Currently two-thirds of Ontarians do not have a workplace pension. Tuesday when the House started sitting again, MPPs jumped into second reading debate on Bill 56, The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act, 2014. Given that only 39% put away money for retirement in 2014, the Plan, aimed at strengthening the current retirement income system, is intended to be in effect Jan. 2017. The government points to studies that indicate various reasons why many of today’s workers are not saving enough to maintain their standard of living when they retire : workplace pension coverage is low; individuals are not taking sufficient advantage of voluntary savings tools (or in today’s precarious labour market don’t have the spare funds?); and people are living longer than ever before.
After releasing general information and a paper on ORPP key design in December, consultations were held around the province in January. ONIWG’s Submission (Feb. 6) welcomed the initiative but urged the government to avoid the critical design flaws of the Canada Pension Plan. These CPP can significantly reduce an injured workers’ retirement benefit, leaving many at high risk of having to receive an income supplement for seniors living in poverty. ONIWG makes concrete solutions as to how the ORPP could avoid these design flaws, while retaining the many positive aspects of the CPP, including the child rearing dropout.
More on the Plan:
- Ontario. Ministry of Finance. “Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.” (website)
- Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 2015, Feb. Getting the Design Right on the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). Toronto: CCPA.- Submission to the consultation by economists Sheila Block and Hugh McKenzie
- CBC News Toronto. 2014, Dec. 8. “Liberals introduce bill to create provincial pension plan” – party positions on pros and cons of Bill 56 in its design and administration