state of pension plans

http://www.cga-canada.org/en-ca/ResearchAndAdvocacy/AreasofInterest/Pensions/Pages/_ca_pensions_index.aspx

Boomers to place enormous demands on retirement system

* Post retirement expectations and needs of the “boomer” generations will place enormous demands on the country’s health and social support systems.
* Long term demographic trends challenge the Canadian retirement system – the working age population will conceivably shrink further in the years to come and baby-boomers will progressively leave the workplace.
* Decline in the numbers of the working-age population will inflict constriction of funding into the retirement system.
* Unless this dual pressure on the system is otherwise relieved and counterbalanced by prudent regulatory and pecuniary policies, steady disintegration will befall Canada’s retirement system(s).

Recommendations
Design new pension system that is fair to all Canadians both now and in the future

* Design a pension system that is sustainable in the long term, fair to present and future generations, simple to administer, and cost effective.
* Recognize pension benefits as deferred compensation.
* Consider adaptations of the “Hybrid Model” (Cash Balance Plans) that can, going forward, substitute for current DB and DC plan models.
* Establish a common pension regulator to monitor the retirement system and adherence to the principle of “one law, one regulator”.
* Examine the prospect of introducing universal and compulsory coverage of all working Canadians.
* Consider consolidation of the oversight of private sector registered pension plans under the authority of the proposed common pension regulator for achieving efficiency and economy of scale.
* Harmonizing more fully the tax treatment of all pension plan transactions, including funding and payout irrespective of their origin and structure.
* Codify a set of guiding principles aimed at guarding the system against human error and external shocks.

D - in other words, there is an intergenerational crunch coming.
Right.