Start Pensions changes at the Top

In the UK there is a review of MP pensions being implemented. Report on cutting MPs' final salary pension scheme due

This is a good place to begin the redesign of our pension system in Canada. It is hard to get stakeholders to make changes that impact them on a personal level. High MP pensions lead to low voter confidence

In BC  the cost of pensions for MLA's hit the news. In an abusive move the MLA's gave themselves retroactive pensions. Pension that pay them on a defined benefit retroactively to 1996. The costs of these gold-plated pensions is an issue that calls into question the real leadership that BC is offering at the Whitehorse pension summit. $800,000 per Lucky MLA

The BBC report cited that costs for these types of pension is in excess of 31.6% of salary. Most of the public sector pensions in Canad have the same types of high costs associated with them. This is why so many are underwater and suffer from serious underfunding, amounting to Billions. This tab of course is picked up by taxpayers.

Part of any discussion reform in Canada needs to be the reforming of gold-plated public sector pensions. All Canadians should have access to Fair Pensions, not just the pension elite.