The Harper Government is ringing in the new year with historic public sector pension reforms that will save Canadian taxpayers $2.6 billion over the next five years. The reforms, which came into effect January 1, bring federal employee pension contributions more in line with the private sector by introducing a fifty-fifty cost-sharing model for public […]
Despite the recent changes to public pension plans for members of parliament and other federal public servants, a new paper from the C.D. Howe is saying these changes aren’t enough.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives said Monday that taxpayers can no longer afford “gold-plated pension plans” for public sector workers, but the Liberal government called the Opposition’s proposals an American-style attack on the middle class. “We have to address the dramatic unfairness in the system where you have gold-plated pensions for some and no pensions for others,” said Opposition […]
My parents came from a small town in Italy near Monte Cassino. Apart from a famous battle there in World War II, the town is known for its monastery, which was established by St. Benedict in 529 AD, shortly after the continent had descended into the Dark Ages. For the better part of the next millennium when the “light of learning” was all but extinguished in Europe, there were only a few universities and monasteries—such as the one at Monte Cassino—where it continued to flicker.
Touted as a practical solution for those who currently don’t have access to a workplace pension, the pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) also holds the potential to create a new revenue stream for the industry. Several of the large retirement service providers have already jumped at this opportunity and are ready to roll out PRPP […]
The Alberta government has introduced Bill 10, the Employment Pension Plans Act, in the provincial legislature. The bill aims to allow plan administrators to more easily develop pension plans that meet the needs of employers and employees.
The House of Commons has unanimously approved changes to the Member of Parliament (MP) pension plan after splitting them off from the government’s big omnibus budget bill. After negotiations, the Commons adopted a motion to whip the changes through with a single motion. The changes will sharply increase the contributions MPs must make to their […]
The only news around pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) today seems to be coming from the federal Department of Finance, Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance)in particular, who has been stewarding the PRPP initiative.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty put on his best poker face yesterday as he insisted the Conservative government’s next budget implementation bill wouldn’t contain any unexpected surprises. Flaherty’s second budget bill, to be introduced today, is believed to contain measures to reform MP and public sector pensions, as well as a host of tax changes. But that’s […]
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index has given Canada’s retirement savings and income system another B rating this year. The positive impact of increasing the Old Age Security (OAS) retirement age was offset by the continued reduction in pension plan coverage for employees in the private sector. Canada’s overall index value was 69.2.