BC FORUM News

Canada’s pensions are too meager, not too generous

March 29, 2012 - The B.C. Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations has expressed profound disappointment in the Harper government’s plan to raise the retirement age and thereby undermine the financial security of thousands of Canadians.

“Canada’s public pension system is already among the stingiest in the developed nations of the world,” said Gudrun Langolf, first vice president of COSCO.

“Thousands of retired Canadians live in poverty, including many women. Old Age Security is our most fundamental safety net. It needs to be improved, because Canada’s public pensions are already too meager. And I fear, if they are raising the age, that it won’t be long before we see further cuts in these inadequate pensions.”

Langolf pointed out that Canada spends far less than the OECD average on pensions. She noted that a study by Canada’s parliamentary budget officer found that OAS is sustainable with a retirement age of 65 – indeed, he found there was room to improve the program by 0.4 percent of GDP each year.

Langolf added that expert advice, commissioned by the Harper government itself, found there is no financial need to raise the retirement age. The report by Edward Whitehouse, a pension policy expert with the World Bank and the OECD, concluded, “There is no pressing financial or fiscal need to increase pension ages in the foreseeable future.”

“I call on all Members of Parliament, in every party, to work to improve pensions, and to lift pensioners out of poverty, not to condemn future retirees to more financial insecurity. People are already being squeezed by record household debt, low interest on savings, risky markets, and the rising cost of living. It is profoundly disappointing that our federal government would make things even worse for them,” said Langolf.