Retirement security report released by Canada's Public Policy Forum in partnership with Morneau Shepell indicates cooperation is needed to ensure a more secure retirement system in Canada
TORONTO, Feb. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - Canada's Public Policy Forum, in partnership with Morneau Shepell, has released a report that summarizes its findings and recommendations about the current state and future of Canada's retirement system. The new report, entitled Retirement Security for Everyone, stresses the need for government, unions, business and citizens to cooperate to achieve a sustainable system to adequately fund pensions going forward. It also identified "at-risk groups" as primarily younger middle-income workers in the private sector.
"As Canada's largest administrator of retirement and benefits plans, we at Morneau Shepell have an excellent perspective on the pension landscape in Canada," said Bill Morneau, Executive Chair of Morneau Shepell. "We see declining pension membership and inconsistent savings levels for different groups of Canadians as likely to emerge, which is consistent with the direction indicated through the lens of this report conducted in partnership with Canada's Public Policy Forum. Responding to this reality, we as Canadians have to look both at pension plan design and public policy to ensure a better standard of living for all cohorts of Canadians as they face retirement."
The report concluded that leaders from public and private sector organizations, unions and the general public need to come together on their objectives and resolve who they are seeking to help before taking action. Leaders also need to foster a greater culture of knowledge-sharing in order for all parties to come to a mutually beneficial agreement of the way forward. This can be accomplished by better understanding risks issues such as costs, fees, rule changes and plan sustainability.
"While most recent retirees are faring reasonably well, Canada faces a slowly deteriorating situation in which a growing population of future retirees will experience a drop in their standard of living," said Fred Vettese, Chief Actuary at Morneau Shepell. "It's important to continue working towards remedying this fact."
"It is our objective to promote the type of change that improves retirement income security to those who need it most," said David Mitchell, President & CEO of Canada's Public Policy Forum.
The report and the findings of the Second National Summit on Pension Reform in Toronto builds on the success of the initial Summit organized in Fredericton in 2013. One of the focuses at the Fredericton Summit was the collaboration between Morneau Shepell and the Government of New Brunswick on a shared risk pension plan model. That model was recently awarded highest marks by the American Academy of Actuaries.
About Morneau Shepell Inc.
Morneau Shepell is the largest company in Canada offering human resources consulting and outsourcing services. The Company is the leading provider of Employee and Family Assistance Programs, as well as the largest administrator of retirement and benefits plans and the largest provider of integrated absence management solutions in Canada. Through health and productivity, administrative, and retirement solutions, Morneau Shepell helps clients reduce costs, increase employee productivity and improve their competitive position. Established in 1966, Morneau Shepell serves more than 20,000 clients, ranging from small businesses to some of the largest corporations and associations in North America. With approximately 3,600 employees in offices across North America, Morneau Shepell provides services to organizations across Canada, in the United States, and around the globe. Morneau Shepell is a publicly-traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com.
SOURCE Morneau Shepell - Pension/Retirement
Nathan Gibson, Manager, Corporate Communications, Morneau Shepell, 416-390-2641, [email protected]
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