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TORONTO, ON: Over 1,700 CARP members responding overnight to CARP’s Pension Reform Poll want real action and give specific advice as well as their reaction to recent federal proposals. [poll results attached]
CARP members do not think much of the technical changes proposed but strongly endorse the creation of a supplementary pension plan [80%]. They also don’t think much of the retail investment industry’s push back against pension reform. 63% think making additional CPP contributions to double the CPP benefit is a good idea.
“No more excuses. The Finance Ministers cannot say the issues are too complex. Overnight, CARP members have given a clear and detailed perspectiveof what needs to be fixed. The public is way ahead of the politicians now. We know the system is broken – we see it in the faces of the thousands who had to march on Parliament Hill to make their case. The current laws need to change and there needs to be other options to help people better save for their own retirement. What really matters is that the public discourse has moved away from whether there should be a new retirement savings vehicle to what shape it should take and how much it would cost. Further delay is not an option”, said Susan Eng, Vice President, Advocacy of CARP.
CARP is calling for urgent action to fix Canada’s retirement system to better protect and support pensioners, to provide a supplementary pension plan for those without workplace pensions and to convene a Pension Summit at which retirees have a material role.
As the Finance Ministers’ meet in Whitehorse, CARP is urging them to reject self interested and ideologically driven messages and to take note of the plain evidence that Canada’s retirement system is broken.
To help with their deliberations, CARP polled its members for specific recommendations and call on them to tell their elected representatives that urgent action is needed.
Yesterday’s CARP poll reached 75,000 opt in subscribers to its e-newsletter, of whom 2,000 to 6,000 people regularly participate in the online poll. The poll results provide clear input on some of the more thorny issues such as whether the plan should mandatory or voluntary and capture their reaction to some recent proposals. The average age of subscribers to CARP ActionOnline, a bi-weekly e-newsletter, is 69 years
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