The Third Rail: Confronting Our Pension Failures"Essential reading for decision-makers.... When Leech talks, politicians listen. When he writes a book, it's worth buying."--Toronto Star Over the next 20 years more than 7 million Canadian workers will retire. Baby boomers, the 45- to 65-year-olds who account for 42% of the country's workforce, will join the largest job exodus in Canadian history, moving to the promised land of retirement. Unless our crumbling pension system is reformed, many of these retirees will find this dreamland a bewildering and disappointing mirage. In the early 1980s, consumers were setting aside 20% of their disposable incomes to their retirement plans; today the savings rate is a threadbare 2.5%. Retirement savings plans meant to build Canadians' personal war chests for their final years have failed to live up to their cheery promises of early retirement "freedom"--market returns are low, and financial fees are climbing. Moreover, retirement plans are now being compromised by high pension obligations and a shrinking workforce. Canada has the capacity to diffuse this ticking pension time bomb with some hard choices, posits Leech. It's time for businesses, governments, unions, and employees to face these options and fix--and ultimately save--our pensions system. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
2008 financial crisis actuary Alward annual bank bankruptcy Bob Baldwin Brunswick Canada Pension Plan cent Central Falls city's cost-of-living allowances country's defined benefit pension defined benefit plans defined contribution plans dot-com crash Drees Drees's Dutch pension early earned employee pension employees and employers federal fixed Flanders funding rules Gina Raimondo guaranteed increase investment returns labour long-term longer McCrossan ment middle-income million municipal Nackawic Netherlands Ontario Teachers pension benefits pension bills pension contributions pension costs pension deficits pension funds pension members pension model pension obligations pension promises pension reform pension savings pension system plan members political politicians Proulx-Daigle province province's public sector pension Quinn rates retirement age retirement income retirement savings retirement system Rhode Island risks Rowland RRSPS Saint John salary savings plans shortfall sion plans sixty-five solution state's surplus task force taxpayers third rail Truth in Numbers Witteveen workers and retirees workplace pensions