About 10,000 federal public servants apply for early retirement

OTTAWA — About 10,000 federal public servants have applied for the government’s early retirement program, launched as part of a plan to cut the number of bureaucrats.

In December, the government began sending letters with information on the program to about 68,000 public servants who may have been eligible.

Employees as young as 50 with at least 10 years of employment and at least two years of pensionable service were eligible to apply. Successful applicants can retire with an immediate pension based on years of service, with no penalty for leaving early.

The deadline to apply passed last week and, as of Tuesday, 10,006 applications had been received.

Mohammad Kamal, spokesperson for Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, said more than 6,855 applicants have met the eligibility criteria and that number will grow as more applications move through the review process.

The government has so far rejected just 41 applications.

Under the program, the latest possible retirement date for public servants is Jan. 20, 2027.

Rola Salem, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in an email this month the decision to retire is a personal one and the department didn’t have a specific target for early retirements.

“We will continue to support employees as they consider their options and make the decision that is right for them,” he said.

In its 2025 budget, the Liberal government committed to cutting the number of public service positions by about 40,000 by April 2029 from a peak of almost 368,000 in 2024.

The size of the public service has decreased by more than 12,600 people over the past year. Treasury Board data shows there were 357,965 employees at the end of March 2025, compared to 345,282 at the end of March 2026.

About half of those jobs were casual, student and term positions within the federal government, while the others were permanent employees.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press