Canada: Calgary Chamber Recommends Changes To Encourage Older Workers

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce has recommended changes to the Canadian Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and RRSP programs to remove disincentives and entice older workers to continue in the labour force. The recommendations were made as part of a submission to the Federal Expert Panel on Older Workers.

According to Heather Douglas, President & CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, older workers represent a significant source of underutilized talent and labour supply in the Canadian economy, but the federal government retirement programs do not reflect current and future demographic, retirement and life expectancy realities and create disincentives for older workers to participate in the labour force. The Chamber's submission to the Expert Panel--"Older Workers: Amending Federal Government Retirement Programs to Tap Into an Underutilized Pool of Labour Supply"--recommended several changes that have the potential to encourage 80,000 additional older Albertans to remain in the labour force:

• expanding the age range at which people are eligible to access their Canada Pension Plan benefits from 60-70 to 60-75;
• amending the Old Age Security program to encourage the most highly skilled and experienced Canadians to continue working after age 65;
• working with the provinces to develop harmonized and flexible part-time pension policies that provide incentives for Canadians to gradually transition out of the labour force after age 65.

Source: Calgary Chamber of Commerce News Release (July 30, 2007)