Canadians need improved options to save for retirement: Report

CPP changes, nudge options, private sector savings reforms among National Pension Summit recommendations

Canadians need better options to help them achieve a secure retirement income, says a new report, and leaders from all sectors — public, private and labour — must work together to make pensions more sustainable and flexible.

The report summarizes discussions and recommendations from the National Summit on Pension Reform, which was held in Fredericton in Feb. 2013. The summit examined issues such as pension sustainability, intergenerational equity and the private sector savings gap. The event was organized by New Brunswick and Canada’s Public Policy Forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving communication between the government and the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The summit convened more than 220 experts from the private, public, academic and labour sectors for an open discussion. Participants identified several key policy directions and leadership actions from all areas to improve the long-term outlook for Canadian pensions, including the following:

∙ developing improved options for individuals and employers to help close the private sector savings gap
∙ building nudge or default options into government savings vehicles to make it easier for Canadians to save
∙ researching the effect of expanding or modifying the CPP, and further studying the shared-risk pension model
∙ continuing multi-sector dialogue on retirement income security.

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