The Canadian government will hold consultations this summer “with experts and stakeholders” about whether to allow voluntary additional contributions to the C$264.6 billion ($220.3 billion) Canada Pension Plan, Ottawa, said Joe Oliver, Canada finance minister.
“Our conservative government believes all Canadians should have options when saving for their future. That is why we intend to consult on giving Canadians the voluntary option to contribute more to the Canada Pension Plan to supplement their retirement savings,” said a transcript of Mr. Oliver's address Tuesday to the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa.
The address made no mention of with whom the government would consult.
Mr. Oliver said the option would not be mandatory, as is the planned Ontario Retirement Pension Plan set to begin in January 2017. Efforts in 2013 to reach agreement on a national supplemental plan to the CPP among provincial finance ministers, Minister of state for Finance Kevin Sorenson and then-Finance Minister Jim Flaherty failed. Mr. Oliver on Tuesday called a mandatory supplemental plan “a one-size-fits-all pension-tax hike” that “is not what Canadians want, nor what they need.”
“We believe that Canadians are best placed to decide how to save for their retirement with voluntary options, rather than have tax hikes imposed on them,” Mr. Oliver said.
