The C.D. Howe Institute has issued a new paper by Keith
Ambachtsheer: "Helping Canadians Save for Retirement: How
the Province Could Adapt the Canada Supplementary Pension
Plan." The paper argues for a government run, defined
contribution plan with a member opt out, and an opportunity for
conversion into annuities.
Mr. Ambachtsheer is a member of the Technical Advisory Group on
Retirement Security advising the Ontario government as to the
design of an Ontario Pension Plan.
Rationally, if it were implemented a government run pension plan
should be tied closely to the CPP for economies of scale in
investments and plan administration. A defined contribution
component to the CPP is an idea that has been around for a number
of years, having been proposed before, by Mr. Ambachtsheer and
others, including the federal Liberals. It has been however
dismissed by the federal and provincial governments in favour of
the PRPPS or perhaps a "modest" increase to the CPP on
