The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has launched an online calculator to show how banks and financial investment companies are gouging people who are trying to save for their retirement.

“Our research indicates that when a company charges you an annual 2.5 per cent management fee, this will eat up to half of your investment over the long term,” says CLC President Ken Georgetti. “That is a scandal and we are using our online calculator to help Canadians with their financial literacy.”

Anyone can use the calculator to check on investment costs by going to the CLC website at: http://www.canadianlabour.ca/action-center/retirement-security-everyone/straight-talk-rrsp-and-mutual-fund-management-fees

Georgetti says that a far better idea is to improve the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), which provides a stable and predictable retirement income, and whose management fees are just a fraction of those charged by the financial services industry.

The CPP is a pension plan paid for by your contributions and your employer's contributions. It moves with you no matter where you work or what job you have. What you receive in retirement is based on what you and your various employers paid in during the years you worked. You receive an indexed defined benefit, meaning you know exactly what you will get each month when you retire, and it takes into account inflation. No worries about what the stock market might have done to your retirement account. To calculate labour’s plan for retirement, go to: http://www.canadianlabour.ca/action-center/retirement-security-everyone/calculate-labours-plan-retirement