Several provinces are already moving on the recommendations of their pension review panels.
CARP is calling for a national Pension Summit of the federal and provincial finance ministers to initiate comprehensive pension reform including the creation of a UPP. To encourage a positive response from the finance ministers when they meet to receive the research report commissioned by the federal Finance Minister, CARP is travelling to the provincial capitals to bring its message directly to the provincial Finance Ministers. CARP met with Newfoundland’s Jerome Kennedy in September and Nova Scotia’s Graham Steele in October.
CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to advocating for a New Vision of Aging for Canada, social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination. CARP seeks to ensure that the marketplace serves the needs and expectations of our generation and provides value-added benefits, products and services to our members. Through our network of chapters across Canada, CARP is dedicated to building a sense of community and shared values among our members in support of CARP’s mission.
Abstract of Position Paper on Universal Pension Plan
The current economic crisis has focused public attention on the need for Canadians to prepare for their own retirement and there is a growing recognition of the need for a new broadly based retirement savings vehicle. But that is where the consensus largely ends. There are competing visions of what level of coverage is necessary, whether it must be mandatory, how big it should be, who should manage it and whether it can or must adequately address the needs of those most likely to face poverty in old age, low income Canadians.
The approach in this paper is to set out the primary goals of a universal pension plan – universality, adequacy and robustness – and to identify some of the options that have been suggested. When the pension reform process is formally engaged, these and no doubt many more options will be submitted by the various stakeholders. The ultimate result, however, must improve on the status quo in material ways.
The federal and provincial governments must work cooperatively to address the urgent need to provide a retirement savings vehicle that is universally accessible, affordable, adequate and sustainable.
CARP recommends a Universal Pension Plan modeled on the CPP with mandatory enrolment, utilizing the existing payroll deduction mechanism, professional management, a governance role for the members, a mandate that is focused entirely on optimal performance and independence from government or any single employer and defined benefits as one way to achieve all of these goals.
In offering this model, CARP recognizes that alternatives may be found that may achieve some or all of these goals to a broadly acceptable degree.
There should be a Pension Summit convened as soon as possible to review all the various recommendations and consultations that have already taken place and knowledgeable representatives of the people who will be most affected, retirees, must have a seat at the table.
