PENSIONS TODAY

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PENSIONS TODAY

• Dr. Isla Carmichael
• Pensions at Work, 2005

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Comparative Assets of the Q/CPP, Registered
Pension Plans and RRSPs
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Pension Assets in Canada

• The assets of workplace pension plans are 544
  billion
• Combined Q/CPP assets are 61.6
• Total RRSP assets in 1999 were 260 billion

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Paid Workers Covered by RPPs
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Percentage of Paid Workers Covered by RPPs
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The Canada Pension Plan

• The CPP was introduced in 1967.
• Since 1980, low income rates among seniors are
  shrinking.
• Compared to other OECD countries, the costs of
  our income security programs are modest and will
  peak below levels expected in other western
  nations (OECD, 1996).
• Increases in seniors income are at the lower end
  primarily because of the CPP (Myles, 2000). These
  are unattached women over 65.

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Workplace Pension Plans

• Now, almost as many women as men are members of
  registered pension plans, because
• The proportion of men covered has dropped sharply
  in the last twenty years because of the decline
  of the manufacturing and resource sectors and
  decreasing numbers of unionized men.
• The proportion of women with pensions has risen
  because of increasing numbers of women in the
  paid workforce, changes to laws to include
  part-time workers in plans and increasing numbers
  of unionized women in the public sector as well
  as in non-traditional work and in the service
  industries.

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Workplace Pensions a Collective Approach to
Deferring Wages

• 87 of pension plan members are in defined
  benefit plans which guarantee a benefit for all
  based on years of service and wage level.
• Defined benefit (DB) plans can be tailored to
  specific needs of workers including women.
• Defined contribution (DC) plans let the employer
  off the hook for guaranteeing any benefits.
• Unions can bargain for joint trusteeship of the
  plans for more control over benefits and
  investment of the fund.

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Pensions and Unions

• It isnt a direct correlation, but if you are in
  a union, you are very likely to have a pension
  plan.
• Since more women (58) than men (36) belong to
  public sector plans, women tend to contribute
  more and have more generous access to benefits.
• Since women earn less than men and accumulate
  fewer years of service, their benefits are
  predicted to be lower.