There is more that must be done. Canadians aren’t saving enough for retirement, and three-quarters of Canadians in the private sector having no registered pension plan. With growing household debt, increasing financial burdens from school-aged children, and the cost of caring for our aging parents, saving for retirement has become even more of a challenge – and not an urgent priority for the Harper government.

Liberals have put forward a credible plan to protect the pension savings of Canadians whose companies have gone bankrupt, and would establish a voluntary Supplementary Canada Pension Plan to help more Canadians use our trusted national pension plan to save for their retirement.

“We welcome any reforms that allow more options for retirement savings,” said Liberal Seniors and Pensions Critic Judy Sgro. “This must include providing Canadians without a private plan the option of a Supplemental CPP.”

Last December, the Liberal Party proposed a voluntary Supplementary Canada Pension Plan to help more Canadians save more through our trusted national pension.

A new TD report, released yesterday, found that of all policy options, a supplemental public pension plan has the advantage. The report states that while a “majority of retirees are maintaining their standard of living after leaving the work-force… Forecasts of the personal savings rate and household balance sheets suggest that the ‘at-risk’ population of retirees will increase in coming decades.”

“As we learned at the groundbreaking Canada at 150 conference in Montreal, with Canada’s aging population, we have no choice but to pursue bold options to help Canadians save for their retirement,” said Liberal Finance Critic John McCallum.  “Liberals are prepared to offer Canadians a plan that will make a significant difference for middle-class families who are planning for their retirements.”

Liberals also proposed a stranded pension agency to give employees whose companies have gone bankrupt the option of growing their pension assets through the Canada Pension Plan, as well as changes to the Bankruptcy Act to give the most vulnerable on long-term disability preferred status as creditors.

Pension reform is part of the Liberal care agenda, which — alongside our priorities of learning and renewed Canadian global leadership — stands in stark contrast to the Conservative government’s priorities of $6 billion in tax cuts for Canada’s largest corporations and the wasteful squandering of taxpayer funds at the G20. 

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“LTD employees who are disabled, who cannot work, who can’t find new employment shouldn’t be shunted aside.” said Senator Eggleton. “This bill will help protect them by changing practices that are unfair and unjust.”

“By bringing LTD claimants to preferred status, employees will continue to get their benefit coverage, be able to pay their medical bills and continue to live out of poverty,” said Liberal Seniors and Pensions Critic Judy Sgro.

At the moment, approximately one million employees in Canada have disability benefits that are self-insured by their employers.  If their company goes bankrupt, LTD employees – who are unsecured creditors – will be left holding an empty bag. These employees will turn increasingly to social assistance, make greater use of social services, while the company walks away from its responsibilities.

If nothing is done soon, many Canadians on long-term disability will lose their benefits if their company goes into bankruptcy. Over 400 employees at Nortel alone face this grim reality.

“We would like to work with all parties to get this bill passed as soon as possible,” concluded Senator Eggleton.