Pooled pension consensus reached

Finance Minister Flaherty continues talks with his provincial counterparts in Kananaskis in Alberta. Flaherty says he won't support any CPP expansion because not all provinces are on board, despite the plan being strongly supported by six provinces.

Instead Flaherty says he and his provincial and territorial counterparts have agreed to create a pooled private pension plan for small businesses, employees and the self-employed. The pooled pension plan "will make well-regulated, low-cost, private-sector pension plans accessible to millions of Canadians who have up to now not had access to such plans," he said.

Read more on CBC News:
Flaherty: Pooled pension consensus reached

Boomers put health at top of retirement priorities

From CTV News

"The first of the baby boomers hit the official age of retirement in 2011 and many are wondering whether they’ve saved enough, according to RBC’s most recent RRSP poll. But this cohort is dedicating as much thought to their medical files as to their portfolios. Health and wealth are closely connected for the generation on track to live longer, healthier lives than any generation before."

Read more:
CTV News Boomers put health at top of retirement priorities

Harper Government Kills Bill C311 and Funding For Canadian Climate Research

The most anti-science Prime Minister this country has ever had has not only killed Bill C311, but Harper has also cut funding for the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.

From the Vancouver Sun:
"The budget crunch at the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences comes on the heels of revelations that the government is leasing out the coast guard breaker CCGS Amundsen – Canada’s most advanced research ship for the study of climate change – to none other than BP and Imperial Oil so they could study the impact of drilling in the delicate Arctic ecosystem."

Harper got the Liberal dominated Senate to kill  bill C311, something virtually unheard of in this country after MPs had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill and it had passed second reading! Once again Harper thwarts democracy in order to further his own agenda: promoting his home province's oil industry.

This comes just before the UN Climate talks in Cancun! I'm ashamed to be a Canadian - once again Canada has been awarded the "Fossil of the Day" award for lack of action on climate change.

Read more: Harper Government Ends Funding for Climate Research Organization
Read more: Harper Government Kills Funding 

URGENT ATTENTION about Our OAS pensions

Bill C-428 An Act to Amend the Old Age Security Act (residency requirements)

This bill had first reading in the house on June 18, 2009. MP Ms. Ruby Dhalla, who introduced the bill, represents the riding of Brampton whose population is mainly South Asian. At present one must have resided in Canada for 10 years in order to qualify for Old Age Security. This bill will reduce that 10 years to 3 years; thousands could come to Canada at age 62, having never worked or contributed to this country's tax system, and 3 years later qualify for full Old Age Security benefits. 10 years minimum is reasonable - 3 is not!

This bill should never have seen the light of day... and yet it will receive second reading at the next sitting of parliament.

It is time that Canada looked after its vets and long-term citizens before handing OUR hard-earned money over to people who have no right to this money, having never paid taxes or contributed to our economy. There are too many people abusing the generosity of the Canadian people. We need to stop this NOW.

Now READ THIS…

The Government of Canada allows a monthly pension of:
$1,890.00 to a simple refugee
Plus: $580.00 in social aid
A grand total of $2,470.00 monthly X 12 months = $28,920.00 annual income.

By comparison, the Old Age Pension of a senior citizen who has contributed to the development of our country for 40 or 50 years, CANNOT receive more than:
$1,012.00 a month in Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement X 12 months = $12,144.00 annual income.

This is a whopping difference of $16,776.00 per year! Perhaps our senior citizens should apply for Refugee Status instead of applying for Old Age Pension.

INCREDIBLE NONSENSE! OUR CANADIAN SENIOR CITIZENS DESERVE BETTER!!
What Can You Do?

1. Spread the message to family, friends and colleagues.
2. Write letters, send e-mails to friends, and call your Member of Parliament.
3. Sign the online petition STOP Bill C-428.

It is time Canada looked after its vets and long-term citizens before handing OUR hard-earned money over to people who have no right to this money, having never paid taxes or contributed to our economy. If a family wishes to bring elderly relatives here and are willing to waive their own right to collect these funds in order that the elderly relatives can receive them... fine. Otherwise, do not expect the Canadian taxpayers to provide for them.

Zoomerism

You may have heard the phrase, "Growing old is not for sissies." I recently read another phrase that made me stop and think: "Embrace getting older; many people do not get the chance."

