Should Canada Follow France and Britain's Lead and Raise the Retirement Age?

[Spade]

France is raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the age for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67? Mind you, not without protest!
CBC News - World - France retirement age strike stepped up
And Britain is proposing a one-year increase.
To help pay for the deficits triggered by the American sub-prime fiasco, should Canada follow suit?

 

[Bar Sinister]

France is raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the age for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67? Mind you, not without protest!
CBC News - World - France retirement age strike stepped up
And Britain is proposing a one-year increase.
To help pay for the deficits triggered by the American sub-prime fiasco, should Canada follow suit?

Considering the fact that the top 20% of Canadians possess almost 70% of the total wealth in Canada why is raising the retirement age even being remotely considered? A more just policy would be to redistribute wealth more evenly allowing the working class (the 80% of the population that owns about 30% of the wealth) to become more prosperous.

Here is a link to the latest survey taken by Statistics Canada showing concentration of wealth in Canada and below that is an excerpt from the link. The Progressive Economics Forum Wealth distribution in Canada

In terms of distribution, the report finds a worsening situation with regard to wealth inequality. By quintiles, the largest gains in net worth accrue to the top quintile (up 43% from 1999) and things scale down from there; the bottom quintile had a 70% decline in net worth. In the supplementary tables, it is notable that there are now over one million households with over a million dollars in net worth. These households, 8.2% of families, hold 46.5% of the total net worth. Overall, the top 20% had 69.2% of total net worth, while the bottom 20% had 2.4% and the bottom 60% had 10.8%.

It seems to me that talk of raising the retirement age is simply another ploy for the very wealthy to hold on to what they have while forcing the majority of the population to work longer and harder.

 

[Spade]

Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power

 

[JLM]

France is raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the age for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67? Mind you, not without protest!
CBC News - World - France retirement age strike stepped up
And Britain is proposing a one-year increase.
To help pay for the deficits triggered by the American sub-prime fiasco, should Canada follow suit?

With rapidly changing demographics on the one hand and high unemployment among the younger people, it might be best not to jump to doing anything for awhile. I think there are a lot of people "volunteering" to postpone retirement anyway. At age 60 a lot of people have been in the work force for 40 years or more and it wouldn't be fair to compel them to continue working.

 

[Kreskin]

Canada's CPP is primarily invested in an internationally diversified trust that has never been touched. It is expected to cover all CPP payments well into the late century. On the other hand, retirement demographics have changed dramatically. Consider the US Social Security system. It was established in 1935 to provide assistance to those reaching age 65. At the time the average black male lived to about 57. The system was intended to cover the exception, not the norm. And when people were covered it wasn't for very long. Today people are living on average well past the original life expectancy, and the system is now perceived as a long term retirement entitlement. If the goal posts were moved to equate to the original intent the retirement age for government benefits would likely be well into the 70's.

 

[YukonJack]

Retirement age for PRODUCTIVE members of society should be set by each individual member, depending how they like/enjoy their jobs.

For NON-PRODUCTIVE politicians (pardon the redundancy) should be one term and same pension as the rest of the population.

 

[ironsides]

How about just getting rid of the early retirement age for now and see how it goes. (Everyone retires at 65)


Here is a question: Can a person in Canada who receives retirement (say age 65+) still work and receive both salary and retirement?

 

[JLM]

How about just getting rid of the early retirement age for now and see how it goes. (Everyone retires at 65)


Here is a question: Can a person in Canada who receives retirement (say age 65+) still work and receive both salary and retirement?

yep!

 

[geiseric]

Only at age 65. Before that and only after sixty can you recieve a permanently pro-rated pension and only then if you receive no addition income or get pro-rated again if you're earning less than 12 grand a year.

CPP is not under the same pressures as France.

 

[DaSleeper]

I retired at the earliest possible age I could, for two reasons
1rst__ Depending on your pension plan...you retire with the equivalent of half your take home after taxes pay....which means that if you keep working you are actually working for half pay..;-)

2nd__ When I retired they had to hire someone to replace me.....so I actualy gave someone a job who will pay taxes and help pay for my pension

That is also why I didn't take a part time job like some retirees do when they get bored...like driving school buses...ect...I find that is stealing a job from someone who possibly needs it

BTW if your income is over sixty some thousand dollars your OAS gets clawed back...

 

[petros]

What exactly is retirement? How do you stop doing what you've loved doing since still just a young lad in elementary school? For myself work is play and play is work.

If it was about physical ability I would have gave up 4 years ago when I had two pieces of titanium shoved up and my spine.

It will be a tough habit to beat.

 

[ironsides]

Why do some seem to want to promote class warfare. Why is it that the more intelligent, hard working, successful people continue to support those who just sit back doing nothing and watching the world go by. Jobs are available somewhere in the U.S. and Canada, one just have to be prepared to move.

No, I am not referring to those who truly cannot work under any circumstances because of a real disability, but those who deem working not worth the effort because they make more by just collecting welfare or staying in a place jobs do not or will not exist.

Class warfare, a tradition brought here by Europeans. Some just don't get it, it doesn't belong here. There should not be any poor here. (regulate immigration thru tighter border control one of mant things to do)

 

[YukonJack]

The retirement age should be an option.

When I was 64, I decided to take early retirement because I just simply could not stomach on the daily basis to reoprt to a complete jerk, who was always, for years, referred to by any unfortunate person as the REEMER, because he got the biggest kick of reeming his subordinates in the rear, every day. I loved my job. Unfortunately, I reported - functionally to people in our company's head office in the United States, who appreciated my efforts, while, administratively I had the misfortune to report in Canada to the afore-mentioned jerk.

