The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) said Tuesday that Calgary city council’s pension plan is too rich and needs to be scaled back.
Interim Alberta director Colin Craig said that for every dollar put into the pension plan by a council member, taxpayers contribute $4.89.
“So, what we’re calling for is for city council to change the pension plan, to move to something that is more fair for taxpayers,” he said. “To move to a dollar-for-dollar pension plan, so that for every dollar that taxpayers have to put in, council members have to put in a dollar.”
Craig said there needs to be a change; especially when many people in the private sector don’t have a workplace pension.
He’s also concerned with a second supplementary pension plan for elected officials that is totally funded by taxpayers. “More than anything we’re looking at the total cost here. It’s simply not fair for taxpayers because the situation is so lopsided.
“More than anything we’re looking at the total cost here, it’s simply not fair for taxpayers because the situation is so lopsided,” he said
On the City of Calgary’s website, it states that council’s main pension plan requires a nine per cent contribution and is based on the years of service multiplied by two per cent of their highest pay.
A council member who served on council for seven years and made $113,416. 36 would earn a pension of $15,878.29 per year.
When it comes to the supplementary plan, which is taxpayer funded, works out to a fraction of the base pension.
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