Conservative Leadership Debate: Who's the Next Premier of Alberta?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by FireFly

At least that's what I think you're saying as you missed at least one word in your post.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by FireFly

At least that's what I think you're saying as you missed at least one word in your post.

No need to be a grammar cop, I think its pretty obvious what he was saying. The word he was missing is 'do'.

Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames

Well if Ed actually lives up to his campaign promises we should see how an Alberta Pension Plan will work. After all he didn't want to opt out of the CPP but did want to add an Alberta Pension Plan.

Link

This would be a pretty sweet deal, free pension plan paid for by oil royalties. I certainly wouldn't mind a little extra pension funded by the province's huge resource boon.

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

No need to be a grammar cop, I think its pretty obvious what he was saying. The word he was missing is 'do'.


This would be a pretty sweet deal, free pension plan paid for by oil royalties. I certainly wouldn't mind a little extra pension funded by the province's huge resource boon.

Could've been supply, could've been manage. That's what I assumed, but you can't really be sure... you know what they say about assuming things!

I didn't say it to be a 'grammar cop' I said it for clarification.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by FireFly

Could've been supply, could've been manage. That's what I assumed, but you can't really be sure... you know what they say about assuming things!

I didn't say it to be a 'grammar cop' I said it for clarification.

Supply, manage, and 'do' would all have pretty much been the same thing, no? I think his point was that there could be potential redundancy... I guess it was obvious to me, but whatever.

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

What happens to the money Albertans have already put into CPP? What would happen if you lived in Alberta for 10 years, paid into AlbertaPP, and then moved to Manitoba? Would AlbertaPP just get paid out to you? Would the AlbertaPP and CPP be completely interchangeable?

I'm not sure our own pension plan would work logisitically...

This is a good question. Fortunately unless you are 50 years old now you don't have to worry about whatever you've put into the CPP. It should be bankrupt within the next 10-20 years.

Again, don't factor any CPP income into your retirement plans. Last I read the unfunded liability was at 1.7 trillion.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by CrusaderPi

This is a good question. Fortunately unless you are 50 years old now you don't have to worry about whatever you've put into the CPP. It should be bankrupt within the next 10-20 years.

Again, don't factor any CPP income into your retirement plans. Last I read the unfunded liability was at 1.7 trillion.

Really? Do you have any links to back that up?

Review Finds Canada Pension Plan Is Financially Sound

With assets projected to grow to $250 billion in the next 10 years, the Plan has been recognized internationally as an affordable model for securing adequate retirement income in the face of population aging and economic change.

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by CrusaderPi

This is a good question. Fortunately unless you are 50 years old now you don't have to worry about whatever you've put into the CPP. It should be bankrupt within the next 10-20 years.

Again, don't factor any CPP income into your retirement plans. Last I read the unfunded liability was at 1.7 trillion.

I heard its just the media that is painting this doom and gloom picture. The CPP is a pay as you go system, so all the feds have to do is hike up the CPP premiums and cut the benefits to support the baby boom

I do agree that the CPP is not an efficient pension plan. We can all do better if we invested the money ourselves, but the estimates of the CPP going bankrupt are premature IMO

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Really? Do you have any links to back that up?

Review Finds Canada Pension Plan Is Financially Sound

I had never seen that review, thanks for posting it. The problem with this review is it doesn't see to address the key concerns I have with the future of the CPP. They say everything is working properly, but it doesn't go into any detail as to the why and how. In addition, any report coming from a .gc.ca website that proclaims everything is great raises a red flag in my mind.

Here's a report from the CTF:

http://www.taxpayer.com/main/oped.php?oped_id=65

The key issues are the decreasing number of taxpayers for every retiree collecting benefits and the tax increases that have been necessary to keep the CPP funded.

If I can find a good link for the unfunded liability I'll post it.


Honestly though, I hope the CPP is fine and I'll get the $866 a month when I'm eligible. I doubt I will and have conscientiously avoided using that income in any retirement plans I've made.

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I heard its just the media that is painting this doom and gloom picture. The CPP is a pay as you go system, so all the feds have to do is hike up the CPP premiums and cut the benefits to support the baby boom

I do agree that the CPP is not an efficient pension plan. We can all do better if we invested the money ourselves, but the estimates of the CPP going bankrupt are premature IMO

So your solution is to pay more and get less? That sounds like a very big problem to me.

At what point does the CPP tax get too high? 2%? 5%? 10%? 25%?
And at what point do the benefits get too low? $866 / month is the maximum now. Considering a CPP only retirement income doesn't provide a good standard of living and the never ending inflation and cost of living increases, how much lower can it go before CPP income is considered irrelevant?

[Bobblehead]

Here is the website for the CPP Investment Board.

That article linked is from summer 2000. I'm sure much has changed since then, including the mix of investments (from the above link, it appears much of the balance has shifted to equities).

[CrusaderPi]

I noticed my link was for 6 year old article. I wasn't happy about that, but I felt the main points were stressed.

Interesting the CCPIB site uses to 2000 as a base year to compare what the fund's value is now. The fund's value has gone from $44B to $103B since 2000. I don't know if that is enough to keep up with inflation and the increasing number of retirees, but it certainly is encouraging.

I still don't plan on getting anything from the CPP, and I still think Alberta would be better off going it alone, but if the federal government has fixed the pension plan I will applaud whoever is responsible.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by CrusaderPi

I noticed my link was for 6 year old article. I wasn't happy about that, but I felt the main points were stressed.

Interesting the CCPIB site uses to 2000 as a base year to compare what the fund's value is now. The fund's value has gone from $44B to $103B since 2000. I don't know if that is enough to keep up with inflation and the increasing number of retirees, but it certainly is encouraging.

I still don't plan on getting anything from the CPP, and I still think Alberta would be better off going it alone, but if the federal government has fixed the pension plan I will applaud whoever is responsible.

I don't agree that we need an "APP" (although if it was wholly funded through resource royalties perhaps that may not be a bad idea), but I do agree with you that people should try and plan for their retirement themselves. I've done many tax returns for seniors where their only income was Old Age Security, and even though their homes are paid off it doesn't look like a comfortable lifestyle for their golden years.

[eazyduzzit]

What i find funny is all this media over "Anything but Calgary" - basically how nobody wanted a leader from here.

Funny thing is, Stelmach won because of Calgary and the 2nd option, otherwise Dinning would have had it in the bag reguardless.

Hopefuly Stelmach does a good job and keeps this party in the right direction, because after this election, it's clear there is a big divide and in order to keep it flowing, concessions need to be made for all sides.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by eazyduzzit

What i find funny is all this media over "Anything but Calgary" - basically how nobody wanted a leader from here.

Funny thing is, Stelmach won because of Calgary and the 2nd option, otherwise Dinning would have had it in the bag reguardless.

Hopefuly Stelmach does a good job and keeps this party in the right direction, because after this election, it's clear there is a big divide and in order to keep it flowing, concessions need to be made for all sides.

I don't know if it was so much that .. I liked Ralph and I know a lot of people here in Edmonton who like him as well and he's from Calgary. I just think most people didn't want a far right leader like Morton and then with Dinning, well that would be like voting for the Devil IMO

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by jzA

Whos to say some of mortons supporters didnt write down dinnings name or some of dinning supporters didnt write down mortons name? and of course one of those jokers had to be picked as a second choice for someone voting for stelmach.

I dont know your logic to me makes little sense, you make it seem like that stelmach won cheeply or something.

Never did I say he won cheaply.....I said he won because of Morton supporters. I myself picked Morton first and Stelmech 2nd.....