Alberta NDP warns that Smith plans to ‘gamble’ with Albertans’ retirement
By Theodora MacLeod - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on September 20, 2023.
It is estimated that the average Canadian needs to save nearly $1 million to retire, a number that is only set to grow with time, pushing the target further for younger Canadians. According to an NDP press conference held on Tuesday morning in Edmonton, that target could be even more unattainable for Albertans in just a short time.Shannon Phillips, MLA for Lethbridge-West and NDP finance critic, warned Albertans against what she says her sources call a “torqued, misleading, fantasy case for leaving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and gambling on an Alberta Pension Plan,” in the form of a report that is expected to be released by Danielle Smith and the UCP as early as the end of the week.
Early in the conference Phillips stated, “over the summer it became clear to me and to the NDP opposition that there’s plenty to worry about with respect to the future of Albertans’ access to our Canada Pension plan.”
Though Alberta is not the only province to ever discuss pulling out of the national retirement plan, Phillips warns that those living in Quebec, pay much more into their Quebec Pension Plan than Albertans do currently under the federal fund.
Phillips forewarns that any claims Alberta is owed billions of dollars from the CPP are incorrect, adding that if every province used the formula included in the expected report to calculate their “share” of CPP funds, the total would be nine times what is currently stored in the fund.
Phillips cited Global Sovereign Wealth Fund in praise for the Canadian Pension Plan, stating the organization has called the CPP one of the best retirement savings managers in the world and that two-thirds, if not more, of Albertans do not support pulling out of the CPP.
Savannah Johannsen, press secretary for the Office of Treasury Board and Finance, told The Herald Tuesday afternoon “as promised, we will release the report to the public when it is ready. Once the report is released, we will consult with Albertans. Premier Danielle Smith made it clear that we will not create an Alberta Pension Plan unless Albertans are interested and vote to do so through a referendum.” 2
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