Recently the CBC radio program, "Q" with Jian Ghomeshi, aired an interview in which he spoke to Suzanne Boyd, editor of Zoomer Magazine, the magazine published by CARP (Canadian Association of Retired People). Moses Znaimer, Executive Director of CARP had rebranded the CARP magazine with the name "Zoomer", defining a "zoomer" as a "boomer with zip".

Suzanne said the new definition of a boomer was someone over the age of 45. Hmmmm, I'm not sure a lot of people that age would enjoy being lumped together with people a whole generation older.

Mireille Silcoff, a journalist for the National Post was on the line with Jian and Suzanne. Her position was that the new Zoomer magazine was schitzophrenic - trying to attract a wider demographic that really didn't have a lot in common. Mireille wrote in her National Post column a piece called, "Against Zoomerism". I quote:

Moses Znaimer’s Zoomer is a glossy magazine for “boomers with zip.” It is also the most depressing magazine I have read in a long time. Flipping through the pages of Zoomer is the magazine equivalent of watching an unmedicated schizophrenic have a conversation with himself about aging. With manic speed it seesaws from ads and articles which call one to “accept aging” and “enjoy age for all its riches” and be “pro-age,” to those about “stopping the clock” and “defying aging,” and, of course, “anti-aging.”

You can read more at: http://www.nationalpost.com/Mireille+Silcoff+Against+Zoomerism/2944021/story.html
Have a great day!

He's done it again

I noted in a previous post that my MP, the Hon. Ed Fast voted against Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. Thankfully, the bill passed second reading. But the honourable member has done it again - voted "Nay" to Bill C-469, an Act to establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights. Thankfully, this bill also passed second reading in the house on June 16, 2010.

Clearly, this guy has demonstrated little concern for the environment and very likely doesn't believe such a thing as global warming exists. What is it with the Conservatives that the majority of them do not believe in science? Is it because some of the more fundamentalist of them believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old and man coexisted with the dinosaurs?! In my opinion, the Hon. member has permitted Conservative ideology to trump any intellectual (read "scientific") consideration; and the Conservative ideology has much to do with the fact that the prime minister comes from a province where oil is king.

This is a quote from openparliament.ca representing the Conservatives' view on the bill.

"The bill [C-469] raises problems with respect to new spending in two areas. First, part 2 would authorize environmental protection action against the government by enabling Canadians to seek recourse in the Federal Court to protect the environment in relation to any action or inaction by the government, which has resulted in significant environmental harm."

- Tom Lukiwski, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government.

Does this mean that another reason for Conservatives to oppose the bill is because members of the general public would be able to sue the federal government for its action or inaction resulting in environmental harm?! I can scarcely believe my eyes when reading this! The government wants no responsibility for anything to do with the environment!!! And I thought they had an opportunity to lead the country in their stewardship/guardianship of our environment?!

Again, I urge any and all of you who vote, to follow the actions of your MP (on openparliament.ca) whomever that may be. It might make a difference in your vote when election time comes around again.

PEI Meeting on Pension Reform

I've said before that the time for pension reform is NOW. Politicians have known for a very long time that this pension crisis was coming, yet they have done nothing to prepare for it. Their only longterm planning extends as far into the future as the next election. Here's hoping some agreement can be reached in Charlottetown between the federal and provincial finance ministers over the next few days.

I particulary like the last paragraph:
"They should put their foot on the gas pedal because we're in a crisis now and it's going to get worse unless they do something," he [Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti] said. "They should have done something 20 years ago, so Minister Flaherty has got a lot of catching up to do."
_________________________________________

Start.shaw.ca - National News Article

Moving Closer to Pension Reform

From CBC News, this story moves us one step closer to pension reform. But not everyone is in agreement:

CBC News - Politics - Pension reform gets mixed reaction

Fill end-of-life care gaps: cancer group

(To read the complete story click on the above title.)

This article on the CBC News web site is directly related to my earlier post regarding my niece's co-study on the Compassionate Care Benefit. So we can see from this that the Canadian Cancer Society is one agency advocating for changes to this program. In order for the CCB to become a genuinely useful program, we all need to follow the Cancer Society's lead - lobby your MP! It's easy to look up your MPs' email address and send a short message: Members of Parliament Complete List.
_________________________________________

CBC News - Health - Fill end-of-life care gaps: cancer group

Climate change bill passes Parliament‏

I recently participated in an email campaign to the party leaders regarding the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311).

