---
title: "Twelve BC legislators qualified for pension the day before the provincial election"
description: "Legislators first elected on October 24, 2020 crossed the six-year vesting threshold on October 23, 2026, the day before the snap election that ended the NDP government. Nine were NDP members; three were Conservative, including premier-designate Lorne Doerkson."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-legislators-pension-vested-day-before-election-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-30T21:37:57.115Z"
---

Twelve BC legislators whose first election was October 24, 2020 qualified for a pension on October 23, 2026, the day before the snap election that ended the NDP government. The Times Colonist reported on October 28, citing Canadian Press.

The clerk's office at the legislature confirmed that legislators elected for the first time on October 24, 2020 crossed the six-year vesting threshold on October 23, 2026. Nine of the twelve were NDP members. Three were Conservative, including premier-designate [Lorne Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson).

## Who qualified and who returned

Five NDP MLAs who qualified won re-election: [Brittny Anderson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/brittny-anderson), [Jennifer Whiteside](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/jennifer-whiteside), [Niki Sharma](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/niki-sharma), [Josie Osborne](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/josie-osborne) and [Grace Lore](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/grace-lore).

Four NDP MLAs who qualified did not return. Brenda Bailey and Kelly Greene did not seek re-election. [Susie Chant](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/susie-chant) and [Harwinder Sandhu](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/harwinder-sandhu) lost their re-election bids on October 24.

The three Conservatives who qualified all won re-election: [Bruce Banman](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/bruce-banman), [Trevor Halford](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/trevor-halford) and Doerkson.

## How the pension works

Legislators contribute 11 per cent of their pensionable earnings to the plan, according to the Times Colonist. The pension accrual rate is 3.5 per cent per year of service. After six years, the pension is 21 per cent of the legislator's highest three-year average pensionable earnings. The maximum pension, reached after 20 years, is 70 per cent.

The basic MLA salary is about $122,000. Ministers receive a top-up of about $61,000.

## Former Conservative leader comments on election timing

Former Conservative leader John Rustad said to the Canadian Press that he was not certain the pension vesting date played a role in former NDP leader David Eby's decision to call a snap election. "But if he went to his caucus and said, 'I'm thinking about having an election,' there probably would have been some people that say, 'just don't call it early,'" Rustad said.

The BC NDP caucus did not immediately respond to a question about whether the vesting date played any role in the timing of the election call, according to the Times Colonist.

BC residents can follow the new Conservative government's decisions and promises at the [BC provincial promise tracker](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker), where every commitment made in the 2026 campaign is tracked as the new government acts on them.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.