Pensions under Attack: What's Behind the Push to Privatize Public Pensions Book

Canada's aging population has raised cries of alarm from some quarters. Critics warn of a demographic time bomb waiting to explode and an age war over pensions as the baby boom generation starts to retire in the next decade. They say the answer is to get rid of public pension programs like the Canada Pension Plan and force people to contribute to their own personal savings plans instead. Will this spell disaster for the elderly, or is it a bold new idea for coping with rising costs?

Monica Townson, a prominent independent economist, discusses the forces behind the push to privatize public pensions and looks at the likely impact of privatization on the financial security of future seniors. She describes how Chile, under the Pinochet dictatorship, replaced its public pension plan with a forced savings scheme and became the daring of right-wing governments around the world, and how Britain, under Margaret Thatcher, introduced opting out of public pensions and triggered a major scandal involving some of the big names in the insurance industry.

As the debate about privatization heats up in the new millennium, Pensions Under Attack provides the information needed to question the hidden agenda behind the current push to privatize public pensions. It will be a timely contribution to a discussion whose outcome affects the personal financial security of every Canadian.

About the Author:
Monica Townson works in the field of economic and social policy. She has been a consultant to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, served on the Pension Commission of Ontario, and was a member of the Canada Pension Plan Advisory Board. She chaired the Ontario Fair Tax Commission which reported in 1993 after a three-year review of the tax system. She is also a frequent guest on television and radio and the author of many books and studies.