Category Pension Reform
Expanded CPP agreement reached- in principle
In a nutshell The expanded CPP is a key element addressing Canada’s pension crisis. Proposed level of expanded CPP is acceptable, but the 49 year phase-in period makes addressing other problems of Canada’s retirement income system urgent. Needed changes include: higher savings rates, low-cost accumulation/decumulation vehicles, longevity insurance, fiduciary level of care/advice for all retirement […]
Hot Off the Web-October 22, 2015: Pensions and Retirement Income (incl. Nortel’s Canadian pension update)
Contents: Nortel pension update, USSteel/Stelco reaffirms no private sector pension protection in Canada, ORPP or CPP- putting all the eggs in one basket? actuarial delusions? target-date funds glide-paths still not right- it depends, Vanguard: next 10 year 60/40 portfolio return expected in range of 3-5% real, income replacement ratio is not target retirement metric, fiduciary? […]
Input to Government of Canada request for consultation on voluntary CPP
In a nutshell The Government of Canada has recently announced a call for “Consultations on a Voluntary Supplement to the Canada Pension Plan” . The deadline for inputs is September 10, 2015 and the contact information is provided in the link. If you are opinionated on this important subject, please do so before the indicated deadline. […]
‘Voluntary CPP’? It could be great! The devil is in the details
In a nutshell We don’t know what it is, but ‘Voluntary CPP’ can be a powerful addition to existing CPP. It presents an opportunity to offer effective retirement vehicles to all Canadians and deliver superior outcomes in concert with existing CPP. A ‘Voluntary CPP’ addition: can overcome the current exclusion of homemakers/caregivers, can ‘nudge’ Canadians to a […]
Auditor: Ontario fails to protect pension plan members! And Nortel pensioners await resolution 7th year post bankruptcy.
In a nutshell Two private sector pension related bad news stories landed in my inbox in the past week: (1) the Auditor General of Ontario warns that the province (via its monitoring arm the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the FSCO) does an inadequate job in protecting pension plan members and (2) Nortel pension windup, […]
Expanded CPP is dead? Long live pension reform!?!
In a nutshell The expanded CPP appears dead, for now anyways; this time killed by the federal government. With apparent consensus on the need for pension reform, over the past few years the possibility of an expanded CPP sucked all the oxygen out of the debate on the best type of pension reform for Canada. […]
Expanded CPP: Should address the needs of ALL Canadians
In a nutshell Expanded CPP is back on the table again with federal and provincial finance ministers all agreeing that it has merit. In the context of this newly emerged consensus around some form of CPP expansion, though not about its timing, it is useful to look at the pros/cons of an expanded CPP. Given […]
“Meeting the global challenge of funding retirement” –Highlights of Robert Merton’s CFA Institute seminar
In a nutshell- In this 90 minute CFA Institute seminar, Nobel prize winning Professor Robert Merton tackles some of DC pension plans’ well known but unresolved deficiencies in a holistic approach to the mass/working class pension. He sets the stage by pointing out that, in the shift from DB to DC average workers were by default […]
Expanded-CPP Plus
In a nutshell -An expanded-CPP, let’s call it expanded-CPP Plus, may in fact be a good framework for Canada’s pension reform. If one expands options beyond the dimensions (maximum pensionable earnings and percent benefits) currently under consideration, and one changes some of the other attributes of an expanded-CPP relative to the current CPP, profound changes to Canada’s […]
Took CPP at 65 instead of the previously planned age 70: What changed?
In a nutshell: The combination CPPIB investment strategy changes from passive to active, potentially higher effective future taxes, less transparency in CPP asset valuation due to growing proportion of private (company and real estate) vs. public investments, uncertainty of actuarial forecasts and, should circumstances demand it, government’s ability to change CPP (target) benefits, drove my […]
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