2013:05 CANADA/QUEBEC PENSION PLAN DROP-OUT PROVISION FOR FAMILY/FRIEND CAREGIVERS
Whereas:
- The Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) provides a drop-out provision in its averaging formula for pension calculations for contributors who took time off from CPP/QPP contributions while caring for a child under the age of seven and earning low or no income.
- Women are most often the caregivers who were working and contributing to CPP/QPP but may need to leave the workforce for extended periods or permanently to care for a physically or cognitively dependent adult, including elderly parents.
- Because of reduced CPP/QPP contributions over their lifetime, eligibility for lower pension income through CPP/QPP disproportionately impacts long-time family/friend caregivers, most of whom are women, placing them at a financial disadvantage.
- Family/friend caregivers contribute billions of dollars of care to the economy yet are rarely acknowledged or rewarded for their efforts.
Resolved 1:
The National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC) adopts policy support for a Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) caregiver drop-out provision, which would increase the actual pension based on CPP/QPP contributions by removing from the calculation the years spent out of the workforce while caring for dependent persons.
Resolved 2:
The NCWC urges the Government of Canada to:
a. Provide a drop-out provision in the CPP/QPP calculation for family/friend caregivers who were required to leave the workforce for extended periods or permanently in order to care for a physically or cognitively dependent person.
b. Base this drop-out provision on the already existing formula used for contributors who took time out from CPP/QPP contributions while caring for a child under the age of seven.