There's no free lunch in this world, and indeed, there's no free retirement. If retirement benefits are going up, then someone has to pay for it. The question we need to ask about any kind of a CPP/QPP increase is, what are the real costs, who pays, who can expect to reap the benefits, and what exactly can they expect to get?

It is clearer than ever that most Canadians have to fend for themselves when it comes to retirement. For most retired Canadians, the combination of an employer's Defined Benefit Pension Plan, CPP and Old Age Security (OAS) provided them with a secure retirement lifestyle. This is not the case in 2013. Why?

Not everyone likes February. It can be cold and snowy, and it is the official start of tax season, so it is easy to see why it may get a bad rap. But the end of the month is also the deadline for Canadian employers to issue T4 slips, and they can lead to a tax refund.

We've got to come clean about the unethical use of our retirement funds. There isn't enough money to expand the Canadian Pension Plan because the surplus was earmarked to boost the military-industrial complex. When our hard-earned money isn't being used to cause bloodshed, it's going to companies affiliated with the CPP's own CEOs and the Alberta oil sands.

Given 25 years of stagnant wages for middle-income earners and real wage decreases for lower-income earners, it's not surprising how difficult it is for people to save. Canadians have a low, and declining rate of saving, with some people using their Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) as unemployment insurance programs.

Bad public policy ideas are like Jason Voorhees in those old Friday the 13thmovies: no matter how many times you think you've killed them, they keep coming back to cause trouble. As the federal and provincial finance ministers get ready to discuss a number of issues, the country faces a very real problem: too few Canadians have begun to save for retirement.

Most Canadian private sector taxpayers are blissfully unaware of the existence of a wonderful bonanza public sector workers enjoy at their expense -- namely, the Canada Pension Plan bridge benefit. But if people were fully informed about the special treatment accorded to public sector workers, one aspect of which being the bridge benefit, they likely would have been less willing to jump on the bandwagon of later retirement for themselves.

A Bank of Montreal poll found that almost a third of young Canadians haven't saved a penny for retirement, and only 10 per cent have given much thought to exactly how much money they're going to need to retire. Clearly, we need to get these folks saving, and fast. I'd like to see today's young Canadians -- particularly those without a gold-plated public sector worker or MP pension -- wind up with something, rather than nothing for their retirement. PRPPs can help employees at private sector small businesses save money for the future.

Next time you’re sucking on a Tootsie Roll, just think — you’re sucking on your financial future. You may also be sippi...

TORONTO - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has announced a joint venture partnership to develop a $1.56-billion, residential, office and retai...

TORONTO -- The value of the Canada Pension Plan fund rose to $152.8 billion during its fiscal third quarter on improved equity and bond market returns...

OTTAWA - Even without major tax hikes, Canadians' take-home pay will get a little lighter starting Jan. 1.The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says premi...

Canadians have too much debt and don't make enough money to save for their retirement? No problem. If we only forced everyone to save more -- poof! -- the problem would disappear and pensioners would get government cheques twice as generous.

Forget about freedom 55 — most of us will be lucky if we’re able to retire by 65 or 70. Once we get there, we’ll likely have lower benefits afte...