The federal government stepped back into the House of Commons yesterday, laying some not-so-conservative changes on the table.
Monday’s two-hour caucus meeting was dominated by how Member of Parliament (MP) pension plans will be brought more closely in line with those in the private sector.
The current model for MP pensions has MPs contributing $1 for every $24 of taxpayer/federal monies. MPs can start receiving retirement benefits at the age of 55 as long as they have served at least six years in Parliament.
The new omnibus budget bill to be tabled next week is expected to outline a scheme that has a fifty-fifty split with funding, as promised in the Conservatives’ 2012 budget, and an increased age of eligibility.
“It’s outrageous that an MP can collect a platinum-plated pension as young as age 55, after only six years on the job,” said Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Gregory Thomas. “Our supporters wanted to remind MPs that they haven’t forgotten about their sky-high pensions, or their promise to fix them.”
“MPs are charging Canadians 10.4% interest on the money in their pension plan,” he continued. “Taxpayers paid $23 million of interest into the MP pension plan on June 30, and we will pay another $23 million on September 30, if something isn’t done. By next year, the Parliamentary pension plan will have more than $1 billion set aside to benefit fewer than 1,000 people.”
William Robson, president of the C.D. Howe Institute, told the Globe and Mail that the accounting of MP pension plans is misleading and confusing. “The set-up is so opaque that most MPs themselves don’t realize how generous it is.”