Imagine you’ve retired from your job and today is your last day of work. On your way out the door your boss pulls you aside and hands you a cheque for $10,814.54.

Amazed at the big cheque, you stare at it and notice the memo reads “retirement vacation bonus.”

You’ve already used up your vacation days this year so you bite your lip for a moment and fess up. “There must be some mistake. I’ve already used up my vacation days this year,” you tell your boss.

Your boss replies, “there’s no mistake. It’s just how we roll around here. You’re entitled to a bonus when you retire that’s equal to your annual vacation allotment – even if you’ve already used up your vacation days.”

This example will sound too good to be true for most readers, but it’s actually a standard benefit for City of Calgary employees – and you’re paying for it.

After reading through the City of Calgary’s 2016 Annual Report, we were intrigued by a couple sentences that noted city employees receive an “allowance” when they retire that is equivalent to up to seven weeks of salary.

We dug a bit deeper and learned the so-called “retirement vacation bonus” is the equivalent of what a city employee receives for their annual vacation pay – even if the employee has already used up all their vacation days.

The HR person we spoke with at the city told us everyone at the city receives the benefit so it’s obviously not tied to performance. And don’t forget, on top of this golden goodbye cheque, city employees also receive a guaranteed pension for life; one that costs taxpayers a fortune each year to fund.

According to City of Calgary data we obtained through a Freedom of Information request, the city spent approximately $4.9 million on these “retirement vacation bonuses” last year for 452 retiring employees.

The average works out to $10,814.54 per employee. However, if you were a city worker that earned more than the average employee, your cheque would have been even larger. One can only imagine the size of the cheques being handed over to the city’s top brass.

Needless to say these golden goodbye cheques are rare outside of government.

Over the years, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has heard many stories of how businesses deal with retirements. It’s common to hear of employees gathering together for a cake or modest lunch that is paid for by the business. Perhaps an employee is given a small gift as a token of appreciation for their many years of service.

Again, $11,000 cheques are certainly not the norm.

To cut this benefit for City of Calgary employees overnight may not be legal and council would never have the stomach for such restraint.

However, council could immediately begin negotiating the elimination of this expensive perk. Clearly, this is yet another way council could cut costs instead of raising your taxes.

Perhaps you may wish to consider proposing this idea to your city councillor. Don’t expect the city’s administration to suggest cutting their own benefits.

This column was published by the Calgary Sun on June 29, 2018