Alberta’s public-sector pension plans reassuring members amid worry over ministerial order

Just a fifth (22 per cent) of Albertans say they support the province’s plan to leave the Canada Pension Plan in favour of a provincial plan, down from 27 per cent last October, according to a new survey by Leger Marketing Inc.

The survey, which polled more than 1,000 Albertans, found while 40 per cent of United Conservative Party voters said they support the plan, this percentage decreased from 54 per cent last fall. Among New Democratic Party voters, just four per cent say they support the move, down from six per cent.

Two-thirds (69 per cent) of all respondents said they’re familiar with the UCP’s proposed plan, down slightly by two per cent. This percentage increased to 70 per cent among UCP voters and 82 per cent among NDP voters.

Read: Ontario civil servants noting flaws in Alberta’s CPP portion calculations: report

A quarter of respondents aged 35 to 54 (25 per cent) and those aged 18 to 34 (24 per cent) said they support a CPP withdrawal, compared to just 17 per cent of Albertans aged 55 and older. Three-quarters (76 per cent) of all respondents agreed the CPP is an important part of their retirement, while 54 per cent said they feel informed about how much they’ll receive from the CPP.

Although 74 per cent agreed it’s important that CPP payments are distributed in an equitable manner among all Canadians, 56 per cent said provinces that commit more to the CPP should receive higher payments and provinces that contribute less should receive a smaller share.

More than half (58 per cent) agreed the CPP is a well-managed pension fund, virtually unchanged from last October (57 per cent).

Read: Careful consideration, transparency needed in determining Alberta’s share of CPP: Freeland