Dear all
I'm voting against the DB plan, and here's why.
Like some other colleagues, as a first-generation Canadian I did not have family nearby to help with my kids when they were little. I do have obligations to family who live elsewhere, which are current and non-negotiable. Helping my children live in this city, save to fund their higher education and my responsibilities to my aging parents and family has meant that I have never had the luxury of stating "I don't want to pay attention to my finances" or "I'd rather do anything except worrying about money". Like many people who arrive on these shores with a single suitcase, I have had to calculate where my money went.
A move from Quebec ($7-per-day daycare) to BC and its insane childcare costs hit me hard. Without paying through my nose for childcare, I would not have been able to work. The cost of renting/owning in this area was also extremely high compared to other places. I moved to SFU after careful consideration of what the salary here meant. The salaries at SFU are not high - the draw here was resolutely not monetary. The paycheck did not allow for salting away 7% of my post-tax income towards retirement initially.
As childcare expenses have diminished, I am grateful to be saving a bit more towards my children's education and helping my family abroad. When these costs diminish, I'll be able to save more towards my retirement (which will not be luxurious, but won't be cat-food either) and paying down a mortgage. Will my DC plan be as generous as your DB plans will be? Perhaps not. But at least I will have, through my working years, met my own familial obligations.
This flexibility in terms of paying for different things during different times is CRUCIAL for me, and a reason I did not consider other positions with DB plans. Had SFU had a DB plan at the time I was interviewing, I would not have signed up.
(This, incidentally, is why guessing at 'what's best' for future hires is somewhat pointless: they will self-select into a university based on the package on offer, and their needs and values.)
Finally, I'm morally opposed to any of my retirement being funded through investments in the tar sands or fossil-fuel companies. I consider it hypocritical to ask my kids to use transit/recycle/reduce, or walking around with reusable coffee mugs, while contemplating a wealthier retirement by sending hundreds to mining and oil-extraction companies each month.
cheers
Nilima
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Nilima Nigam
Professor
Dept. of Mathematics
Simon Fraser University