关于Alberta Pension cut

arbiterlin · 发表于 2013-9-17 14:04

不少人在政府, 学校, 事业单位上班, 并每个月交pension吧.... 现在必须65岁退休才能拿full pension, 还少了好些零七八碎的benefits.... 大家都赶在2015年底跳槽到私企吧~~

EDMONTON - The Alberta government is proposing changes to its public pensions plans that will get rid of early retirement incentives, benefit improvements until 2021 and guaranteed cost-of-living increases.

Unions and employees say the proposal will mean their public-sector members will have to work longer and get fewer benefits once they retire. The proposal does not affect any public-sector workers who have already retired, the province says.

The changes aim to make sustainable public pensions that have a $7.4-billion unfunded liability, the province says. But the NDP says the plans are set to be fully funded in seven years.

Elisabeth Ballermann, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, said: “Today, the minister is saying ‘Guess what? You’re going to have to work still longer and get less benefits,’ and I assure you, this design is not going to be acceptable to the members I represent.”

Finance Minister Doug Horner met with union and pension representatives Monday to propose changes to the province’s four public pension plans, which cover about 200,000 active employees and another 120,000 retirees. The unions and employees have until December to comment on the changes.

“We recognize that there’s no crisis today, but it’s the long-term sustainability that we need to address in these plans,” Horner said.

Those who work under the Public Service Pension Plan are currently entitled to an average annual pension of $12,414, while those under the Local Authorities Pension Plan receive an average of $14,958 yearly. Two other public pension plans — the Management Employees Pension Plan and the Special Forces Pension Plan — are also defined benefit plans guaranteeing employees a pre-determined monthly income upon retirement.

Together, the four plans (two of which will merge under the proposal) have an unfunded liability of $7.4 billion, which is the amount that future payments exceed the current value of the funds. Employees are on the hook to pay $3.5 billion of that, leaving the province — through taxpayers — responsible for $4 billion as more baby boomers are set to retire, leaving a smaller cohort of workers paying into the plans.

“It’s not sustainable unless you hike the contribution rates for our employees so high to maintain and subsidize those who retired that we become quite frankly not competitive in the marketplace,” Horner said.

As late as the 1990s, about five employees were paying into pensions that supplied benefits to about two retirees; today, the ration is often one-to-one, Horner said.

“We have to adjust to the realities of the investment climate and make sure the benefits are affordable,” he said.

In July 2012, Horner asked the pension plan members and administrators to review and report back on what changes could be made. Those reports didn’t go far enough, Horner said, prompting the government to come up with its current proposal.

The pension reform plan suggests lowering cost-of-living increases to public-sector pensions, targeting — but not guaranteeing — the adjustments at 50 per cent of the Alberta inflation rate. Currently, employees receive 60 per cent of the cost-of-living adjustment, which is tacked on to annual payments.

The new flexible adjustments will depend on the financial environment.

“Once the finances improve, catch-up (cost-of-living adjustments) may be granted, according to the plan’s funding policy,” the government’s proposal reads.

Getting rid of early retirement incentives by 2016 will reduce costs by three per cent of salaries, the proposal suggests. Horner also wants employees to be able to stay at work and contribute to the pension plans longer than the current 35-year limit.

“We want our employees to stay and work and to contribute for as long as they like, so early retirement is an incentive we want to move away from,” Horner said. “It’s not a big-ticket item. It’s not something that’s going to save the day on its own, but it’s the combination of the plan changes we’re talking about today.”

No benefit improvements will be made until 2021, the proposal says. All the changes will be made possible with legislation changes to be tabled in spring 2014, which will also make pension boards able to make more independent decisions from government. The government would maintain some control, the proposal says, including introducing a new cap on the amount both employees and employers can pay into the pension plans.

But while changes will be made, Horner emphasized those who are already retired won’t see clawbacks to their pensions. Instead, new employees will see a more modest pension plan with lower contribution rates that “will be attractive to new, young public servants.”

