It has been four years since the federal government passed legislation to enable pooled registered pension plans as a vehicle to boost retirement savings. In June 2012, Bill C-25 received royal assent and PRPPs became available to workers in federally regulated sectors.
Have your say: Is it time for governments to make a push to make PRPPs widely available to Canadians?
Through the legislation, the government hoped to offer workers at small companies with no pension plans and self-employed people a low-cost option to save for retirement. At the time, the federal government touted PRPPs as an alternative to expanding the Canada Pension Plan and encouraged the provincial governments to follow suit in embracing them.
But today, PRPPs continues to languish, with only six provinces (Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Quebec) passing enabling legislation. As well, a couple of those provinces have yet to enact supporting regulations, with Quebec leading the way through its voluntary retirement savings plans.
Read: PRPPs continue to languish as provinces vary in enthusiasm for new option
So is it time for provincial governments to move on the PRPP issue or does the recent deal to enhance the Canada Pension Plan make it a lower priority or possibly moot? This issue is the topic of this week’s online poll. Don’t forget to have your say.
As for last week’s poll, which asked whether the federal government should pass the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, 92 per cent of poll respondents said they support the bill and that it’s timely given the growth of genetic testing and its potential uses. Just eight per cent said the government shouldn’t pass the bill as insurers have a legitimate point about their right to information when someone is applying for coverage.
