The Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) has asked the Ontario government to delay the implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) by one year.
In a letter to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, the ACPM’s CEO Bryan D. Hocking, wrote: “A one-year delay will allow the collaborative federal and provincial approach commenced last fall to continue, and will allow Ontario to assert its usual constructive and leading position in significant pan-Canadian public policy
changes, such as potential CPP/QPP changes.”
In June 2014, the ACPM published its Principles for Mandatory Public Pension Plans, which set out that any mandatory public pension reform should occur on a national basis to ensure uniformity across jurisdictions.
Read: ACPM releases principles for mandatory public pensions
“If expansion of mandatory pension contribution programs is to be considered, we would be better served by a
pan-Canadian approach that provides for a consistent application across Canada,” wrote Hocking in the latest letter. “Immediate implementation of the ORPP will materially detract from this objective, and may well foreclose prospects for any consensus-based national reforms.”
The letter also pointed out a number of difficulties that would arise in merging the ORPP with the CPP, including complexities relating to contribution levels, pensionable earnings definitions, benefit formulas, and differing tax treatments, among other potential issues.
Read: What you need to know about the ORPP
The letter continued: “In considering this request for a one-year delay, we appeal to you to consider the benefits to Ontarians of joint action over unilateral action. Pan-Canadian public policy approaches have invariably been shown to be more cost-effective.
“Consistent plan benefits across the country will be more encouraging of labour mobility. We firmly believe that
the national interest of a uniform approach to pension policy coincides with the broad provincial interests of
Ontario.
“While we urge a one-year delay in the ORPP, in order to allow federal-provincial discussions to continue, there
are key actions your government can take in that intervening period that will promote retirement savings for
Ontarians and a positive role for Ontario on the national pension policy stage.”