The only response so far has been from the Hon. Jack Layton and it's good news. It is personally very satisfying since it represents a victory over the Hon. Ed Fast's opinion on the matter. He had said during debate of the bill that, if passed, it would mean many jobs would be lost and it would damage our economy.

Here is the email from the Hon. Jack Layton:
_____________________________________________

Thank you for your previous email outlining your concern for the environment. I am taking this opportunity to provide an update on recent developments in Parliament.

Recently our Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) came up for final vote and was passed by Parliament. Our Act means checks on big polluters, practical measures to fight climate change, and cleaner air to breathe.

Now, for our climate change plan to become law, it must pass through the Senate. For more information on how Bill C-311 works and how you can help get C-311 through the Senate, please visit:
www.ndp.ca/C311-adopted.

I also invite you to check out the following links that outline our ideas on how to protect our environment:
www.ndp.ca/platform/environment/aplanthatwillwork, and www.ndp.ca/platform/environment/newenergyeconomy.

Again, I appreciate the time you have taken to make your voice heard. Feel free to share my email with your friends and family. All the best.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, Canada's New Democrats

Canada's banks push for fair playing field in pension reform

This article is from the Vancouver sun newspaper. To read the entire article, click on the above title.
___________________________________________

OTTAWA —  Canada's banks are warning federal and provincial governments against creating any new supplementary pension plans that would give them an edge over their private-sector competitors.
The Canadian Bankers Association says any public or quasi-public plans should have no regulatory, legislative or "artificial cost" advantage over the retirement-savings vehicles offered by the financial-services sector.

"There should be no reputational advantage to such plans," the association said.
"They should not enjoy any implicit or explicit government seal of approval and it must be made clear that the government is not providing any guarantees with respect to portfolio balances, rate of return or income stream," it added.

The association made clear in a brief to the federal government that it takes a dim view of proposals to establish one or more pension plans to supplement the Canada Pension Plan as a means of encouraging Canadians to save more for retirement.

Instead, the association calls for strengthening retirement savings through the private sector by, among other things, revising federal regulations to allow multi-employer pension plans.

Four in 10 Canadians retiring with debt

Yet another survey indicates that many seniors are financially vulnerable after retirement. (You can read the complete story on the CTV News web site by clicking on the title above.)
_________________________________________________

A new survey suggests many Canadians are entering their golden years in the red.

The survey from RBC finds that four in 10 Canadians over the age of 50 who have assets of at least $100,000 have retired with some form of debt.

As well, one-quarter have entered retirement still carrying a mortgage on their primary residence.

The survey, which RBC calls its first annual Retirement Myths and Realities poll, was conducted by Ipsos Reid to examine Canadians' expectations and experiences in retirement.

It also found that 17 per cent of retirees had consumer debt or credit card debt. In total 7 per cent had other kinds or debt or were co-signers on loans, while 5 per cent had mortgages on investment properties or cottages.

The survey found that 70 per cent of retirees feel it is still important to be able to save part of their income, yet more than one-quarter have acquired new credit products since they retired.
The survey found that many retirees are worried about how their savings will hold out over their retirement. Inflation and taxes are among the top concerns, with more than one-third (35 per cent) worried that inflation will negatively impact their retirement income, compared to 43 per cent of pre-retirees.

As well, 62 per cent of retirees worry about taxes on their income, with two-thirds believing the percentage of their income required for taxes will rise in the next 10 years.

"It's not uncommon to be concerned about maintaining a sustainable level of income in retirement, but costs you never counted on may also arise," said Davies. "For example, our poll found that almost one-in-five retirees spend over $1,000 annually on prescription drugs."

The poll, conducted from March 10-19, 2010, surveyed online 2,143 adults aged 50 and over with household assets of at least $100,000. About half the group said they were retired.

Caring for Seniors

This topic was featured on CBC's radio program, "The Current" with Anna Maria Tremonti, on Thursday, April 22, 2010.
___________________________________________________

"As life expectancy goes up, the people taking care of the elderly are often seniors themselves. We look at the ups, the downs, and the complications of caring for your loved ones for longer than either of you might have planned."

