Pension Coverage In Canada: What Does The Future Hold?

Over the last couple of years, Canadian federal and provincial governments have expressed concern over declining pension coverage. They have responded by appointing expert commissions to study the matter, and by proposing possible solutions such as pooled registered pension plans and modest enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan.

These concerns regarding declining pension coverage appear to be supported most recently by statistics released by the Office the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) although, perhaps surprisingly, the decline does not seem to be as precipitous as one might have expected.

The percentage of paid workers who are members of registered pension plans (RPPs) declined from 41% in 1999 to 39% in 2009, a drop of only 2%. Interestingly, this decrease appears to be due to a significant decrease in the percentage of men who participate in RPPs – with their participation rate declining from 42% in 1999 to 38% in 2009. During this same time,