“I want to make one thing very clear: for those pensioners who are out there today, this does not affect them,” Horner said. “We’re making sure that the promises that were made are promises that will be kept.”

The changes will start Jan. 1, 2016.

Unions say the plans are sustainable and any changes will inevitably hit hardest seniors on limited incomes, especially if they don’t receive cost-of-living increases with their pensions.

Plus, pushing up the retirement age is a concern for those in the health field who work very physical, stressful jobs, said the unions representing nurses, paramedics and aides. Currently, if such employees work for 35 years and retire at age 55, they are entitled to their full pension. Should the proposed changes come in, that would end, said Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta.

“I don’t think there was a real open discussion of just how significant some of these changes were,” Smith said.

As well, if the proposal to cap both employer and employee contributions to future public pension plans is introduced, pension plans will be forced to reduce benefits for everyone during troubling financial times and decreased investment returns.

“Right now, if a pension plan was trying to deal with a rough financial period like we experienced in the financial collapse of 2008, they had tools at their disposal that allowed them to continue to pay the pension benefits (and) in particular, could increase contribution rates so benefits are paid out,” said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

If those rates were capped and the pension plan began to struggle during a recession, McGowan said, “The pension boards will have to look at all options including reductions in benefits for people currently working.” He suspects retirees would be hit, too.

“There is no need for major cuts to benefits,” McGowan said.

NDP Leader Brian Mason agreed.

“The minister is weakening public sector pensions unnecessarily,” Mason said. “There’s no indication these plans are not sustainable.”

Wildrose finance critic Rob Anderson responded more positively to a “common sense solution” with broad consultation.

“There’s a balance and I think the government’s doing the right thing to consult on this matter, and as long as they don’t pull the rug out from under the current public-sector workforce, I think the activity is worthwhile,” Anderson said. “It has to be sustainable. We don’t want the thing to collapse on future public-sector workers.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/E ... /8918742/story.html

abear · 发表于 2013-9-17 14:18

别忽悠了，大部分政府人员人浮于事，效率低下，要是让他们去私企，连渣都不会剩下。

ninnin · 发表于 2013-9-17 14:36

According to a major national-wide recruiting agent, if you only have public sector experience on your resume, it is almost safe to say no private corporation will be interested in hiring you.

Smiao · 发表于 2013-9-17 19:21

SmartBrands · 发表于 2013-9-17 21:05

呵呵，在私企可不好混哦。。。没有两把刷子的根本混不下去。。

水管工 · 发表于 2013-9-17 21:30

一般讲，当公务员还是比在私企强吧。在私企，就别想pension了。

SmartBrands · 发表于 2013-9-18 07:48

水管工发表于 2013-9-17 22:30 : q" v* p A9 N; y, b
一般讲，当公务员还是比在私企强吧。在私企，就别想pension了。

对但不完全正确。。这个要看公司。。公务员通常就是pension好，benefits好，工作闲，假期多。。

私企，要看效益了，效益好的公司benefits不会差，pension虽然少一点，但是有bonus和其他allowance，职位高一点的有profit share。。变相把pension给你兑现了。。

yue17738 · 发表于 2013-9-18 16:54

以后慢慢养老会提到70岁的，等着看

陈海峰 · 发表于 2013-9-18 17:23

本来公务员的pensin就比一般企业的好太多，有点类似国内公务员跟老百姓养老金的区别

edm_chn · 发表于 2013-9-18 23:05

abear 发表于 2013-9-17 15:18 * j7 d, `) Y* O+ O5 U; u
别忽悠了，大部分政府人员人浮于事，效率低下，要是让他们去私企，连渣都不会剩下。

carroll · 发表于 2013-9-19 08:39

The early retirement incentives should be long gone. Many gov employees take the incentive to retire early at age 45 or 50, then re-hired back by Gov as temperary position. Because they know people inside, their temperary position is stable as good as the permanent one. So many Gov ex-employees are doing this, there is a name called "Double Dip" --- get both pension and salary for one job.
The result is --- new younger people will not even get a chance of the temperary positions.

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