With very few exceptions, every working person over the age of 18 pays into the Canada or Quebec Pension Plans.  Workers and their employers each pay half of the contributions. Self-employed pay 100% and many do not pay because they work in the “informal” economy.

The amount you pay is based on your salary up to the legislated maximum, which changes year over year.

Your contributions to the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans provide you with a stable and dependable pension. Your contributions also provide you and your dependents with basic financial protection if you become disabled or die.

The Canada /Quebec Pension Plans are “contributory” plans. This means that all costs are covered by the financial contributions paid into the plan by workers, their employers and from interest earned on the investment of that money. The Canada Pension Plan is not funded through general tax revenues. Financially, the Canada Pension Plan is in good shape.

The Canada/Quebec Pension Plans are important in protecting retirees but they need to be improved. Over 60% of working people, most of them women, are not covered by pension plans in their workplaces. This forces them to rely upon RRSPs and the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans and old age security and guaranteed income supplements.

In May 2009, the average monthly Canada Pension Plan retirement benefit was $502.32. That is not enough to live on.

This is why the Canadian Labour Congress has embarked on a “Retirement Security for Everyone” campaign. CUPW strongly supports this.

The CLC campaign has three goals.   They are:

The federal government must:

• Phase in a doubling of payouts from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP).
• Immediately increase Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for all retirees.
• Create a national pension insurance fund to ensure that workers defined benefit pensions aren’t at risk when employers go under or speculative bubbles go bust. The Government of Ontario has a pension guarantee fund.

We are urging you to support this campaign. 

Go to the CLC web site at http://www.canadianlabour.ca/home for more information, or contact your Local Labour Council.

You can also write to your Federal MP urging her/him to support improvements to the Canada Pension Plan.  If there are rallies to support improvements to the Canada Pension Plan, please attend them.

Employers are attacking pension plans.  Across the country, workers are fighting to protect their retirement security. You are strongly encouraged to support these struggles.

Canada Post is making changes to the Canada Post pension plan.   These include:

• Changing the Canada Post defined benefit plan to a Canada Post defines contribution plan for all management and exempt employees hired by Canada Post on or after January 1, 2010.
• Forcing people hired after November 1, 2009 to pay 100% of their retirees dental benefits.  Currently retirees pay 40%.

We will need to fight to protect our pensions.