| Greetings colleagues, I’ve been following the list discussion and, like many, have found it helpful in having a sense of where colleagues are at in terms of their thoughts on personal finance and how to achieve security in old age. Thanks to all for their contributions. I’d like to commend SFUFA for taking on the problem of our inadequate pension plan. I’m 43. I started this position in 2010, have a partner who works full time and two kids. We saved a lot during our first years in Vancouver, bought a home during a tiny dip in the market in 2012, and now most of our waking lives are dedicated to paying down our mortgage. It is only in the last few years that I’ve been able to save 10% of my salary and thus match what the university contributes, so I’m five years behind where I should be. I’d rather do almost anything other than manage our finances, but purchasing life insurance seemed important for the sake of our kids and led us down the path of having a financial advisor. That feels a bit weird but I’m told it’s something adults do, and she’s our friend, so it makes it all a bit less painful. I’ve voted for the DB plan, for a number of reasons. -If I make it to 65 and beyond, I’m not interested in morbid calculations around how long I think I’ll live. I feel these kinds of calculations are frankly undignified and are one of the best arguments for a DB plan and even an expansion of the CPP. This is especially the case since, as I’ve mentioned, I don’t want to spend my time managing my money. There are people who actually enjoy this and are good at it and I’m happy for them to do it on my behalf so I can spend more time doing the things I enjoy like gardening or watching soccer or hanging out with my kids. -I am also deeply concerned about the equity issues related to annuities w/ Sunlife. Condemning our female colleagues to pay more in retirement, even after they have been forced to fight to be paid fairly while they are working, feels utterly wrong. -The greatest advantage of the DB plan, as I see it, lies in the greater insulation it offers from market instability. While I understand that there is no plan that is free of risk, the College Plan offers far greater security against the gyrations of casino capitalism. Given that we seem to have learned very little from the 2008 crash, I’ll take whatever security I can get. -Unlike others, I'm not concerned at all about making sure I get every single penny back that I put in to a plan and then some. This may seem odd to some on this list, but part of the attractiveness of the College Plan, should I die early, is the knowledge that I’ve contributed to the well-being of public sector colleagues in the future. My partner will still be taken care of through the plan and my kids (one hopes) will have the house. That’s good enough for me. -As a researcher interested in labour relations, I’ve watched unions across North American go on strike to keep the option of a DB plan. There’s clearly a reason they’ve done this—the plans are better for the overwhelming majority of workers. It feels as if this is the case for us too. -As if to confirm this, our advisor said she knew the College plan well and I’d be foolish to vote no when the time comes. -Finally, it seems to me that if the DB “makes” us save what we need to retire comfortably and then we cannot afford the local housing market, to pay down debt, etc, the fault lies with our salary scale rather than the DB plan. With another round of bargaining upon us, this is something that seems to be a priority for junior faculty. So this exercise has been helpful in identifying a major concern we should be taking to our employer. Best, Enda Enda Brophy Associate Professor | School of Communication Associate | Labour Studies Simon Fraser University | K9662 8888 University Dr., Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 E: ebrophy@sfu.ca | T: 778-782-8085 | www.cmns.sfu.ca Simon Fraser University lies on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm) Nations. |