Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce on Christina St. (BlackburnNews.com File Photo by Briana Carnegie)Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce on Christina St. (BlackburnNews.com File Photo by Briana Carnegie)
Sarnia

Local Chamber Reacts To Pension Plan Changes

The Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce is relieved the Ontario Pension Plan will likely not be moving ahead.

The news comes with word of enhancements to the existing national program.

A typical worker earning $55,000 a year will start paying an extra $7 a month in 2019, and that amount will gradually increase to an extra $34 a month by 2023.

Employers will also have to contribute more, taking away from their income.

President and CEO Shirley De Silva says the Ontario pension plan would have been a stand alone program with administrative costs attached to it.

De Silva says the Federal government will hopefully invest some of the additional money back into the economy.

Once the plan is fully implemented, the maximum annual benefits will increase by about one-third to $17,478.

Retirees would later get a maximum benefit of about $17,500 a year.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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File photo courtesy of  © Can Stock Photo Inc. / dehooks

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