When Canada’s premiers prepare met in St. John’s this week new data showed that most Canadians can’t afford to save more for retirement, and wouldn’t put any extra money into the CPP or QPP if they could.
According to a new public opinion poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), almost sixty per cent of working Canadians report they can’t afford to save more than they already do. When asked how government could best help them save, only 18 per cent pointed to mandatory increases in CPP/QPP. A similar 19 per cent said they would voluntarily invest in the CPP/QPP.
“No matter how you ask the question, fewer than one in five Canadians supports putting more of their hard-earned money into the CPP or QPP,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “Premiers need to know that Canadians would choose to put any extra money for retirement savings in to TFSAs, RRSPs or private investments over any increase in CPP/QPP.”
If you had extra money to put towards your retirement savings, which of the following would you prefer to contribute towards if given a choice? (51% responsded TFSA’s)
Canadian employees identified reducing government spending and taxes (39 per cent) and creating new incentives to save (37 per cent) as the best ways for government to help. The same questions were put to small business owners, and again CPP/QPP hikes were ranked near the bottom (5 per cent) among options to boost retirement savings.
If a mandatory CPP/QPP hike were introduced, over one-third of Canadians say they would be forced to reduce spending on essential items such as rent or food. Two-thirds of business owners would be under increased pressure to freeze or cut salaries and over one-third report they would be forced to cut staffing in their firms.
”A mandatory payroll tax hike hurts everyone. It would be a significant barrier to economic growth and a job-killer,” added Kelly. “CFIB members do support allowing voluntary additional contributions to the CPP/QPP for Canadians who do favour it as a retirement savings vehicle.”
