Protection For The People Who Earned It...

Pension myths

 The campaign to give priority-creditor protection to defined-benefit plans rests on five dubious claims
By John Manley

Most Canadians would agree that it makes sense to try to protect the retirement incomes of private-sector workers who are covered by defined-benefit pension plans. On the face of it, that’s the objective behind Bill C-501, an NDP-sponsored bill that recently passed second reading in the House of Commons. The proposed legislation would force bankrupt companies to give so-called “super-priority” status to unfunded pension plan liabilities, on the grounds that this will help to ensure benefits are paid if a company goes out of business.
It sounds simple, but it isn’t. And regrettably, advocates of Bill C-501 have made a number of misleading claims in support of their position, while playing down serious flaws in the legislation.
Here are some examples of the misleading claims made in support of Bill C-501:
Myth Most other developed countries already provide priority-creditor protection to defined-benefit pension plans.

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