Friday, January 27, 2012

Mr. Prime Minister, We Are ALL Approaching Retirement Age

On Friday, talking points coming from the Prime Minister's Office stated that any proposed cuts were still several years away, and wouldn't affect any Canadians currently approaching retirement age.

I guess the question now is--what's the cut-off date?  How old do you have to be today to not get screwed over?

Not that I really have any skin in the game re this issue.  I never plan to retire.  I'll keep showing up until they club me to death with a shovel.  I get bored easily and can't imagine being idle for long spaces of time.  But most folk want to slack off in their senescence and winter in Florida, or Arizona.  But I've been to Arizona and the good bits involved cacti and road-runners, the bad bits involve snakes and poison spiders.  The locals don't figure into it as all, being boring as heck. 

4 comments:

Robert G. Harvie, Q.C. said...

Uhm.

When CPP was created in 1966, the demographic of the workforce was primarily males who lived 3.78 years after turnig 65.

Today that workforce is more equally distributed between men and women who live about 15 years after retirement age.. Hence CPP load has shown a 4 fold increase..

At the same time we have gone to pains to show that people don't become useless and incapable at 65 and are able to work longer.

Maybe the reality of increased longevity and productivity after 65 should be reflected in the expected date of receiving CPP.. Or maybe not.. Maybe we should just grossly increase the cost of hiring people.

double nickel said...

CPP is just fine. Harper was blathering about OAS. He'll rue the day he ever decided to take on the seniors.

Anyong said...

Robert G. Harvie...where the heck are you coming from? Since returning to Canada from working overseas, I have not been able to find employment in my field..several fields to be exact. People are of the mindset in this part of the country AB, where there is a shortage of workers in the oil patch..let's make that one clear...people are brain dead over the age of 65. So you tell me how does someone find work in this country who wants to work...being told, "you are not qualified here or there". Educated and experienced people having to work at McDonald's for $9.00 an hour....what a joke@!!

Nick Fillmore said...

How can you seemingly agree with Harper? The point is -- forget about what Harper says the cutoff date is -- and fight like hell to stop him. Stop the tax cuts to corporations, stop the tax cuts to the wealthy, fewer prisons and fewer damn planes. Then there will be lots of money for pensions and many other things as well. Harper is a damn neoliberal!

My additional thoughts: http://nickfillmore.blogspot.com/2012/01/should-we-take-down-banks-or-try-to.html