Consider changes to RRSPs, before provincial pension plan, says C.D. Howe + MORE Sep 11th

TORONTO – The Canadian Payroll Association says things are getting tougher for working Canadians.
The CPA, in its sixth annual survey of thousands of Canadian employees, says it found more are living paycheque to paycheque, most are saving less than they should and even more are falling further behind in meeting their retirement goals.
The association said the survey found that more than half of employees — 51 per cent — would find it difficult to meet their financial obligations if their paycheque were delayed by a single week. That was up from an average of 49 per cent over the past three years.
For those aged 18 to 29, the number is even higher — 63 per cent report living paycheque to paycheque.
Meanwhile, more than a quarter of respondents — 26 per cent — said they probably could not come up with $2,000 over the next month if an emergency expense arose.
And more than half reported saving just five per cent or less of their paycheque versus the 10 per cent recommended by financial planning experts, while 79 per cent expected to delay retirement until age 60 or older, up from an average of 70 per cent over the past three years…

TORONTO – Ottawa is being urged to reconsider enhancing RRSPs as a way of getting more Canadians to save for retirement.
The paper by the C.D. Howe Institute says policy-makers often overlook improving Registered Retirement Savings Plans because, it is argued, not enough people actually make contributions.
But the think-tank points out that by taking into account those who only have private savings for retirement — as opposed to those who can rely on a workplace plan — then contribution rates are much higher.
The report says that RRSPs are “most beneficial” to those who make $50,000 or more and are not covered by a workplace plan.
Among this group, about half had made a contribution in 2013, contributing an average of 10 per cent of their earnings.
The institute argues that is not the case for low- to average-income workers, or those who make less than $25,000 a year or between $25,000 to $50,000 a year, who do not have a workplace pension. It says that is because they will receive enough from the Canada Pension Plan and other government programs to maintain their standard of living…

There’s a big divide between Ottawa and Queen’s Park on how to improve pensions and retirement security. Either way, change is coming.

The pension reformer easily beats her union-backed opponents.