Our CPP is under attack and we need to save it.

We are a group of concerned Albertans who have come together to oppose the plans announced by Premier Danielle Smith to take Alberta out of the Canada Pension Plan. The strength our group brings to this fightback is in the research, analysis and publicity we are able to contribute, as we include individuals with expertise in pension administration and consulting, finance, public advocacy and public relations.

We know that those of us who speak out in opposition to the Premier’s plan will be up against powerful corporate interests who see prospects for massive profits if and when the provincial government seizes control of the billions of dollars currently in the Canada Pension Fund.

It is our intention to spread our campaign across the province in advance of a referendum the Premier is planning, as the conversation has been flooded by disinformation and false arguments. Our bulletins have been produced by pension experts in our group who have distilled massive amounts of information into a number of easy-to-read points.

The only sure defense against the type of well-financed campaign we expect from the UCP is a riled-up and informed public.

We have produced three short bulletins to help Albertans understand what's at stake.

Danielle Smith’s Shiny New Alberta Pension Plan...What could possibly go wrong? provides some background on changes likely to take place if Alberta withdraws from the CPP, as well as exposing our government’s sad record with pension fund administration.

Three Myths About the Canada Pension Plan, exposes commonly-repeated myths that are likely to be exploited by the Premier and her corporate interests when they flood the media with their sales pitch.

Poll Numbers Show Pension Confusion: Whose Pensions are Most at Risk? dispels myths for younger Albertans, particularly those under 30, who have expressed more support for the idea of Danielle Smith's plan than other demographics. 

We hope that you find these bulletins informative and useful. We are asking you to distribute them quickly to your friends, family and neighbours, wherever possible. Use them in whole or in part, as you wish. It is crucial that we warn and inform as many Albertans as possible, as they will be the losers if the Premier succeeds with her plan.

FAQs.

Feeling uneasy about the lack of solid information from the Alberta Government and their supporters? Alberta-based pension experts have gathered the most asked questions that the government hasn’t answered – and here are the honest, straightforward answers. Click on the question below to get the answer.

1. The UCP Government and the LifeWorks report say that an Alberta Pension Plan could provide higher benefits or offer lower contribution rates because if Alberta leaves the Canada Pension Plan it would be entitled to over half the assets of the CPP, roughly $334 Billion. Is this true? 
2. Even if Alberta gets less than 53% of the CPP’s assets, isn’t it true that our relatively younger and higher-income workers and their employers would be able to get the same or even better benefits for lower contributions?
3. Some people argue that they can find investment tools for retirement that will give higher returns than the CPP. So why is the CPP a good investment?
4. Will an Alberta Pension Plan offer the same disability benefits as the CPP?
5. If I die at age 66, there’s nothing left for my estate except the $3500 death benefit. Isn’t this a rip-off?
6. Can the Alberta government withdraw from CPP without the consent of the federal government and the other provinces?
7. Isn’t it unfair that we are subsidizing the rest of Canada because we pay relatively more into the plan and collect relatively less?
8. Do we pay more into the pension plan than people in other provinces?
9. Why should we have to be in a pension plan that’s run by the federal government? Wouldn’t we be better off in a plan that serves Albertans’ interests?
10. Is the CPPIB’s cost of operation a rip-off?
11.  Is CPPIB refusing to invest, or selling its investments, in non-renewable resources?
12. Shouldn’t we be trying to encourage an Alberta-based investment industry?
13. Would those of us already receiving CPP pensions be “grandfathered” into the CPP? (Variation: wouldn’t we be receiving a pension from CPP for the proportion of our careers already spent contributing to CPP? Variation 2: if I move away from Alberta, couldn’t I stay in CPP?)
14. Could we opt, as individuals, to stay in CPP?
15. Why can’t I opt out of CPP or APP altogether?
16. Is it true that CPP is a Ponzi scheme and will go bankrupt leaving me without a pension?
17. Couldn't an Alberta Pension Plan use part of its funds to invest in building up the Alberta economy?
18. Could funds from an Alberta Pension Plan be used to rebuild provincial infrastructure?
19. Has Alberta been forced to be in the CPP, and have decisions been made over the years that hurt Alberta?
20. "How much would be owed to Alberta?"

21. I’m being told that my CPP contributions aren’t an investment like they would be in an RRSP or any other pension plan – they’re a tax, and I don’t get a return on my investment. Is that true?

22. I have heard that by 2026 the CPP will be paying out more in annual pensions than it receives in annual contributions. Does this mean the fund will run out and there won’t be enough for future pensioners?

For Further Reading.

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board "By the Numbers"
• Government of Canada "How Much You Could Receive" from CPP
• "Alberta risks ‘double jeopardy’ if it exits Canada Pension Plan, leading expert warns," Financial Post. January 8, 2020.

Here are three things you can do today!

We know Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP is committed to taking Alberta out of the Canada Pension Plan and creating a new Alberta Pension Plan in its place if she can get away with it. This proposal creates serious risks for our retirement incomes.

This is not acceptable. The plan to leave the CPP must be abandoned. Public Interest Alberta, alongside other concerned organizations across Alberta, is mounting a campaign to save our CPP and pressure the UCP to abandon this doomed-for-failure plan to gamble with Albertans’ retirement security. 

Now is the time for Albertans to stand up against Smith’s new scheme. That’s why we are taking action and raising the alarm. By sharing fact sheets across the province to raise awareness, sending thousands of letters, and having Albertans sign our official petition, we are going to do everything in our power to stop Smith and the UCP from putting our retirement security at risk.

1) Learn the facts about CPP with our fact sheets written by Albertan pension experts with decades of experience, and share them with your friends and family.

• Danielle Smith's Shiny New Alberta Pension Plan...What could possibly go wrong?
• Three Myths about the Canada Pension Plan 
• Poll Numbers Show Pension Confusion

2) Download our official petition, print it out, and send the original signed petitions to Public Interest Alberta, 12323 Stony Plain Rd #604, Edmonton, AB T5N 3Y5.

3) Send a one click letter (look to your right!) to the Premier, Finance Minister, Finance critic, and your local MLA telling them to save our CPP!