A report reveals that Ontario’s employers prefer pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) and most don’t support a made-in-Ontario pension plan.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Certified General Accountants of Ontario report, An Employer Perspective on Fixing Ontario’s Pension Problem, notes that 86% of employers surveyed support introducing PRPPs in the province.
Far fewer supported enhancing the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or the introduction of an Ontario pension plan. Only 31% of respondents support the CPP enhancement support the idea of a provincial pension.
A stand-alone Ontario solution prompted a number of additional concerns. Employers are wary of the potential financial and administrative costs imposed by a provincially designed pension system.
“They question the need for an additional layer of pension bureaucracy when the CPP is internationally recognized for its prudent and effective management of Canada’s pension assets,” states the report.
Employers are also concerned that Ontario’s approach to pension reform would further fragment Canada’s pension landscape, adding complexity and costs, particularly for those that operate in more than one province.
They say that PRPPs enable a greater degree of choice for employers as well as employees who may or may not need additional pension assistance.
“Employers urge the province to act quickly and to join the other jurisdictions in Canada that have legislation in place that enables PRPPs,” the report concludes. “The longer we wait, the bigger the gap between Ontario’s ‘pension haves’ and ‘pension have-nots’ will widen.”
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