The case for removing pensions from convicted serial killers is a strong one. If the state is already housing them free, they 'have' their pension.
But the case to give pensions to those who are still out in society serving others well is also important.
What about correcting imbalances in how we determine pensions? Tying them to paid work only excludes and degrades those who do unpaid work, and the more time you spent selflessly raising the young, tending the sick or handicapped, the smaller your pension will be. How is that fair?
It is as if we created pensions specifically to nudge all citizens away from care roles. And that is a policy that not only leads to poverty of caregivers, but also destroys a very important social ethic- helping each other.
How about pensions for the caregiver years, not tied to paid work but to caregiving? Pensions for homemakers has been recommended by several commissions but never enacted. Pension splitting does not quite accomplish it since it only shares or splits the current pension of an earner. How about a pension specifically recognizing those years where someone actually served society without pay?
Beverley Smith
Calgary, Alberta
