Canadian Lawyer InHouse

29 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JANUARY 2016 shifts, but plans stay course The federal government seems prepared to enhance the Canada Pension Plan and Ontario employers should prepare for the launch of the provincial pension plan. 29 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JANUARY 2016 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE THIS TIME last year, the Conservative federal government was entirely deaf to calls from unions and certain provincial governments to boost the Canada Pension Plan and increase benefi ts for retirees. How things change. Now that the Liberals are back in power, CPP enhancement is back on the table. So what's in store for the national pension plan? And what does the change in government mean for the one and only pro- vincial system, the soon-to-be-implemented Ontario Registered Pension Plan? By now, many people know the story behind the ORPP, a pension born of frustration. The Ontario government had been one of those parties asking the federal government to enhance the CPP. The province was worried about the signifi cant proportion of workers (about 35 per cent in Ontario and 40 per cent nationally) without workplace pensions. The government also knew that broadly, many Canadians aren't saving enough for retirement — a situation that could land the country in serious trouble in future years, when a large segment of the senior population may sink below the poverty level. The province argued that the feds should beef up the CPP to help ensure Canadians have adequate retirement incomes. But the federal government under the former prime minister, Stephen Harper, re- fused. Then-fi nance minister Jim Flaherty said in 2014 that expanding the CPP would be a payroll tax on businesses. In effect, CPP enhancement would hurt the country's fragile economy, which was still feeling the effects of the global fi nancial downturn of 2007 and 2008. Find out when your company must begin its ORPP contributions The Ontario Registered Pension Plan comes into effect in 2017 for large employers that don't have comparable workplace plans. Other types of employers have to start contributing at different times. Check this chart for the rollout dates and rates from 2017 to 2021. TYPE OF EMPLOYER 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Employers with 500+ employees with no plans 0.8% 1.6% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9% Employers with 50-499 employees with no plans 0% 0.8% 1.6% 1.9% 1.9% Employers with 49 or fewer employees with no plans 0% 0% 0.8% 1.6% 1.9% Employers with non-comparable plans 0% 0% 0% 1.9% 1.9% I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t Source: Province of Ontario BY STEFAN DUBOWSKI

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