(Montréal) In turn, the Conseil du patronat du Québec doubts the relevance of raising the minimum age of eligibility for a retirement pension from 60 to 62 years of age.
In its brief submitted as part of the consultations on the Quebec Pension Plan, the employers’ group claims to “qualify” this idea and reports that its members are divided on the issue.
Quebec is currently weighing various scenarios affecting the Pension Plan, including the one that has caused the most discussion: pushing back the minimum age of eligibility for a retirement pension from 60 to 62, or even 65 years. Those who retire before age 65 then suffer a penalty.
However, the Conseil du patronat argues that to alleviate the labor shortage, the effect of pushing back the minimum age “would be marginal”.
“As for the issue of the labor shortage, pushing back the minimum age of eligibility for a pension can, in our view, contribute only marginally to meeting this issue, and this, for several reasons”, writes the CPQ in its brief.
Among these reasons, he cites the fact that the activity rate of citizens aged 55 to 59 has already increased in recent years. Since these people are more educated, they are likely to work longer, he argues.
He recalls, as the FTQ and the CSN had done on Wednesday, that many workers aged 60 and 61 are tired, having worked physically hard for years. They should therefore not be penalized for choosing to retire at age 60.
The employers’ group prefers financial and tax incentives for experienced workers, so that it is “always profitable and interesting to stay or return to the labor market”.
“The CPQ therefore believes that the choice is up to the citizen. Every situation is different. This is why the decision to retire must remain flexible. The approach we want to favor is to use other levers available to the government to encourage the taking of a pension after age 60, in particular by focusing on communication, awareness and information,” said argued Karl Blackburn, President and CEO of the CPQ.