William B.P. Robson, a co-author with David Slater of a series of papers on pension issues, has written an ambitious survey of the state of Canadian economic policy in the areas of pensions and health care. He argues that it is appropriate to tackle both issues in the same paper because they are...

A key question in Canada's pensions debate is whether Canadians will be able to maintain their living standards in retirement, and if policy needs to respond to the risk that some will experience painful declines. To date, it has been very difficult to estimate how current trends might affect...

As Canadians saving for retirement are becoming painfully aware, rates of return on investment are much lower than they used to be. As a result, providing a given income in retirement now requires much more saving. Low returns are depressing incomes from RRSPs and defined-contribution pension...

Canada's greying workforce will spell big fiscal trouble for future taxpayers, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Fiscal Implications of Canadians' Working Longer,” authors William Robson, Colin Busby, and Aaron Jacobs find that demographic change is squeezing the budgets...

The pension plans of federal government employees are relatively generous and badly underfunded, with the Pension Plan for Members of Parliament (MPs), which covers members of the House of Commons and the Senate, standing out on both counts. The MP plan promises much higher retirement incomes...