant declaration, complete it accurately and read the definition of pension that the document supplies. Check whether the bid team, subcontractors or named individuals fall within the declaration before you submit, and keep the answers consistent across the bid package.