Introduction: Opportunities and Obstacles to Shifting the Paradigm

April 11, 2024

By: Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald

About:

More than a thousand Canadian baby boomers are making the CPP/QPP claiming decision every day. An overwhelming majority (9 in 10) choose to claim benefits by age 65, whether due to natural human bias, general lack of awareness of how CPP/QPP programs work or common financial planning practices.

The financial incentives to delay claiming are substantial, and their choice will affect them for the rest of their lives.

In the first release of this series, Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research for the NIA, explains why people claim these benefits earlier than they should, why better claiming behaviour is important, the obstacles to progress and what a paradigm shift would look like.