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You will not lose any CPP benefits you have already earned. You would continue to receive your pension from the CPP until an APP is set up and then receive the same or better pension from an APP instead of the CPP.

The provincial government has passed the Alberta Pension Protection Act. Among other things, that legislation ensures there cannot be a move to an APP unless it provides benefits that are the same as CPP or better. This is also legally required under the CPP Act.

You would not lose any CPP benefits you have already earned, regardless of what pension plan you would be under.

You would receive the same or better benefits under an APP as you would under the CPP, since an APP must and would provide a set of benefits at least equivalent to the CPP.

As is already the case in Quebec and the QPP, Alberta’s government would develop agreements which would ensure that you would eventually receive one pension when you retire and apply for benefits – a pension that recognizes the contributions you have made during your life, no matter what pension plan you paid into.

These agreements would ensure that you contribute to the correct pension plan, depending on your work and living experience. Other agreements would coordinate the payment oft he benefits between the CPP, QPP (Quebec Pension Plan), and an APP for people who move to Alberta, or for Albertans who leave Alberta to live, work, or retire.

And finally, international social security agreements would be developed for Albertans who are working and living abroad.

These agreements - often called reciprocal transfer agreements - are relatively common, particularly amongst public sector pension plans (including those in Alberta). Details of a transfer agreement between an APP and CPP would need to be negotiated.

No, the CPP Act makes clear that no province can exit without maintaining all CPP-related benefits.

Pensions fall under provincial jurisdiction. When the provinces (other than Quebec) agreed to join the CPP in1966 they insisted on an exit clause with a formula for dividing assets, which is in the CPP Act.

Under the federal legislation, a referendum is not required, but Alberta’s government has passed legislation to require one before enacting an APP. This legislation helps provide Albertans with confidence to know that they will get to have their say about an APP.

As the Lifeworks report shows on pages 48-50, Albertans have contributed roughly $60 billion more in premiums than they have taken in benefits. In recent years this has averaged $3 billion per year. This is more than any province, despite our modest size. This positive cashflow from Alberta is further supported by an amendment to the CPP Act in 1997 to include interest derived from contributions. When you take Alberta’s cashflow, and combine it with investment returns over decades, LifeWorks calculated that Albertans are entitled to $334 billion (Their range given data limitations is $262b-362b).

The federal government has now promised to do its own calculations, and the Alberta government has said there will be a firm asset transfer number before possibly moving forward with a referendum.

At present, and even over the next few decades, an APP would be on a very strong footing given our relatively young and well-employed population. In recent years Alberta workers and businesses have been paying roughly $3 billion more per year in premiums than we need for CPP benefits in Alberta. 

Because the LifeWorks model uses the same demographic assumptions as the CPP, the analysis assumes Alberta loses its advantages and looks like a typical province in 2052, but can still afford lower premiums.

There are a number of variables to consider, however, in looking past the next few decades.  Alberta could drop below average in terms of the workers-to-seniors ratio. Alberta’s pension fund could generate lower returns.Alberta could get a much lower asset transfer to start off with. One of these factors shouldn’t compromise an APP’s advantage but a combination of them could in the longer term. 

In that scenario the likeliest outcome would be slightly higher premiums for workers to maintain pension benefits on par with CPP, as in Quebec today where all those factors have been present for decades.

The government has not committed to holding a referendum and has only promised that a referendum must be held before a move to an APP could happen. If a referendum were to take place, the timeline on this website suggests 2025. Now that there has been a pledge to get a firm asset transfer number, the suggested date could change to be later.

The Alberta Pension Protection Act was passed by the Government of Alberta in fall 2023, and is meant to provide Albertans with certain assurances about a potential APP. First and foremost, this Act requires Alberta to hold a referendum on an Alberta Pension Plan before it could come into effect. That legislation also provides other protections–it mandates that an APP would have to offer the same, or better, pension benefits, the same, or lower premiums, and that all pension funds could only be used to establish and operate an APP.