Bill Robson on BNN – Lessons from Sears on funding Canadians’ pensions
Bill Robson, President and CEO of C.D. Howe Institute, joins BNN to discuss how avoid another Sears or Nortel fallout for retirees.
Robson and Laurin – Investment Risks in an Expanded CPP
From: Alexandre Laurin and William Robson To: Participants in the Canada Pension Plan Date: September 7, 2017 Re: Investment Risks in an Expanded CPP Our report in April, Bigger CPP, Bigger Risks, highlighted the possibility that disappointing investment returns in the expanded Canada Pension Plan (CPP2) will force younger Canadians to bail the plan out, […]Premium Compensation: The Ballooning Cost of Federal Government Employees
The cost of federal employees has risen rapidly, with total compensation per employee jumping nearly 5% per year on average over the past decade, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Premium Compensation: The Ballooning Cost of Federal Government Employees,” authors Alexandre Laurin and William B.P. Robson argue that containing these increases […] Deciding When Canadians Get Seniors Benefits Has Become Too Political. Here’s How To Stop That: Financial Post Op-ed
Low fertility rates, increasing life expectancies and the aging of baby boomers are causing Canada’s old-age dependency ratio to rise. This increase in pensioners relative to the working-age population will strain the sustainability of our social security system. Should the age of eligibility (AOE) for seniors’ programs be raised? If so, when? Since Ottawa seems to be avoiding the problem, we propose a politics-free solution.
We propose that Ottawa adopt an automatic balancing mechanism that would automatically adjust the AOE for programs like Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) based on demographic calculations outside of political influences. The formula would deem that a constant proportion of one’s adult life…
Greener Pastures: Resetting the Age of Eligibility for Social Security Based on Actuarial Science
With retirees living longer and the working-age population remaining relatively stable, the growing demand for financial support in retirement will potentially strain social security programs, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Greener Pastures: Resetting the Age of Eligibility for Social Security Based on Actuarial Science,” authors Robert L. Brown, and […] Robert L. Brown on BNN: The case for resetting the age of eligibility for social security
Robert L. Brown, professor emeritus of the University of Waterloo, joins BNN to dig into the C.D. Howe report he co-authored, which proposes that Ottawa raise the age of eligibility for seniors’ benefits to 67.
Click here to read the report, Greener Pastures: Resetting the Age of Eligibility for Social Security Based on Actuarial Science.
Bigger CPP, Bigger Risks: What “Fully Funded” Expansion Means and Doesn’t Mean
Younger Canadians are at a material risk of picking up the tab should the soon-to-be expanded Canada Pension Plan experience investment return shortfalls, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Bigger CPP, Bigger Risks: What “Fully Funded” Expansion Means and Doesn’t Mean,” authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin assess the risks of […] Ambachtsheer & Leech – Time for Innovation in Federal Government-Sponsored Workplace Pension Plans
From: Keith Ambachtsheer and Jim Leech To: The Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: March 14, 2017 Re: Time for Innovation in Federal Government-Sponsored Workplace Pension Plans A recent Globe and Mail article quoted Minister Bains as saying “Innovation is about making things better in ways that benefit everyone,” suggesting the best way to […]Bob Baldwin – In The “db” Pension Plans Versus “dc” Debate, Tb Plans Have Plenty Of Appeal
From: Bob Baldwin To: Legislators and Public at Large Date: December 19, 2016 Re: In the “DB” pension plans versus “DC” debate, TB plans have plenty of appeal Advocates for pure defined benefit (DB) pension plans have criticized Bill C-27 which would allow federally regulated employers to replace their defined benefit plans with target benefit […] It Turns out Canadians are a lot Richer than We Think: Financial Post Op-Ed
We have often heard that Canadians are unprepared for retirement. Low interest rates have meant low returns to saving and have accelerated the demise of defined-benefit pension plans in the private sector. People — we are told — are not saving enough for retirement to compensate. But such fears of retirement unpreparedness are overblown.
Studies on the subject have typically ignored retirement savings beyond the three traditional retirement pillars of: 1) Old-Age Security (OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement); 2) CPP and the Quebec Pension Plan; and 3) workplace pensions and RRSPs. Specifically, gloomier reports have neglected wealth accumulated in the fourth pillar of retirement, made up of non-pension assets. As Fred…
The Bigger Picture: How the Fourth Pillar Impacts Retirement Preparedness
Fourth-pillar assets significantly improve the outlook for Canadian households’ retirement readiness, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Bigger Picture: How the Fourth Pillar Impacts Retirement Preparedness,” authors Jeremy Kronick and Alexandre Laurin provide a comprehensive assessment of fourth-pillar assets in Canada. Pour lire ce rapport en français, cliquez ici. Intelligence Chat – “Fourth Pillar” Assets Improve Retirement Outlook for Canadians
How can fourth-pillar assets significantly improve the outlook for Canadian households’ retirement readiness? Read the full report