In early December, CAUT was approached to become a member of the Retirement Income Coalition (RIC). Charles Pielsticker of the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriters and Malcolm Hamilton, a principal with Mercer, have undertaken to organize a group of associations concerned over Canada’s retirement income system.

A number of different organizations met in Toronto Jan. 27 to discuss the establishment of RIC. CAUT Vice-President Bill Graham attended that meeting.

The focus of RIC is to lobby the federal government over CPP, OAS, GIS, RPPs and RRSPs on behalf of all Canadians. CAUT supported the RIC’s letters to Finance Minister Paul Martin and Pierre Pettigrew, of Human Resource Development, asking for a meeting with them to discuss the government’s future plans concerning reforms to Canadians’ retirement incomes.

The membership of RIC is diverse. It represents a wide range of interests and concerns. The associations which endorsed the letters to the two ministers include the Association of Canadian Pension Management, Canadian Bar Association, Credit Union Central of Canada, Canadian Dental Association, Canadian Association of Family Enterprises, CAUT, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Canadian Teachers Federation, Canadian Pensions and Benefits Institute, Conference for Advanced Life Underwriters, Financial Executives Institute, Investment Funds Institute of Canada, One Voice, Retirement Savings Alliance and the Superannuated Teachers of Ontario.

John Gorman of Association House in Ottawa is responsible for coordinating the RIC’s lobbying activities.

To date CAUT is only a signatory to the letters and awaits further news from RIC about the proposed meeting with Martin and Pettigrew. CAUT is very interested in what common issues and positions the Retirement Income Coalition will agree to pursue with the federal government, especially following the most recent changes to CPP.