Alberta's Stelmach To Withdraw From CPP

[rbacon]

Here's hoping Ed keep's this promise he made to Albertan's and repeated to CBC......[stelmach wants to create a supplementary Alberta pension plan, similar to Quebec's. He said Monday he'll be watching to ensure that any new powers given to that province are extended to Alberta as well.

"It was very clear during the campaign that I'm going to fight for the same rights and privileges being assigned to this 'nation within a nation.'"]

[B. Max]

Here's hoping Ed keep's this promise he made to Albertan's and repeated to CBC......[stelmach wants to create a supplementary Alberta pension plan, similar to Quebec's. He said Monday he'll be watching to ensure that any new powers given to that province are extended to Alberta as well.

"It was very clear during the campaign that I'm going to fight for the same rights and privileges being assigned to this 'nation within a nation.'"]

It doesn't look like there's a plan to with draw from the CPP. It says supplementary. The only way one could with draw from CPP is to first get the money back you've already put in.

[rbacon]

If you read his policy or what he told the CBC, and I will repeat it for you.....The same plan as Quebec....The Qpp is not a part of the CPP....This means that Stelmach is saying that we will have a APP....Alberta Pension Plan......As an Albertan I like this idea, the money will stay and grow in Alberta and build a nice big pot......

[rbacon]

The proposed plan would see the APP savings (i.e. the 1.9% of pension-able earnings) invested in a government-regulated “supplementary plan” belonging to individual contributors.

The Government of Alberta would increase this 1.9% contribution by adding an additional .95% from provincial resource revenues (see table 3 below). This would only cost the provincial government an amount similar to one-third of a round of “Ralph Bucks” (approximately $500 million).

A 20-year-old entering the Alberta workforce in 2011 (the earliest an Alberta Pension Plan could be incorporated) would almost certainly double the earnings they would receive from the CPP over the same time period. Also, to do this they would not have to pay one dollar more than he or she is paying today into the CPP.

[rbacon]

Quebec has amassed over $102 billion in its Pension Fund, while Alberta’s share of the CPP is around $13.5 billion.

Quebec’s Fund is run by Quebecors, ours is run by Ottawa.

Quebec choose to opt out of the CPP right from the start. Alberta, consisting of good little Canadians, choose to go along for the rip-off ride as we always do.

For instance, it's estimated that Albertans contribute over $4 billion per year into the CPP and get little more than $2 billion back to service our needs. Hence, it is fairly safe to say that an Alberta Pension Fund would grow at a minimum of approximately $2 billion per year.

It is highly unusual that Alberta, Canada’s most prosperous province and the economic engineer of our country, has no significant local source of investment capital. An Alberta Pension Fund would remedy this major shortcoming, and would enable Alberta to realize its full potential.

[nickjbor]

all provinces should do this

[B. Max]

If you read his policy or what he told the CBC, and I will repeat it for you.....The same plan as Quebec....The Qpp is not a part of the CPP....This means that Stelmach is saying that we will have a APP....Alberta Pension Plan......As an Albertan I like this idea, the money will stay and grow in Alberta and build a nice big pot......

Then why does it say supplementary. I like the idea also, but I would like the money back that I've put into the CPP.

[rbacon]

You will get your money back BMax but you will draw it when you retire, this is a new program that will mostly benefit young Alberta workers and Alberta as a whole.....It will mean about an extra 2B will stay in Alberta each year rather than be wasted in Ottawa......The CPP funds are just dumped into general revenue and spend by the feds.....If this was done by private enterpise they would be in jail for life like the Enron boys.....

[mcqueen625]

You will get your money back BMax but you will draw it when you retire, this is a new program that will mostly benefit young Alberta workers and Alberta as a whole.....It will mean about an extra 2B will stay in Alberta each year rather than be wasted in Ottawa......The CPP funds are just dumped into general revenue and spend by the feds.....If this was done by private enterpise they would be in jail for life like the Enron boys.....

You are right, he would get his money back upon retirement or upon reaching the age of 60 which is the age at which one can start drawing CPP.

I disagree that all provinces do this because the smaller less affluent provinces like New Brunswick it would just create another bureaucracy that teh taxpayers would have to pay. New Brunswick would be just like Ottawa and dump the money into General Revenues and may not have the funds to pay out when it comes time for people to draw it. To illustrate this they allowed pension funds to invest heavily into high yield, high risk stock and other funds and when the market went south, many pension funds were left with $millions in unfunded liabilities which have to under law be made up by employers and employees through either higher taxes, higher premiums, or cuts to pension benefits, or a combination of all three. Of course the Province of New Brunswick, who threw their employees pension money into general revenue, and other risky enterprises, have exempted themselves from having to make up any shortfall, while the cities and towns do have to make up those shortfalls, most likely through increased taxes or cuts to services.

The good news for New Brunswick is that the people fnally saw through the arrogance of Bernard Lord and gave him and the P.C.'s their walking papers in the hastily called election this fall, and now golden boy Bernie, is taking his bat and ball and leaving both as Party Leader and as an MLA, effective January 31st. I say good riddence, because rather than listening to the people he thought of himself as some type of lord and master of the province (pun intended).

[geoffrey]

Putting in the oil money is along the lines of Norway's oil fund. Brilliant. I'm very enthusiastic about Stelmach as Premier, more so by the day. Despite the snub to Calgary in cabinet. Stelmach should realise where the money is, don't step on too many toes.