Post Living Differential

[acheo]

Post Living Differential (PLD) - Montreal â “ North shore

Oct 2001 â “ 432$
Oct 2004 â “ 370$ (I could be off by a few dollars)

Could someone explain to me how the PLD decreases while the housing market gained 50%-75% in the same period.

I presently live in Moose Jaw and I can tell that compared against Montreal; housing is pretty much the same; food is much more expensive; I pay more car insurances although my car and myself have gotten older (it should go down no?) and I'm getting a slight 2% decrease on my income taxes (my accountant verified that number). Overall, life in moose Jaw is slightly more expensive that Montreal but we're not getting any PLD.

Any Admin on this forum?

 

[Michael OLeary]

The official answer, though it may take your accountant to explain it to all of us:

http://www.dnd.ca/hr/qol/Engraph/faq_e.asp#1

Q.  How is the annual Post Living Differential (PLD) rate calculated and why rates differentiate from region to region?

A.  The PLD is a taxable benefit that was introduced in 2000 as a means of stabilizing the cost of living that CF members experience, as they are moved from place to place in Canada. Members at isolated posts and on out-of-country postings are not entitled to PLD, but are provided with similar benefits tailored to their particular circumstances. PLD is not a cost-of-living adjustment, but rather a differential between the local cost of living and the CF weighted average. The CF weighted average is the calculated average cost of living for those members of the CF living in Canada weighted by the number of members living at each site. The rates are determined in accordance with an approved methodology developed specially for the CF, in consultation with the Treasury Board and Statistic Canada. The rates are based on several variables including local accommodation costs, federal and provincial income tax rates, and family spending patterns as determined by Statistic Canada from the latest census data. This information, as well as the home size appropriate for the CF representative family, as determined by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is used to establish the local cost of living in areas where CF members serve. These costs are then compared to the CF weighted average cost of living, and a differential is determined. This calculated differential is then adjusted by the marginal tax rate to maintain its overall value to members living in higher cost areas. The resulting amount is published as the annual PLD rate.

 

[George Wallace]

Another thing I learned from serving in Germany is that these 'allowances' and 'benefits' are not calculated annually and instantaneously.  They may be calculated every five years (just an example) and you may luck out at getting a higher rate than the norm or happen to get it calculated at a low cycle and be screwed for the next few years.  When they are calculated, they may take up to a year to be implemented.......sound familiar......any idea when our pay raise is coming into effect?

GW

 

[acheo]

The rates are determined in accordance with an approved methodology developed specially for the CF...

That explains