With many seniors in this district and across the province relying on money they receive through the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), any uncertainty around the financial support program is unwelcome.
As such, the Smith government’s continued musing about the possible creation of an Alberta pension plan (APP) to replace the federal program continues to create concern for seniors and their families.
Hopefully in 2025 the government will either finally move forward with its long-promised referendum on the issue or drop the matter altogether without further delay.
For her part, Premier Danielle Smith has said on several occasions since the last provincial election that an APP would benefit residents across the province.
“An Alberta Pension Plan could increase benefits for seniors, reduce premiers for workers, and protect the pension interests and benefits of all Albertans,” Smith recently told reporters.
“The reality is that since its inception of the CPP, Albertans have been paying much more into it than they have gotten back during that same time.”
While the province has yet to hold a referendum on the pension issue, it has launched a multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded ad campaign in support of an APP.
The ‘Your Pension, Your Choice’ campaign states that, “There are many different options to combine pension contribution decreases for workers with benefit improvements for seniors in the design of a new APP. This will depend on how that $5 billion in savings is divided between reductions to contribution rates from workers and increases in benefits to seniors.”
NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said: “The vast majority of Albertans do not want the provincial government messing with their pensions. It’s an example of the UCP focusing on something nobody is asking for.”
The Smith government has every right to consult with residents about its plans and proposals, including regarding the proposed APP.
That said, continuing to leave the matter unresolved and hanging over the future financial well-being of many, many Alberta seniors in 2025 would be unfair and unacceptable.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
