Enhanced CPP another Tory ploy
Re Rejected pension ideas new again for scram
bling Tories, May 28 Once again Chantal Hébert’s column on the scrambling Harper Tories pretending to care about Canadians and their pensions made its points with clarity and historical context. Consult with the provinces? Not very likely.
The only real reform that makes sense is to enrich the Canada Pension Plan starting now. And Canada and our economy can afford it. We can’t afford not to. Put those dollars in circulation and they’ll be spent and tax revenue will increase and businesses will feel a positive impact. And seniors will enjoy a bit more retirement security and dignity.
The Tory ploy should not fool anyone. It’s a canard. Important background to this latest nonsense is that this government has quietly started a campaign against the defined benefit pensions earned and negotiated by government employees.
Rather than campaign against pensions that work, governments should emulate good investment management. There are lots of examples. But Conservatives will not join that advocacy. They don’t even want to properly enhance the CPP. Bruce Rogers, Lindsay, Ont.
Once again we see the Harper regime back the wealthy while putting the boots to middle class and poorer Canadians.
Obviously, if you are spending all of your paycheque on food, lodgings and your children, you do not have any extra to put into your pension fund. If you are in the top 20 per cent of money earners, you likely have quite a bit to put into your pension fund.
This means that when you retire, if you are able to retire, you will live in poverty while the elite continue to live in luxury. Add in the TFSA nonsense and that is another perk for the rich.
Incredibly, Canada has $209 billion in the CPP so the government could raise the payout by $100 a month and the plan would still be stable. This would greatly help many retirees.
I fail to understand why many middle class Canadians still vote for the PCs. Can they not figure out what is going on? Gary Brigden, Toronto
Your May 28 editorial calls Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s proposal “halfhearted” on the basis that there are already financial vehicles in which Canadians can invest for their retirement.
The Star defends its criticism by saying: “Fewer than six in 10 Canadians contributed to a RSP and the average was a modest $3,700” and “just 1 in 10 contrib- uted the maximum to their TFSA.”
It concludes, “If pension contributions aren’t mandatory, many won’t make them.”
Some Canadians don’t invest (fully) in their retirement because they lack the confidence in existing investment providers and products and don’t feel qualified to manage investments themselves.
The voluntary CPP top-up option is a great idea. It could be a major step in helping Canadians prepare for retirement because the CPP is one mean investment vehicle.
It is easy to access (the investor is already identified). It invests in stuff that no private fund let alone investor can. It has generated returns that are extremely attractive. It could offer a very competitive fee structure to manage the funds. It could be made available even after retirement until the RIF years begin.
The “fewer than six of 10” Canadians now investing in RSPs would have the confidence to invest more. And those who are not now investing voluntarily would have an easy-to-use and familiar vehicle to access. The provision would be attractive to self-employed folks, too.
Helping more than half of Canadians at all ages and stages without any delta cost to the public purse would be good thing. Forget the debate, implement this pro- gram, then argue out further incremental changes to the system over time. Brian Caldwell, Collingwood, Ont.
The Conservatives are fond of spreading the false information that contributions to the CPP are taxes. They are not. I only wish my RRSPs had done as well as the money that I contributed to the CPP.
More important, with increased pensions, seniors will have more money to spend on their health and welfare, taking some pressure off our social programs. Also seniors will have more money to spend in their communities on things that will make life more enjoyable. Allan McPherson, Newmarket