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albertGQ · 06-12-2010, 12:00 AM

So I was watching Global News tonight and they mentioned that 2/3 of Canadians or more are not saving enough for retirement. One of the ideas that were brought up was to increase CPP payments to 50% of income instead of 25%. But is this an efficient solution? I'm not sure I agree with allowing the government more control over our money is a good idea.

What do you guys think the government can and should do to encourage Canadians to save more for their retirement. I don't think it's fair for people that do save through RRSPs should be penalized by having their OAS clawed back.

Something that just crossed my mind without putting too much thought into it is changing the tax structure of RIFs. Why even tax RIF income. I can see taxing RRSP income when someone withdraws this money before retirement, but why not make RIF income tax free?

Is this a good idea? Would this encourage more Canadians to save for their retirement? I've heard people critisize the RRSP program by saying it's just a tax deferal strategy (which it is). So why not make the contributions tax deductable and the RIF payments tax free?

I know there are a lot of financially smart people on CP and I'd love their opinions. What are the positives and negatives to my idea? Can you guys think of any other solutions to this problem as well?

Discuss!

06-12-2010, 12:00 AM	#1
albertGQ Franchise Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Exp:	Increasing Retirement Savings So I was watching Global News tonight and they mentioned that 2/3 of Canadians or more are not saving enough for retirement. One of the ideas that were brought up was to increase CPP payments to 50% of income instead of 25%. But is this an efficient solution? I'm not sure I agree with allowing the government more control over our money is a good idea. What do you guys think the government can and should do to encourage Canadians to save more for their retirement. I don't think it's fair for people that do save through RRSPs should be penalized by having their OAS clawed back. Something that just crossed my mind without putting too much thought into it is changing the tax structure of RIFs. Why even tax RIF income. I can see taxing RRSP income when someone withdraws this money before retirement, but why not make RIF income tax free? Is this a good idea? Would this encourage more Canadians to save for their retirement? I've heard people critisize the RRSP program by saying it's just a tax deferal strategy (which it is). So why not make the contributions tax deductable and the RIF payments tax free? I know there are a lot of financially smart people on CP and I'd love their opinions. What are the positives and negatives to my idea? Can you guys think of any other solutions to this problem as well? Discuss!