A new e-brief from the C.D. Howe Institute argues that it is time for Canada to follow countries like Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands and Sweden and launch a government or government-sanctioned tool giving Canadians a view of all of the retirement resources at their disposal.
“With recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and data reporting, this kind of tool is now more practical and timely than ever,” they write in the discussion paper Roadmap for Retirement: The Case for a National Pension Dashboard.
More, they say such an initiative would not be built from scratch, as Canada already has partial infrastructure in place which could be adapted to build the dashboard consolidating key information. In its discussion about how to create the dashboard efficiently, the paper examines the inputs and resources already available.
“Retirement planning is getting harder for Canadians as more savings shift to defined-contribution (DC) plans and account information is scattered across institutions. Given current financial literacy levels in Canada, many people struggle to understand what they’ll have to live on in retirement. A pension dashboard could help by bringing all their retirement savings and benefits into one place.”
They add that without a straightforward way to see how savings and entitlements translate into income, it is difficult to make optimal decisions. “The complexity of pension rules, government benefits and investment options can lead to confusion,” the paper notes. It also goes on to discuss missing members, noting that in Ontario alone, in 2023, administrators of Ontario registered pension plans reported nearly 200,000 missing members, owed an aggregate entitlement of $3.6-billion.
The paper also notes that regulatory backing will also be critical to the development of such a resource. “Pension regulators across Canada have expressed support for such an initiative but they must be prepared to provide ongoing oversight and resources,” they write. “Setting up and maintaining a national dashboard would require investments from one or more of the stakeholders, including governments and plan sponsors.”
