The basic choice

Plenty of others have already weighed in on the current discussion about pensions. But let's simplify the discussion by asking who benefits from each plan being put forward in terms of both beneficiaries and administrators - and how that compares to the rhetoric from each party.

The FLIPP (as brilliantly coined by Andrew Jackson in the first link above) could be slightly worse in terms of the number of people covered. But in terms of beneficiaries, it looks to create a bewildering morass of employers opting in, employees opting out, and plans being created and discontinued with little to no input from the individuals affected. So while it might have some effect on retirement income for some, it hardly figures to add to retirement security for anybody who doesn't have time to make a hobby of monitoring their employer's every move.

In contrast, the obvious winner from an administrative standpoint is the financial sector - which is once again being given massive gifts at a time when the public has every reason for skepticism about its motives. Not only will administration fees from the FLIPP itself add to private-sector bottom lines, but the fact that uncertain private funds are being pitched by the federal government as an equal or superior alternative to a secure public one figures to give the industry a greater foothold for further rent-seeking.

As the Mound of Sound says, that should provide an ideal opportunity for any opposition party to present itself as the defender of the CPP. But instead, the Libs are sticking to their voluntary plan which only looks to benefit people with both a pile of money to sock away, and no idea what to do with it. And it's far from clear that the CPP itself will be better off having to manage individual opt-ins.

So in effect, Canada's two largest parties are giving voters a choice between helping a highly uncertain group of people in order to funnel money to the financial sector, and helping as few people as possible. And all in the name of saving the CPP if you believe their spin.

Naturally, there would seem to be another answer that fits far better with the idea that the CPP should serve as a source of retirement security for all Canadians. That would be to expand the global CPP in terms of both participants and dollar amounts - working through the tax system to make sure that those who aren't currently in line to receive the CPP are added into a universal social safety net.

Of course, the Cons would scream bloody murder at the idea that a public program would provide for everybody, removing the opportunity for the financial sector to skim a percentage off the top. But their senior base may be far less receptive to the argument that some people shouldn't have a secure retirement - making a strengthened CPP into a political winner as well as a policy choice worth pursuing.