Wednesday, March 30, 2011

And now, something for those of you who actually vote

After yesterday's "Learning Passport" announcement, the Liberals roll out their pension policy:

Michael Ignatieff announces Liberal plan to strengthen public pensions and support seniors

VANCOUVER – A Liberal government will help Canadian families save for retirement with new measures to enhance our public pension system, including increased support for seniors and a new, voluntary Secure Retirement Option for Canadians without access to a pension plan, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today.

[...]

As part of our plan, a Liberal government will work with the provinces and territories to enhance the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) with:

■ A gradual expansion of the benefits provided by the CPP; and
■ A new Secure Retirement Option that will offer Canadians a simple, voluntary, tax-deductible savings option backed by the trusted, publicly-run CPP.

A Liberal government will also provide a $700-million annual boost to the Guaranteed Income Supplement to reduce poverty among seniors, especially women and seniors with disabilities.

To help workers left out in the cold when their employer goes bankrupt, Mr. Ignatieff also committed to greater protection for those collecting long-term disability benefits, and to create a Stranded Pension Agency to give Canadians a new and safe option to manage their private pensions after corporate bankruptcies.

Retirement security is a HUGE issue right now, so this looks like a winner. The challenge, of course, is communicating a complex pension and income supplement scheme in a 15 second pitch.

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7 Comments:

  • All subject to approval by the provinces. This will be about as easy to implement as Senate reform.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:29 p.m.  

  • They're a huge voting block, that's how they can leave us with the tab for programs we'll never get to enjoy, and every single party is tripping over itself to give them more.

    Sigh.

    By Blogger Robert Vollman, at 3:36 p.m.  

  • Every time politicians use the phrase "investing in seniors" I die a little inside. I realize that this is insensitive, "investing in seniors" is a bit like "investing" in a building slated for demolition.

    By Blogger french wedding cat, at 7:05 p.m.  

  • Unlike the learning passport this appeals to those who actually vote versus those who have a rather low voter turnout. Although it has its flaws, rather it is a hit, a loss, or a wash will depend on how things play out. At this point I doubt any one policy will have too big an impact on the final poll numbers, but rather when combined will affect on whom people think is the best person to lead the country.

    By Blogger Miles Lunn, at 8:20 p.m.  

  • Good point Miles.

    People don't vote for policy, but policy helps define leaders. If Ignatieff can be seen as a leader who wants to help Canadians and make their lives easier, then that's the leader they'll be voting for...not neccesarily the policies he's proposing.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 11:54 p.m.  

  • In my opinion everybody must go through it.

    By Anonymous sex shop tienda, at 5:57 a.m.  

  • By Blogger Unknown, at 9:57 p.m.  

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