Pensions

The CD Howe Institute releases a virtually identical study every year, peddling the same misconceptions about federal pensions and public sector compensation. Federal public sector employees work hard for and make significant contributions to their pension plan – more than 10 cents on each dollar earned.

We all like to plan for our future: saving up for a family vacation, buying a new car, or retiring at the cabin. But we also need to plan to ensure our family's financial security in a situation we can't always predict –– death. Currently, only 11 per cent of the Superannuation death benefit has been applied for, a number that APSAR Prairies Regional Vice-President Frank McGregor finds unsettling.

Regional Executive Vice-President Marianne Hladun submitted the following letter to the editor in response to the Aug. 31, 2012 opinion piece by Colin Craig, Prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

 Death is an uncomfortable subject to discuss at the best of times, but it’s something we must give thought to and prepare for, according to Frank McGregor, APSAR Regional Vice President, Prairies.

The PSAC won an important fight to protect union members' rights in the workplace with the Public Service Labour Relations Board's decision that the Treasury Board contravened the collective agreement, including the “No Discrimination” clause, when it prohibited members from posting campaign materials to protect their pensions.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s (PSPIB) annual report was tabled in Parliament last week.

 More than three quarters of Canadians in the Prairies support increasing Canada Pension Plan benefits, according to a new national survey.

PSAC will go to arbitration over a Treasury Board directive to managers aimed at silencing the union's pension campaign.

Canada is at a crossroads, just like it was forty years ago when it was time to do something about our health care system. Today, we need to do something about retirement income, and we need to do it soon.