Retirement with a capital R

 Is the big R word entering your vocabulary a little more often these days? Is it causing you a bit of apprehension, or maybe even abject terror if truth be told, when your friends start talking about their big R parties? Do you sometimes get those yucky, down-in-the-gut kind of

Why We Need to Think Twice About Adopting an Australian Model of Pension Reform

 In a recent nation-wide commentary, authors Charles Lammam and Stephen Kirchner of the Fraser Institute urge the Province of Ontario to adopt an Australian model of pension provision instead of expanding the Canada Pension Plan as proposed in the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. This creates an interesting debate as it

What Do Canadians Need from Pension Reform?

 A gentle policy nudge to enhance coverage and pension contributions—here’s how.  Pension reform continues to hold interest across the country, especially given the willingness of the federal Conservatives to at least talk about expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Pundits and politicos are weighing in now with blunt talk of

Pros and Cons of an Expanded Canada Pension Plan

 A new report came out this week that reiterates what we’ve heard from other sources a few times now: Canadians aren’t saving nearly enough for retirement. The Deputy Chief Economist of the CIBC warns that without pension reform now, younger workers today will see a steep decline in living standards

Financial Literacy: An Essential 21st Century Skill

 It may surprise you to learn that November is Financial Literacy Month. And yet, financial literacy deserves to be given more prominence in today’s world of complex mortgages, loans, insurance policies, complicated investment products and sophisticated financial scams. As Leslie Byrnes, Vice-President, Distribution and Pensions at the Canadian Life and