Message to politicians: Protect our retirement or we’ll help you to yours – CARP calls on Premiers to fill in leadership gap left by federal government on retirement security but Pension Summit must include retirees

CARPs message to politicians has been: seventy percent of older Canadians vote regularly and now that were also living longer, we will be voting regularly for a lot longer. So either you help protect our retirement or well help you get to yours., added Eng

There has been growing recognition that Canadians are not saving enough for their own retirement and that even those with workplace pensions are at risk in the current economic climate. CARP has called for a Universal Pension Plan modeled on the CPP for the estimated one in three Canadians who retire without any retirement savings.

Three provincial pension review panels [BC-Alberta, Nova Scotia and Ontario] identified the need to provide broader access to larger well-managed pension funds for Canadians who do not have access to workplace sponsored plans.

All Canadians will benefit if the federal and provincial governments immediately start constructing a Universal Pension Plan – a universally accessible and affordable retirement savings vehicle that is robust enough to withstand demographic and economic challenges like those we are now witnessing. The first step is to convene a Pension Summit at which representatives of retirees have a material role, added Eng.

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Susan Eng Vice President Advocacy CARP, A New Vision of Aging for Canada

or visit our website: www.carp.ca