CPP Investments head pitches Calgary business crowd on benefits of staying in CPP
CALGARY — As Alberta considers exiting the Canada Pension Plan, the head of CPP Investments visited Calgary on Tuesday to warn against losing its benefits.
CEO John Graham, who leads the professional organization that manages the Canada Pension Plan fund, made the pitch to a business crowd at a luncheon event in downtown Calgary.
Graham, who did not speak to reporters, said in his speech there is a strong business and public policy case for Albertans to stay with an established global investment fund with a proven track record.
“The CPP is truly widely admired around the world as a safe and stable pension plan that we can be confident will provide for us in retirement,” Graham said.
“It’s sustainable for at least the next 75 years, meaning future generations of Canadians can count on it.”
The Canada Pension Plan fund currently has over $576 billion in assets under management and has averaged a 10-year annualized return of 10 per cent over the past decade.
But under Premier Danielle Smith, Alberta is taking a look at a plan for the province to exit the Canada Pension Plan and set up its own provincial alternative.
The Alberta government says its workers have contributed an oversized share to the national fund and would be in line for big savings and payouts if it were to leave the CPP.
The province says it is owed $334 billion, more than half of all CPP assets, while the CPP Investment Board and economists have put the number more in line with Alberta’s representative CPP population of 15 per cent.
Graham did not speak directly about the Alberta government on Tuesday or its pension plan proposal.
Instead, he asked Albertans to consider that as a large fund, the Canada Pension Plan offers the benefit of risk pooling and
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