Expanding CPP won’t help most financially vulnerable seniors
Seniors living alone are much more likely to be in low income than other seniors and won't be helped by any CPP expansion
CPP benefits vary widely depending on when you were born
Study shows a marked generational gap in the benefits received
By Jason Clemens and Joel Emes The Fraser Institute For working Canadians, contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) are a regular bill on their paycheques. Those contributions, however, secure a future benefit when they retire. The value of that benefit varies greatly depending on when one was born. The Fraser Institute recently released a…
Understanding CPP’s decline in rates of return for retirees
It’s critical to consider the rather meagre rates of return offered to most current and future workers in any debate about CPP reform
By Jason Clemens and Joel Emes The Fraser Institute The proposed expansion of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is expected to be front and centre at the meeting of the provincial finance ministers in June. Unfortunately, many of the arguments for expanding CPP are either debatable or flat out incorrect. One source of ongoing confusion…
Old boomers bring new glow to Sunshine Coast
Throw in better weather and swimming from May to early October and it's hard to see the Vancouver or Calgary advantage
Driving the Sunshine Coast highway this time of the year is becoming an interesting indicator of Vancouver and Alberta flight.Counting ‘for sale’ signs with ‘sold’ stickers is certainly compulsive behaviour (29 were tallied last Sunday), but it’s also an indicator of change, availability and promise. As someone who now lives close to Powell River, I…
Canada Pension Plan is not ‘low cost’
Despite its reputation, the cost of the CPP is actually above the average for comparable plans
By Philip Cross and Charles Lammam The Fraser Institute A recent meeting of Canada’s finance ministers rightly put the brakes on the federal government’s proposal to expand the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). After all, the evidence shows such reform is unnecessary and is, in fact, counterproductive. But as the broader debate over government-mandated pensions persists,…
There are several reasons to oppose CPP expansion
Current system already provides Canadians with an adequate standard of living upon retirement
By Charles Lammam and Niels Veldhuis The Fraser Institute News reports following the meeting of Canada’s finance ministers suggest that the brakes will put on the federal government’s plan to expand the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). As Saskatchewan Finance Minister Kevin Doherty recently noted, “the last thing we need to do right now is impose…
Think twice before adopting Australia’s pension reform model
Let's look at the evidence before blindly adopting the Australian pension system as our own
The Fraser Institute’s recommendation that the Province of Ontario adopt an Australian model of pension reform instead of expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), as proposed in the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, pits the collective approach to pension provision as now exists in the CPP with the Individual Accounts Social Security approach (very much like…
Giving Canadians the pension system they need
It just requires some imagination and a few (but important) tweaks to existing pension and income tax laws
What do Canadians want out of a national pension system? I think it’s safe to guess they want at least the following: a system that can be trusted, the lowest cost possible, high rates of return on investments, but within a range of prudent safety, transparency and a governing process that puts the interests of…
Pros and cons of an expanded Canada Pension Plan
Governments would be wise to remember making changes to the CPP is a very complex issue
A new report came out recently that reiterates what we’ve heard from other sources: Canadians aren’t saving nearly enough for retirement. The Deputy Chief Economist of the CIBC warns that, without pension reform now, younger workers today will see a steep decline in living standards as they retire. The Conservative government has recently announced it…