Let me see if I understand this correctly.

First, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces he will look into forcing Canadians to wait until they are two years older — 67 instead of 65 — before they can start collecting Old Age Security payments.

Next, groups advocating on behalf of seniors and workers nearing retirement age denounce Harper’s decision, saying it will mean many people with little money in the bank or no company pension will have to work longer than they had hoped.

Then right-wing “experts” jump in to defend their hero, with one of them insisting — in an amazing display of twisted logic — that raising the age of eligibility for the seniors’ benefit is “an exceptionally pro-seniors” policy because it “reduces the incentives to stop working at 65.”

In fact, Harper could be even more “pro-seniors” if he just pushed the age of eligibility to 72, says Brian Lee Crowley, managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Freedom 72!

Is that what’s in store for many of us?

Are we going to have to gamble on being physically and mentally able to work well into our late 60s or early 70s in order to get government benefits that we have rightly earned through our taxes?

Harper has added fuel to the fears of Canadians already worried sick about how they will live after they stop working by suggesting Old Age Security, which is paid to all resident Canadians when they reach 65, cannot be sustained because there will be too many retired people and too few workers to support it in coming years.

Leading economists have argued the Prime Minister is dead wrong when he states Canada’s pension system is under financial threat.

Still, happy-talk conservatives cheered Harper, arguing the move makes economic sense and that we need to keep working anyway for “human fulfillment.” Besides, they say, we’re living longer than ever and many of us hope to work past 65.

But how could Harper be so blind to the fears of Canadians close to retirement?

Surveys in recent years show most of us — and especially “near-retirees,” those over the age of 50 still working — are deeply worried about the future.

The worldwide economic crisis, layoffs and buyouts in both the private and public sectors, and stubbornly high unemployment have thrown many retirement plans into disarray.

Consider these survey results:

• 91 per cent of Canadians have retirement worries.

• About 60 per cent of Canadians plan to continue working in retirement in some form, most because they need the money.

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• 57 per cent of baby boomers lack a financial plan for their retirement.

• 52 per cent of workers under the age of 65 are scared that they haven’t saved enough money for retirement.

• 36 per cent of us can’t wait to stop working.

• 20 per cent are relying on the Canada Pension Plan, a lottery win or an inheritance for basic retirement income.

Similar surveys in the United States show the same trends, with Americans who are nearing retirement age expecting to retire up to six years later than those who have already retired.

Such findings are startling.

They’re even more alarming when you realize, as pension expert Monica Townson says, that Harper’s actions will hit lower-income workers the hardest because they are most likely to have no other sources of retirement income.

The reality is that living well in retirement is just a dream for many Canadians. Except for government workers and teachers, the days of gold-plated pensions are largely over. Most Canadians will have to rely on the Canada Pension Plan plus Old Age Security to make ends meet. Combined, these two plans pay a maximum of about $1,400 a month. Most people receive far less than that.

It’s a cruel and uncaring government that forces seniors, especially those with little savings or no company pension, into a position where they must keep working well beyond normal retirement age just to pay the rent and buy food.

Bob Hepburn’s column appears Thursday. bhepburn@thestar.ca

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