Click on the link to go to the Current's web site, and then scroll down to "Pt 3: Caring for Seniors" (the program is available as a podcast).

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/04/april-22-2010.html

Open Parliament

I learned of this web site while listening to a recent CBC radio program, "SPARC", hosted by Norah Young. The site allows you to keep track of what your MP is doing or not doing in the House of Commons, including any speeches made and how she or he voted on past bills or those currently before the House.

I was furious at learning that my MP, Ed Fast, had recently voted AGAINST Bill C-311, (an Act to ensure Canada assumes its responsibilities in preventing dangerous climate change). His position was that the bill would be devastating for industries and hence the economy. There have been any number of studies that have shown that initiatives designed to protect the environment actually stimulate the economy and certainly save us all a lot of grief and money in the long term.

Visit the site to see what your MP is doing: Open Parliament http://www.openparliament.ca/

VGH overcrowding

This is but one example of the problems that exist in the current health care system. And with the provincial government announcing cuts rather than increases in funding, the problem is only going to get worse. Where do you think we'll be in ten years when the boomers put additional stress on the system? In my opionion, it boils down to 'you can pay me now, or you can pay me later'. And it seems clear to me that the longer we wait to address the problem the more expensive it will be to fix it. Why aren't the politicians acting NOW?

Here's an excerpt from CBC...
__________________________________________

With files from the CBC's Stephanie Mercier and Kirk Williams

Doctors say a recent fire safety violation points to the need to address the causes behind a potentially dangerous overcrowding problem in Vancouver General Hospital's emergency room. A city fire inspector issued VGH a notice in March saying too many stretchers were crowding the hallways and creating a fire hazard.

One emergency room doctor said the problem could threaten lives.

"The department is so crowded that in the event of an emergency such as a fire, there's not proper egress space available for patients to leave the department," said Dr. Kevin Clark.

"The first solution is to share the overcrowding equally throughout the hospital," said Dr. Jill McEwen. "Rather than leave 50 patients in the emergency department, if two of those patients went to each ward… that would immediately eliminate the access block in the emergency."

But the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority said it has eliminated the fire hazard in the VGH emergency room by moving extra stretchers into an area near the vending machines as well as the waiting room.

Spokesperson Anna Marie D'Angelo also said the hospital could always use more doctors, but the authority has to work within the restrictions of its agreement with the B.C. health ministry.

"The ratio of doctors is… established in that agreement and it's something that the provincial government would need to change for it to change at VGH," said D'Angelo.

Flaherty seeks pension advice

This topic is of great interest to me personally, since I am an ex-employee of Nortel Networks. Fortunately, while I worked for Nortel I chose to contribute to my former Public Service Pension Plan, (possible due to a reciprocal agreement between Nortel and the feds), so my pension is unaffected. Still, I feel for the many employees who find themselves in this sad situation due to no fault of their own. It's time for the feds to pass legislation so others will never find themselves in this circumstance.

Read the following edited article from CBC News...
_________________________________________________

CBC News

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty took his cross-country pension tour westward Monday, meeting with banking officials and citizens in Winnipeg to solicit opinions on Canada's retirement income system.

"All options are on the table," Flaherty told reporters before meetings Monday.

The issue of pension reform has gathered steam in recent months with the high-profile collapses of numerous private pension plans, such as that of Nortel Networks Corp. When the tech giant entered bankruptcy protection in 2009, various levels of government stepped in with hundreds of millions of dollars to help guarantee pensions.

Despite those efforts, thousands of Nortel retirees have been left in the lurch and have lobbied the federal and Ontario governments to fill the gap at the insolvent firm.

In December, Flaherty met with his provincial counterparts in Whitehorse to discuss ways of overhauling the system.

Some provinces favoured creating a second, complementary system to supplement the Canada Pension Plan, while others argued simply putting more money into the existing system is the wisest course. Others have argued that smaller, more targeted moves such as tax breaks and increases to RRSP and TFSA limits should be used.

In October, Flaherty tinkered with the rules governing pensions at Crown corporations, but the changes fell well short of the across-the-board overhaul that some people have sought.

On Friday, CAW president Ken Lewenza lobbied in favour of a proposal that would effectively double the amount paid out under the CPP by gradually increasing workers' contributions to the plan by about 58 per cent over seven years.

