06) PRPP SCAM ATTACKS PENSION RIGHTS

People's Voice Editorial, Dec. 1-31, 2011

     The Canadian Labour Congress was right to quickly slam the Harper government's "Pooled Registered Pension Plans". The PRPP is no "solution" to the pensions crisis; it's a deliberate attempt to sabotage the public pension system in the interests of finance capital. As the CLC says, PRPPs would reward banks, insurance companies and mutual fund companies instead of offering secure retirement options for all Canadians.

     Anyone who thinks the PRPP sounds like a good idea should look a bit closer. Unlike the Canada Pension Plan, PRPPs are privately administered workplace pension plans that resemble group RRSPs. They will be unable to provide a secure, predictable benefit, indexed against inflation. They will not require employers to contribute. They won't match the CPP's very low cost. They lack the survivor and disability benefits offered by the CPP, and they will not be universal portable, following the worker no matter where he or she is employed. There is no indication that the PRPP legislation will control high management fees charged by banks and mutual fund companies on pension investments.

     The Conservative plan ignores the discussions held by provincial finance ministers in December 2010, when the majority of provinces pressed Ottawa to examine proposals to expand the CPP. This is a big disappointment for the labour movement, which had been pushing governments to double future CPP benefits through modest increases in contributions from workers and employers.

     Instead, the PRPP takes Canadians in the opposite direction, towards replacing the CPP with private pensions. The result will be a massive growth of poverty among seniors, and an equally rapid boost in profits for finance capital. It's a trend sweeping the capitalist world, and it must be met with determined resistance by the labour movement and its allies across Canada.

(The above  article is from the December 1-31, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)