Dear editor,
James Perras’ opinion letter against me two weeks ago argued that incentives, not indexing, are a more important issue. However, indexing isn’t fairly applied.
CPP non-indexed death benefit is maxed at $2,500 and hasn’t increased for many years. Average $2,500 annual CPP contributions after 40 years of employment will total $100,000. If a single person dies one day after the age of 65, their estates will only receive a $2,500 death benefit, which doesn’t even cover funeral costs. Total $100,000 contributions are forfeited to be used by widowed survivors of married or coupled households – $100,000!
Families and married households, when they retire early, often do not fully pay for the benefits received because they haven’t fulfilled their contribution obligations, but they get full indexation. Who is forced to support these benefits even though they can’t use them? Singles are.
Ronald Kneebone in ‘Income support, inflation, and homelessness’ states: “Singles have been largely abandoned when it comes to indexation. They are left almost totally exposed to effects of inflation and the risk that provincial governments will not provide them with required income enhancements.”
Parliamentarians and families don’t care about financial equality for single people.
Lin Gackle
Cochrane
