FEWO Committee Report

Recommendation 1

That the exemption on earned income in the Guaranteed Income Supplement be extended to other forms of income, such as RRSP income.

Recommendation 2

That the Guaranteed Income Supplement be raised to the after-tax low-income cut-off.

Recommendation 3

That the adjustment factor for single individuals be adjusted from 1.4 to 1.6 of the couple amount in recognition that the adjustment factor of 1.6 more adequately reflects the costs of living on ones’ own.

Recommendation 4

That the government explore the implementation of a caregiver dropout for Canadians who reduce their labour force attachment to care for sick, disabled or elderly persons requiring care, comparable to the current child rearing dropout.

Recommendation 5

That the government explore the possibility of allowing a more gradual withdrawal of amounts from the Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF).

Recommendation 6

That the government adopt a pension plan protection bill applicable to employers under federal jurisdiction as soon as possible so that the pension benefits of retirees or future retirees are not reduced.

Recommendation 7

That the government continue to carefully examine ways in which it can help better protect Canadians’ standard of living in retirement by implementing its recently announced changes to the regulations of federally regulated private pensions; and to work with all stakeholders coming out of the December 17^th and 18^th meeting of first finance ministers in Whitehorse to carefully consider the findings of the Research Working Group on Retirement Income Adequacy.

Recommendation 8

That the government convene a pension summit in 2010, and that the Government ensures that such a summit brings together the widest possible selection of stakeholders to ensure that proposed solutions reflect the varied reality of Canadians — men and women; rural and urban; Aboriginal, native-born and immigrant; employees, employers and self-employed; disabled; young and old.

Recommendation 9

That the federal government conduct a thorough gender-based analysis (GBA) of all policy proposals relating to women and pensions. This should include a consideration of the impact of unpaid caregiving work on the lifetime income of women; the impact of elder-care responsibilities, which are disproportionately borne by women, on the retirement options of women; and the fact that women have a longer life expectancy than men.

Recommendation 10

That, for the purpose of gender-based analysis, all federal government data on pensions and income be disaggregated by sex so that trends in the retirement income of women and men can be easily monitored. The Committee also recommends that future triennial reviews of the Canada Pension Plan clearly identify the potential impact of changes on women and men.

Recommendation 11

That the replacement rate in the Canada Pension Plan be increased from 25% to 50% to maintain a decent income and an acceptable standard of living, and that this modification come into force progressively over the next ten years.

Recommendation 12

That the government introduce an optional supplementary Canada Pension Plan, conditional on provincial agreement, in order to help Canadians save more.