MP pension contributions to jump

OTTAWA—Changes to the pension plan for federal MPs eventually will see them putting nearly four times as much of their own money towards retirement than they currently do.
Treasury Board president Tony Clement said MP contributions will jump to about $39,000 from the present level of about $11,000.

MPs also will have to wait until 65 to retire in order to collect a full pension, rather than the current retirement age of 55.
The changes are part of the government’s latest mammoth omnibus budget bill, introduced today in the House of Commons.
The opposition wants the pension provisions hived off into a separate bill, but Finance minister Jim Flaherty rejects that idea.
Flaherty said these measures clearly were outlined in the budget he brought in last March.
“That’s why it’s in the second budget bill,” he noted.
“I hear the opposition say that but it’s really quite self-serving and it shows a lack of, it seems to me, a lack of diligence in actually studying what’s in the budget,” Flaherty added.
“There are no surprises here.”
Opposition critics—who engineered a 24-hour voting marathon on the original omnibus bill as a form of protest in the spring—aren’t so sure about the surprises and are poring over the legislation.
Flaherty said the changes are going to cost him money personally, although he noted he doesn’t know how much.
“I’m not in this for the money,” he stressed.
Clement said the changes will move public service and MP pension contributions to a 50-50 split, similar to private-sector plans.
“This is doing the right thing,” he reasoned.
He added the changes will save taxpayers $2.6 billion over five years.