John Mlacak, a former Nortel manager, stands to lose as much as 30 per cent of his monthly $3,000 pension. (The Globe and Mail)
Part one: The crisis
Retirement dreams under siege
Canada’s aging work force hasn’t saved enough to retire. Pension benefits are being slashed, employees are working longer, the elderly are selling their homes and going back to work: Is this what your retirement will look like? Jacquie McNish explains
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Featured
Retirement Lost: Your stories
'I have nothing now'
Meet readers who shared their stories with The Globe and Mail
Retirement Lost: Audio Q&A
Malcolm Hamilton offers retirement planning advice
An actuary and expert on retirement and pensions in Canada, answered reader questions
Interactive
How pension plans stack up
An interactive explainer breaking down the different kinds of pension plans and the payouts depending on income and age of retirement
Interactive
Retirement savings calculator
Do you know what it takes to create a secure retirement? Use this calculator to help create your retirement plan
Interactive
The history of a pension crisis
Pension plans have been offered in Canada since the 1800s, but have been declining in the private sector in recent decades. Check out an interactive summary of the evolution
Glossary
What's a CBCA, an FAE5 or a 401(k)?
Use our glossary to better understand key terms related to retirement and pensions
Contribute
Share your retirement story
E-mail us, post a comment or upload your text, photos and videos to share your experiences with Globe and Mail reporters and fellow readers
Let's Talk Investing video
Why some pension plans are better than others
Actuary Malcolm Hamilton also has advice for young workers -- don't worry about retirement yet
Retirement lost poll
The Series
Part one: The crisis
Retirement dreams under siege
Canada’s aging work force hasn’t saved enough to retire. Pension benefits are being slashed, employees are working longer, the elderly are selling their homes and going back to work: Is this what your retirement will look like? Jacquie McNish explains
Part Two: Manufacturing's wreckage
Bankrupt companies, pension promises destroyed
When companies are put into bankruptcy protection, pensioners go to the end of the queue behind most other creditors. Often that can mean they receive only a fraction of their promised pension. It’s a story all too familiar in Canada’s ravaged manufacturing sector. Greg Keenan reports
Part three: Death of the traditional plan
Hybrid pension plans: a hard sell
Companies are struggling to provide plans that offer the security people expect. Some are forging a middle ground between the traditional models. One thing is certain: the new path is not an easy one. Janet McFarland reports
Part four: Conflicts of interest
Financial planning: Whom should you trust?
As pensions become unreliable, more Canadians are being forced to plan for retirement themselves. But whom do you turn to for help? The experience of one couple who relied on a financial adviser is a cautionary tale
Part five: Underfunded dreams
No pension safety net for self-employed
While many workers face uncertain retirements, a rising number of the next generation share a worse fate: no pension at all.
Part six: Steps to financial freedom
Freedom 55? Couple couldn’t wait that long for retirement
Many Canadians will be forced to work past 65 and live in straitened circumstances, but by establishing simple rules and keeping to the plan, it’s possible to retire earlier than most and still live comfortably
Part seven: Reforming a broken system
Canada's gathering pension storm
The ranks of the country’s senior citizens are set to swell for the next two decades, and many retirees will be flirting with poverty for the rest of their post-working lives. There’s growing consensus that something must be done, but with pension programs already the single biggest public expenditure, the search is on for alternatives
Related stories and background reading
Lost in pension purgatory
Retirees caught in crossfire of legal battle between Imperial Oil and Ontario regulator
Ontario pledges pension overhaul
Provincial Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says government will reform pension laws in two stages
Jim Flaherty unveils pension reform
But measures don't include any relief for pensioners whose company has collapsed
Federal parties square off on pension reform
Liberals vow they would take a more activist role and expand CPP, Tories warn of spiralling costs
Ottawa to take action on pension funds
Bill would alter tax policy so companies could set aside greater surpluses, protecting employees' retirement plans from 'rainy day'
Will your employer be able to pay your pension?
How severely will the pension crisis affect you? Actuary Malcolm Hamilton takes a look in our video series
Time Magazine: Many Americans now plan to work past 67, survey finds
About two-thirds of American workers now believe they'll have to delay their retirement by at least one year, with 27% expecting to work at least five years longer than planned due to the debilitating economy and stock market losses, according to a new survey
Podcast: Listen to Jacquie McNish on CBC's The Current
Reporter Jacquie McNish spoke to Anna Maria Tremonti about Retirement Lost on Wednesday morning
Meet LeRoy Pickett, 67
He worked for Slater Steel in Hamilton, Ont., for almost 40 years, even after being severely burned at work. Now the company's gone bankrupt, and his pension's been cut by 30 per cent
Retirement Lost: Letters to the editor
Take a look at the feedback we've received from readers so far
Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions
Established in November 2006, the commission's mandate was to review Ontario's occupational pension system, and was the first such review in more than 20 years
Promises to keep: The Nova Scotia pension review panel
January report urges government to put in place a process that will result in a legislative response during 2009
Alberta/British Columbia joint expert panel on pension standards
Panel recommends fixing and harmonizing pension standards legislation and establishing a steering committee to develop and implement a joint Alberta/British Columbia pension plan
When work quits before you do
For self-employed boomers whose creativity is vested in their work, silence has a nasty ring to it
Canada's pension system gets solid ranking
Canada picked No. 4 out of 11 countries in public and private pension study
