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By Jason Stephan - MLA, Red Deer-South

Letter To The Editor

An Alberta Pension Plan is good for Alberta, says Jason Stephan

Dec 16, 2022 | 2:47 PM

Alberta is a land of freedom and prosperity.

Alberta is a younger province with higher incomes.

Each year Alberta businesses and workers pay over $4 billion more into CPP than Alberta retirees receive in benefits.

Since 2019, Trudeau has been jacking up the CPP, over 36%, forcing Alberta businesses and workers to disproportionately pay for his tax increase.

But what about inflation? CPP costs exploded more than 10% from last year.

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Next year CPP maximums for Alberta employers and employees will increase by 7% more, up to $7,500 for each Alberta employee.

CPP costs are out of control. Some employers are feeling under siege by government. Trudeau is making it cost more to hire and keep their employees.

Do we want to confront affordability for out-of-control inflation costs on a government program that is becoming a deterrent for jobs? Yes.

Do we want, for once, to stop moving billions out from Alberta businesses and workers and let them, for once, keep those billions for themselves? Yes!

Under an Alberta pension plan (“APP”), the savings for each worker will be hundreds, as high as thousands, each year. That is the truth.

An APP would increase take home pay for each Alberta worker each year, saving hundreds and thousands for Alberta workers with higher paychecks while maintaining or increasing benefits for Alberta retirees.

An APP produces a game changing competitive advantage for Alberta businesses, with the lowest payroll taxes in Canada, not just by a little, but by a lot, making Alberta the lowest cost jurisdiction to provide a job.

An APP is superior to other Alberta government affordability measures because there is no net cost to Albertans! It is paid by avoiding transferring billions every year to everyone else!

Some do not want an APP for Albertans. Are we supposed to be surprised? If Alberta saves billions with its own APP, CPP costs would increase in the billions for the rest of the country!

Alberta is a highly educated and sophisticated jurisdiction. Alberta can do anything Ottawa does, as good or better. One time set up costs of an APP would be a fraction of the multi-billion CPP subsidy paid to Ottawa each year.

What about administration costs on the CPP? They are high, about $500 million annually. Do you think these costs are spent, or administration jobs are in, Alberta? No.

What about investment fees on the CPP? They are very high, over $1 billion annually. Can Alberta do better? Yes.

Returns on the CPP have benefited from historic bull market increases, with returns on some passive index / ETFs exceeding CPP returns, without CPP’s huge investment costs.

Like the CPP funds, APP funds are pension funds, segregated and independent from government, with a sole mandate to maximize returns, without government interference.

Let’s silence the fearmongering, distortions, biases, the special interests with conflicts of interests for the status quo.

Let’s focus on the truth, informing ourselves with facts: savings for Alberta businesses, higher take-home paychecks for Alberta workers, while maintaining and increasing benefits for Alberta retirees, supported by contributions from the most prosperous jurisdiction in Canada.

Let’s save billions for Alberta businesses and workers, not just one year, but every year!

An Alberta Pension Plan will produce a game changing competitive advantage for Alberta. Alberta is a land of freedom and prosperity. We must be vigilant to keep it that way.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The views expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of rdnewsNOW or Pattison Media. rdnewsNOW reserves the right to edit submissions for length. Column suggestions and letters to the editor can be sent to news@rdnewsNOW.com.