Many private-sector pension plans are significantly short of the funds needed to pay their promised benefits, because of weak investment returns and historically low interest rates. And many employers are behind on payments required to meet these funding deficiencies, as a large number of Canadians are due to retire in the coming decades.

General Motors currently has a pension shortfall in excess of $100 billion, while Air Canada, Stelco, Alcan, BCE, Bombardier and Canwest Global, which is currently restructuring, are among a handful of Canadian firms that have struggled to deal with underfunded pensions in recent years.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/04/12/flaherty-pensions.html#ixzz0kvnr9A5z

Health care near the end of life

My niece (who is currently working on her PhD at Simon Fraser University) has recently coauthored a study on the little known Compassionate Care Benefit, which is available through EI, for those who are caregivers to someone nearing the end of life. I hope to post the study here in the near future.

But unti then, here are some of the key findings (perhaps not unsurprisingly):

• many Canadians are unaware that such a program exists;
• the application forms are unnecessarily complicated and the approval process is long and drawn out;
• the maximum benefit period is woefully inadequate: only six weeks (with a waiting time of two weeks before the benefit is available);
• the benefit period does not allow for a period of mourning;
• applicants are almost always unsure of when to begin their benefit period (due to the real difficulty in predicting the precise time of death of the one being cared for);
• the financial amount of the benefit is similarly inadequate at a maximum of only $447.00 per week.

Interviews and focus groups were conducted with all stakeholders - caregivers, front line palliative care workers, and HR personnel who would need to approve the 6 weeks time off for the caregiver. They were unanimous in their recommendations for improving the program.

This CCB program has the potential to become useful to many families as they cope with the imminent death of a loved one. And since the care is often provided at home it means huge savings for the health care system. Again, it is up to all of us to pressure government to improve programs such as this so that they become actually meaningful.
________________________________________________

My niece, Melissa Giesbrecht, has kindly consented to the posting of the study. Here is the link to view the entire study in both French and English:

Evaluating Canada's Compassionate Care Benefit (English)
(French Version) Authors: Allison Williams, Valorie A. Crooks, Melissa Giesbrecht, Sarah Dykeman.

You can also get more information here:
Family Caregiving for People at End of Life

Become an advocate or activist!!

Mandatory or voluntary pension reform?

It looks like Finance Minister Flaherty is actually listening and looking for solutions before the younger Canadians find themselves in even bigger doo-doo than thay are at the moment. If you have any ideas don't be shy about contacting either the minister or your MP.
__________________________________________________

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

WINNIPEG - The federal government is "all ears" on pension reform, and is not taking a stand yet on whether Canadians should be required or simply encouraged to sock away more money for their later years, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday.

"We're not prejudging these issues. Two of the opposition parties in the House of Commons have made their choices ... we're prepared to listen," Flaherty told reporters before meeting with a small invitation-only group of business, labour and academic leaders.

Monday's meeting was one of several Flaherty is holding as he looks for ways to help ensure Canadians have enough money for retirement. With a smaller percentage of Canadians enjoying private pension plans through their employers and other avenues, Flaherty is facing pressure to beef up public benefits.

A Statistics Canada report last month said only half of all tax filers in 2008 participated in a private retirement savings plan, down from 57 per cent in 1997.

British Columbia and Alberta have threatened to set up their own voluntary pension supplement unless Ottawa leads the way and produces a new national plan soon. Flaherty plans to meet with his provincial counterparts in late spring to discuss the issue.

Some labour leaders and the New Democrats want the government to double benefits under the Canada Pension Plan - a move that would presumably necessitate higher premiums.

The Liberals are pushing a voluntary top-up to the Canada Pension Plan.

Other groups want voluntary measures, such as a higher cap on registered retirement savings plans, to encourage people to set aside more money.

Flaherty said he is not making up his mind yet.

"We really are all ears. I want to hear from everybody. I want to hear what they have to say."

Critics argue Flaherty is hearing mostly from select audience. While there have been open town halls, including a recent one in Charlottetown, some of Flaherty's meetings are being held behind closed-doors with an invitation-only crowd.

Monday's session involved 14 invited people representing the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Canadian Federation of Students and other groups.

