The Canadian Association of Retired Teachers (ACER-CART) has posted an e-petition on the House of Commons petition site to encourage government to increase the security of retirement income. The petition seeks to minimize attempts to cause seniors to surrender rights to their earned pensions, and also to provide insurance for pensioners when their failed employers cannot or will not fulfill the promises they made.
As part of this initiative, ACER-CART has made information available on the website pensionsecurity.ca which provides the wording of the petition and links to sign it.
The rationale for this new petition:
- The number of defined benefit pension plans in Canada have declined even though they are the most efficient and secure way to fund retirement income.
- The introduction of Target Benefit plans, whereby members surrender their secure defined pension benefits, would transfer the risk to plan members, which inevitably reduces pension payments to vulnerable seniors.
- Private sector pension plans members, like Sears Canada employees, suffer when a business closes because the pension plan promises are at the lowest priority, behind investors, management bonuses and corporate profits.
This petition asks government to affirm the principle that pension promises cannot be broken for any service that has already been earned. It also asks government to protect the pensions of retirees by providing an insurance plan, paid for by pension plans, that would guarantee the benefits of retirees if their plan closes.
See the wording of the petition.
You may participate in this e-petition even if you have already participated in previous paper petitions concerning Target Pension Plans as this petition language is different.
