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People working in the community sector will have access to an effective and affordable retirement savings plan with the Common Good Retirement Plan. It is being designed by people with financial expertise who also understand the nonprofit and charitable sector, and the financial pressures its employees face. Common Good will provide people in the sector with a sound and viable retirement savings option that will make a comfortable retirement possible for many for the very first time.

Having chosen the nonprofit sector as a career, I have seen many employees who are passionately dedicated to the mission and cause of their organizations, but have often done so at the expense of securing their financial future. I believe in decent work, and part of that is ensuring that those who work so hard to secure the future for others can themselves depend on a good retirement. Common Good provides a flexible, portable tool that provides the foundation for saving throughout your career, and is vital in ensuring a nonprofit workforce that can focus on good outcomes today knowing their own future income is assured.

Employees in the not-for-profit sector spend their careers working on behalf of others. With the Common Good Retirement Initiative, we have an opportunity to support them by filling an important need for a high quality, portable retirement plan. This innovative solution supports savings for sector employees at all income levels whether they currently have a retirement plan at work or not – and the plan has a legal duty to act in the best interests of its members. I believe this is an excellent model with the potential to make a real difference in the financial security of so many dedicated workers.

Retirement savings are a critical dimension of financial health, but very few workers in Canada’s nonprofit sector have access to high quality retirement savings plans. That’s why I support the Common Good Retirement Initiative. The people who care for our communities every day deserve our support in return and access to an affordable, accessible and portable retirement savings plan that works for them.

I want to acknowledge Alex Mazer and Jonathan Weisstub of Common Wealth and Mahmood Nanji, Associate Deputy Minister at the Ontario Ministry of Finance, for developing the concept and bringing together a great group to contribute to the report. They have done an outstanding job showcasing the journey that funds have been on in the past 30 years.

Canada's pension plans are world leaders in ensuring strong retirement security, and Ontario's pension plans are at the forefront of this evolution. It is no mistake that the World Bank has recognized the strength of our framework, identifying our plans as models for global retirement security.