Canadians' private retirement savings drop

The evidence is clear that many Canadians today aren't doing enough to plan for their retirement. What happens when these folks approach retirement and are faced with the enormous cost of their own health care and that of elderly parents who go into nursing homes near the end of life?

There's a sign at last that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is at least aware of the issue.

Here is an edited article on pension reform from the CBC website:
________________________________________________

Only about half of all employed Canadians who filed tax returns put money into private retirement plans in 2008, a slight decline over 1997, according to a study released Friday by Statistics Canada.

The Statistics Canada study comes two days after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced public hearings over the next five weeks on improving Canada's retirement income system. The study came as the federal and provincial governments begin looking at ways to reform the country's pension system, widely viewed as inadequate to support a population with a growing proportion of older people.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a series of hearings on Canadians' views on whether the country's retirement income system needs to be improved, and, if so, how that should be done.

Those will include public town hall meetings, roundtables and online consultations over the next five weeks.

There are three options to be discussed at those consultations, and when the federal and provincial finance ministers meet to discuss pensions in May:

• Create a Canada Supplementary Pension Plan in which Canadians would automatically be enrolled to increase their savings.
• Expand the current Canada Pension Plan to produce a higher level of pensions.
• Change some of the restrictive rules in pension regulations and tax laws that would allow the financial services industry to offer products to encourage people to save for retirement.

Keith Ambachtsheer, director of the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management at the University of Toronto, told CBC News the Statistics Canada study shows the need for Canadians to participate in the government's pension consultations.

"If we're going to make some significant changes," he said, "you do need a lot of population buy-in. This can't be a bunch of politicians or experts deciding by themselves what's best for the population."

Ambachtsheer said there is a precedent. When concerns were raised in the 1990s about the solvency of the CPP, consultations between Ottawa and the provinces led to a decision to double contributions and the plan is now financially stable. Those most at risk of not having enough in retirement, he said, are the 75 per cent of middle-income Canadians who aren't in private savings plans that automatically deduct contributions from income.

RRSP contributions fall
Statistics Canada said there was also a decrease in the share of employed tax filers who contributed to a registered retirement savings plan during the decade. In 1997, 41 per cent of employed tax filers participated in an RRSP; by 2008, the proportion had declined to 34 per cent. At the same time, the share of employed tax filers participating in employer-sponsored pension plans remained stable at 32 per cent.

Pension-plan shortfall alarm

An article from the Windsor Star on pension reform:
_________________________________________

By Ellen Van Wageningen

Fran McLean spent 47 years doing office work for the calcium-chloride processing plant in Amherstburg, Ontario, that was eventually owned by General Chemical Canada Ltd. When the company went bankrupt in 2005, McLean had been retired for seven years. A few years before the bankruptcy, it came to light that the company pension plan was underfunded.

Despite union and government involvement, the shortfall was never made up, says Debbie Fields, area director for the Canadian Auto Workers.

McLean saw her company pension cheques fall from $2448.90 a month to $1941.39 two years ago. Now she has a notice saying she will soon get only $1,000 a month, the amount covered by the Ontario Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund.

"It's not so easy to buy a new car now," she says matter-of-factly of the drastic drop in her retirement income. She put aside other savings while she was working, and she can still count on her Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security cheques, she notes.

Defined-benefit pension plans, like the one McLean had with General Chemical, have been the gold standard for workers. But when those plans are underfunded and companies get into financial trouble, retirees aren't getting what they were supposedly guaranteed.

Troubled pension plans are just the tip of the iceberg, says a new report on the changing Canadian workplace released by TD Bank Financial Group.

As of 2008, less than 28 per cent of Canadian private-sector workers had employer-sponsored pension plans. Most of these are now defined-contribution plans, for which payouts are much more uncertain.

So the burden of saving for retirement is shifting to individuals, but many are not taking advantage of tax-sheltered plans, says the TD report authored by economists Don Drummond and Francis Fong.

Any pension reform should increase incentives to save for middle-income earners, who are most at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in-retirement, they conclude.

But York University finance professor Moshe Milevsky and co-author Alexandra Macqueen caution that even those who save 20 to 50 times what they will need annually in retirement still run the risk of running out of money before they die.

Guaranteed pensions are expensive, but they provide the certainty the elderly need, they write in the latest issue of the magazine Policy Options.

