THUNDER BAY -- There is a gap between what people are saving and what they’ll need when they retire, says the province’s minister responsible for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.
MPP Mitzie Hunter (Lib., Scarborough-Guildwood) was in Thunder Bay Monday morning for a public consultation session at the Valhalla Inn on the proposed mandatory pension that would expand coverage for more than three-million people in the province.
Premier Kathleen Wynne unveiled the design of the pension plan late last year, which would have employers and employees make matching contributions to the fund up to 1.9 per cent.
The funds would also be locked in until retirement, which Hunter said will provide a predictable stream of income for people in their golden years.
“The fact people are not saving for retirement is a concern,” said Hunter, noting that workplace-based coverage is also low.
“Two-thirds of Ontarians don’t have coverage for pensions at work. People recognize there is a challenge and we need to move forward.”
Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce president Charla Robinson said small businesses have expressed concerns about how the new pension plan will affect them.
“They’re concerned about how much more is this going to cost me. How much is it going to cost my employees and how am I going to fit it into my current situation,” she said.
Hunter said they’re working with businesses and the ORPP will be introduced on Jan. 1, 2017. It will be phased in over two years and will coincide with a reduction in Employment Insurance premiums.
“That will give businesses as well as individual contributors time to adjust and prepare. We’re listening to business. We’re working with them. This is about providing a benefit to employees and providing that pension they’re going to rely on when they retire,” she said.
Robinson said there are also questions around businesses that already have a pension plan in place and the ORPP could mean a whole new level of bureaucracy.
However, she said the session with Hunter created a great discussion, especially to highlight the needs of smaller communities in the north.
“For small, small communities who have been facing losses of major employers, it’s been a long and tough road and additional cost to their business is really concern after all they’ve been through,” she said.
Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers’ Support Group treasurer Steve Mantis is concerned the ORPP would leave out people with disabilities who are unable to work and people who have been seriously injured on the job.
“We’re really asking the Ontario government as they develop the program to address those issues so the most vulnerable workers we have aren’t hit doubly bad by this program,” he said.
Mantis said Hunter was receptive to the group’s concerns, but he’ll wait to see if action is taken when the final plan is unveiled.
