Posts Tagged ‘pensions’

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Deferring Receipt of Public Pension Benefits: A Tool for Flexibility

Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

C/QPP benefits can start at any time between age 60 and 70 and Old Age Security benefits at any time between 65 and 70… “Pushing back the deferral period to age 75 would enhance retirement planning flexibility for many middle-income Canadians,” says Morency. “As we wait for broader enhancements to be completed over the coming decades, this reform would be a good first step.”

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‘Unretirement’: Why many Americans try retirement and then change their minds

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018

A 2010 analysis… found that more than a quarter of retirees later resumed working… in 2017… almost 40 per cent of workers over 65 had previously, at some point, retired… the Bureau of Labor Statistics supports that observation. It reported that the proportion of Americans over age 65 who were employed, full-time or part time, had climbed steadily from 12.8 per cent in 2000 to 18.8 per cent in 2016. More than half were working full time.

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Later Retirement versus Higher Immigration as Remedies for an Aging Population

Friday, March 30th, 2018

Increasing the age at which Canadians typically cease work and access benefits such as pensions is a far more practical and powerful tool to mitigate the economic and fiscal stresses of aging… Safeguarding our living standards and public programs against the stresses of aging requires other tools – in particular, rewards for people who stay economically active into their 60s and beyond. If we foster longer working life and address other challenges facing our pensions and healthcare, we will handle demographic change much better

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After the Sears debacle, why is Ontario making it easier to underfund pensions?

Wednesday, January 24th, 2018

Leaving retirees to scramble in their golden years is cruel, and it is unconscionable to expect an overtaxed middle class to foot the bill for corporate chicanery. If governments won’t stop companies from dodging their pension obligations, it’s just a matter of time before we see the next Sears Canada. And that’s a prospect that should worry us all.

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Pooled Risk Insurance Can Save Seniors from Cat Food

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018

Longevity insurance can provide a secure income stream at older ages without many of the criticisms associated with traditional annuities, but Canadian tax environment is unfavourable for private-market longevity risk products. MacDonald proposes a national, completely voluntary program that would give retiring Canadians the option to buy into a pooled fund that provides a stable income stream starting at age 85: Canada’s Living Income For the Elderly (LIFE).

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The Lion’s Share: Pension deficits and shareholder payments among Canada’s largest companies

Tuesday, December 5th, 2017

This study examines the status of the defined benefit (DB) pension plans of Canada’s largest publicly-traded companies. Thirty-nine companies on the S&P/TSX 60 maintain DB pension plans, amounting to one-third of all private sector pension plan assets in Canada. However, only nine plans were fully funded in 2016. Together, the 39 companies oversaw a $10.8 billion deficit in their pension plans in 2016, while increasing shareholder payouts from $31.9 billion in 2011 to $46.9 billion last year.

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The Lion’s Share: Pension deficits and shareholder payments among Canada’s largest companies

Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

… 39 companies oversaw a $10.8 billion deficit in their pension plans in 2016, while increasing shareholder payouts from $31.9 billion in 2011 to $46.9 billion last year. This paper, co-published by the CCPA and the Canadian Labour Congress, details the extent to which DB pension plans among S&P/TSX 60 companies are underfunded, provides the cost to shareholders that eliminating the pension deficits would pose, and offers a series of recommendations for ensuring the security of retirees’ benefits.

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Federal government can and must put pensioners first

Monday, November 6th, 2017

The federal government can and must ensure bankruptcy laws put pensioners at the front of the line. And it can go one very important step further: working with the provinces and territories to create Canada-wide mandatory pension insurance. Such a system would guarantee monthly pensions up to $2,500 whenever an employer with an underfunded pension plan… It would be paid for by pension funds, a fair trade-off, given their tax-exempt status.

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The era of big government isn’t over. It may be about to start

Friday, October 27th, 2017

The mystery is why anyone ever thought private companies were the way to cover huge costs like health or pensions. It’s costly and patchwork; public programs make far more sense. They’re stabler, better funded and include some democratic oversight. But before the economy got financialized, and mighty companies turned into hedgies’ playthings, they could at least pretend to fill the need. Public programs, however, mean you need revenues to fund them.

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Canada needs a bigger change in pension system

Friday, October 27th, 2017

Defined benefit pension plans like the one at Sears have been declining for many years, at least in the private sector… part of the problem is greedy corporations… But… private pension plans are struggling because of more fundamental issues. Retirees are living much longer and interest rates have been at record lows for years. That forces companies to make up the shortfall at a time when they may be fighting for their very survival.

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