"Hope, expectations and estimates 'in all probability' aren't enough.”

The Canadian and Ontario governments have been studying the issue since before the recession but have yet to act. Proposals include increasing CPP contributions, expanding tax-sheltered savings plans and new rules to better monitor private pension plans.

The solution may come too late for McLean, but she and other local workers who are losing income because of failed pension plans are sounding the alarm.

Retirement a top concern at 'thinkers' conference

From the CBC website - an edited article on the same subject:
_____________________________________________

Canadians are looking at a future of working beyond the traditional retirement age and stashing away more savings in order to maintain their standard of living, the former Bank of Canada governor said in a speech Saturday.

David Dodge was speaking to federal Liberals who have gathered in Montreal for a three-day public policy conference, featuring what the party says are 53 "leading thinkers and doers."

"Middle- and upper-income Canadians now in their prime earning years are both going to have to save more and expect to retire later in life than they'd hoped to do," Dodge said.

Baby boomers could be a burden
Demographics and labour expert Rick Miner predicted a shortage of skilled labour and a heavier burden on the health-care system.

"The time for action is now. Without change, this is our future. It's not going to be a pleasant one: millions of people without jobs and millions of jobs without people."

Miner said by 2017, retired baby boomers will leave society with higher health-care costs and a smaller tax base. At the same time, he said Canada's workforce will not be trained for a new knowledge economy.

Among his proposals, Miner said university students should attend classes through the summer in order to graduate sooner, and Canadians should do a better job of integrating immigrants, people with disabilities and aboriginal people into the workforce.

Party seeking fresh ideas
This is the third conference of its kind in the last 50 years. On opening day of the Canada at 150 conference, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Canada needs to invest in education and training, even as it tries to tame a record $54-billion deficit.

Financial Time Bomb Lurks

It's time for everyone to wake up to the massive problem facing Canadians, whether you are a boomer or a child or grandchild of boomers. The boomers have to worry about having enough to retire on. The heirs of the boomers have to worry about paying for their parents' and grandparents' care AND their own future.

A spokesperson for the Harper government was asked recently what the Conservative party's strategy was to deal with this issue.

The dismissive reply was "Canadians are more concerned with the recovery of today's economy."

My interpretation of that remark is that they have no long range plan but are more concerned with putting out fires. It's time to start thinking long term - the chickens will come home to roost.

Finally the issue is gaining attention in the media. Here is an edited article from the Vancouver Province:
_________________________________________________

By Ray Turchansky

Christopher Ragan, associate economics professor at Montreal's McGill University and senior adviser to the federal finance minister, says an aging workforce foreshadows reduced tax revenues and skyrocketing health-care spending, from 2020 to 2040 in particular.

"We have to recognize there is a need to adjust," said Ragan. "We have to either raise taxes or lower spending or come up with ways health care is less expensive. Or we increase debt so we put problems on future generations. This challenge is completely solvable, but we have to take action soon."

The issue is that the retirement of baby boomers - those born between 1946 and 1962 -begins in two or three years, and for the next 30 years we'll see massive declines in two labour forces - the percentage of women having children, and the percentage of our population that's working.

"As we get older we get sicker, and health care costs a lot of money; and we have benefits like Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security.

He said the average spending in health care currently is $2,500 a year for each person up to age 65; $5,000 a year per person age 65 to 74; $11,000 a year per person 75 to 84; and $23,000 a year per person over 85.

"One-third of health-care spending per capita happens in the last year of life."

In addition to needs from an aging population, health care is a rising cost due to technological advances. From 2020 to 2040, Ragan said, health care and elderly benefits will cost $56 billion a year more than now, accounting for a 10-percent increase in government spending by 2040.

So do we increase tax revenue, decrease spending, or borrow and go into more debt? [Ragan says there are some options:]

• You could entice people to work longer, by delaying access to CPP until age 67 or 69.
• You could increase the productivity growth rate, but that's tough to do with a declining labour force.
• You could increase taxes.
• You could cut health-care spending but that "opens up a Pandora's box."
• You could cut spending other than health care, but "it's very difficult politically to cut anything."

Ragan declined to suggest which solutions he would choose.

"You probably need a suite of unsexy policies that together work to produce an environment where there is competition, innovation and drive, with quality labour force, incentives to invest, and low corporate-tax rates."