The year after I retired, Ontario raised the mandatory retirement age. I am 71, now, but I would still be happily working if it had not been for one single disagreeable person.

Having said that, I realize that my work experience, i.e. being fond of the job is not everyone's cup of tea. But if one considers that the age 65 was introduced as retirement age by German Chancellor Bismark in the 19th century, when the life expectency was 64.

So, with all the advances in medicine, nutrition, life-style, etc. it is not unreasonable to expect people to be useful to society until the age of, let's say, 75 years.

The ruckus in Europe (undoubtedly supported by North American Union freeloaders) is a tempest in a teapot.

 

[ironsides]

The big thing is that most people 50+ entered the work force with plans to retire sometime around age 62+. To say to them that they cannot is wrong, a broken contract. To raise the retirement age effective today to 70+ is not wrong. Those born today would have a new different contract than we had. Mandatory retirement age is something else.

 

[Nuggler]

:glasses11:...........Woops, you talkin to me??

Sorry, but, sure, raise it. I'm already retired.

Gimme back my job, an I'll do it for another few years, under the same conditions that I had when I retired.

And......................the time I put in is added to my pension.

Seriously, get stuffed. They ain't gonna do it. They wanna get re-elected, right??

"They'll" give BJ's for re election, and then, watch yer ass.

Cause their home life sex is probably poor.

 

[Goober]

France is raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the age for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67? Mind you, not without protest!
CBC News - World - France retirement age strike stepped up
And Britain is proposing a one-year increase.
To help pay for the deficits triggered by the American sub-prime fiasco, should Canada follow suit?

Read an article today - in the bext decade at the most - with spending and deficts not being addressed the cuts we went thru n the 90's under chretien will pale in comparision as to what is clearly visible on the horizon. Debt - Fed - 650 Billion - prov - 350 Billion - well that make a trillion - Guess what the shiiit will be coming down - retirement pension clawbacks will start at a lower level then they presently are
Medicare will have user fees -
And retirment ages will increase for 3 reasons
Shortage of skilled labor / aging work force
Longer life spans
Slower economic growth.

Lastly - The gold plated Public Service Pensions will have a very large knife taken to them. The public cannot affford them.

So if you are younger then 40 or so - pay down your Debts and save your money. - Hard times are coming and they are not that far away.

 

[Spade]

Here is a question: Can a person in Canada who receives retirement (say age 65+) still work and receive both salary and retirement?

"The following changes to the CPP will be phased in gradually between 2011 and 2016, with the first major change occurring in January 2011 for people retiring after age 65:

"The monthly CPP retirement pension amount will increase by a higher percentage if taken after age 65.
The monthly CPP retirement pension amount will decrease by a larger percentage if taken before age 65.
A longer period of low earnings will be automatically dropped from the calculation of the CPP retirement pension.
Contributors will be able to receive their CPP retirement pension without any work interruption.
If you are under 65 and you work while receiving your CPP retirement pension, you and your employer will have to continue making CPP contributions. (or if you work outside of Quebec while receiving a QPP retirement pension) These contributions will increase your CPP benefits.
If you are between the ages of 65 and 70 and you work while receiving your CPP retirement pension, you can choose to continue making CPP contributions (or if you work outside of Quebec while receiving a QPP retirement pension). These contributions will increase your CPP benefits."
- SERVICE CANADA

"The Old Age Security pension is a monthly benefit available, if applied for, to most Canadians 65 years of age or over. Old Age Security legal status and residence requirements must also be met. An applicant's employment history is not a factor in determining eligibility, nor does the applicant need to be retired. Old Age Security pensioners pay federal and provincial income tax. Higher income pensioners also repay part or all of their benefit through the tax system."
- SERVICE CANADA

Goober, the top 1% of Canadians earn 23% of the total income earned by Canadians. Is the problem affordability or distribution of wealth?

 

[Goober]

"The following changes to the CPP will be phased in gradually between 2011 and 2016, with the first major change occurring in January 2011 for people retiring after age 65:

"The monthly CPP retirement pension amount will increase by a higher percentage if taken after age 65.
The monthly CPP retirement pension amount will decrease by a larger percentage if taken before age 65.
A longer period of low earnings will be automatically dropped from the calculation of the CPP retirement pension.
Contributors will be able to receive their CPP retirement pension without any work interruption.
If you are under 65 and you work while receiving your CPP retirement pension, you and your employer will have to continue making CPP contributions. (or if you work outside of Quebec while receiving a QPP retirement pension) These contributions will increase your CPP benefits.
If you are between the ages of 65 and 70 and you work while receiving your CPP retirement pension, you can choose to continue making CPP contributions (or if you work outside of Quebec while receiving a QPP retirement pension). These contributions will increase your CPP benefits."
- SERVICE CANADA

"The Old Age Security pension is a monthly benefit available, if applied for, to most Canadians 65 years of age or over. Old Age Security legal status and residence requirements must also be met. An applicant's employment history is not a factor in determining eligibility, nor does the applicant need to be retired. Old Age Security pensioners pay federal and provincial income tax. Higher income pensioners also repay part or all of their benefit through the tax system."
- SERVICE CANADA

Goober, the top 1% of Canadians earn 23% of the total income earned by Canadians. Is the problem affordability or distribution of wealth?

Spade - Please excuse me - Long busy day at work - renos at home and yes I have had a few of my fav Pils.
So i will have to beg off and will reply on Friday when i have a clearer head.

 

[Spade]

Take at least one Pil before retirement!

Take at least one Pil before retirement!

 

[Spade]

CBC News - World - French Senate approves raising retirement age