Kelvin McCulloch
CEO, 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚
Next year, 2019, will mark the 100th anniversary of 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 in British Columbia.
Under the leadership of Ernest Buckerfield, this B.C. business grew from nothing to become the dominant agricultural and pet food supplier throughout most of southern B.C., and ultimately become a force in the purchase and export of B.C.91裸聊视频檚 agricultural products as well.
Ernest Buckerfield established moral authority and trustworthiness throughout all of his company91裸聊视频檚 dealings by embedding his own high standards and principles into it. To this day, hundreds of British Columbians give testimony to their long and rewarding employment in 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚. And as the 91裸聊视频榞eneral store91裸聊视频� in many small communities, thousands of British Columbians grew up going to the local 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 store for their weekly supplies.
The current shareholders of 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 have done everything they can to bring 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 into the modern world. We are still miles behind in internet operations and social media. First things first, we had to rebuild the brick and mortar operations and re-engineer the business processes and products to serve the needs of British Columbians better.
Living Wages: Year 2
As a major part of this process, it took 13 years to build the financial base of this company so that we could offer a rational and fair system of compensation for every employee. Today we91裸聊视频檙e heading into the second year of 91裸聊视频榣iving wages91裸聊视频� and everyone91裸聊视频檚 pay has been lifted by at least the BC Consumer Price Index as of July 2018. No one lost any purchasing power compared to last year. We also lifted the 91裸聊视频榣iving wage rates91裸聊视频� well beyond the Consumer Price Index in six store locations because the published information about living wages did not look to be reliable. We are still working on ferreting out inequities and making adjustments so that everyone is on the right financial path as much as possible.
The next step: 91裸聊视频�Living pensions91裸聊视频�
For the coming anniversary year, we turned our attention to the elephant in the room, pensions. For many years 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 maintained an employee pension program for all full-time employees, with a standard employer pension contribution every payday. This year, we started looking at the idea of a 91裸聊视频榣iving pension91裸聊视频� for full-time employees.
Let91裸聊视频檚 say that 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 wants to continue to grow and prosper for another 100 years. Many of our employees have strenuous jobs that take a toll on their backs, their muscles, their bones. How will we face them when the time comes for them to take a rest from the workplace? Will they have the necessary 91裸聊视频榣iving pension91裸聊视频� to carry on sustainably?
The answer is a 91裸聊视频榣iving pension program91裸聊视频� for full-time employees. But where does the money come from?
The first part of the program is of course the Canada Pension Program. Currently, 9.9 per cent of an employee91裸聊视频檚 gross earning go towards CPP, half of which, or 4.95 per cent, is the employer91裸聊视频檚 responsibility. The other half is the employee91裸聊视频檚, paid through payroll deductions. Over the next five years, these amounts will increase to 5.95 per cent or 11.90 per cent overall. Currently, the average pension payout under the CPP program is $7,552 per year or $630 per month.
Next, there is the Old Age Security Program. Currently, the payout amounts to $596.67 per month for the higher paid member of a two-income household.
Combined, these amounts total $1,227 per month or $14,724 per year.
No one can live on $14,725 per year. Two people living together with a combined monthly income of twice that amount will have great difficulty with the cost of living. If a 91裸聊视频榣iving pension91裸聊视频� is three quarters of the 91裸聊视频榣iving wage,91裸聊视频� then the income from CPP and OAS would amount to about half of what people need for a secure, sustainable retirement. If a person will be living alone, their retirement income must be even higher.
Where will the difference come from?
It must come from employees and employers. The only reliable and sustainable way to establish a 91裸聊视频榣iving pension91裸聊视频� is for employees and employers to start making additional small contributions to a sound pension program as soon as employees enter full-time employment. If a 25-year-old employee starts saving for retirement as soon as they start work and saves a small amount of their income every pay period for their entire working life, they can make up the difference and have a 91裸聊视频榣iving pension91裸聊视频� to follow their 91裸聊视频榣iving wage91裸聊视频�.
What will a living pension look like?
The plan should be fully transparent. Employees should be able to make investment decisions within the plan if they choose to administer their own accounts. They should have financial planning services available to them and should be able to make additional contributions to their pension plan when they can.
Once the employer has established a 91裸聊视频榣iving wage91裸聊视频� program, they should offer a pension contribution to the employees91裸聊视频� pension program as an alternative to increasing the employees91裸聊视频� take-home pay. Matching contributions whereby the employer matches the contributions of the employee are the best. One per cent matching contributions produces a two per cent overall pension contribution and even a modest contribution like that can produce a very large amount of pension benefits 40 years later.
In 2019, 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 will contribute six per cent of gross earnings for all full-time employees to a new, progressive, all-Canadian pension program. 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 has made contributions like this all along but the old program wasn91裸聊视频檛 progressive or productive enough. The new internet-based program will allow employees to view and control their own accounts at any time, make investment decisions based on their own personal level of risk aversion, obtain financial planning services, make additional contributions and assess how they91裸聊视频檙e doing in relation to their own 91裸聊视频榣iving pension91裸聊视频� objectives.
To secure 叠耻肠办别谤蹿颈别濒诲91裸聊视频檚 through its next 100 years, we believe the combination of 91裸聊视频榣iving wages91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频榣iving pensions91裸聊视频� over a lifetime is the only way to discharge our moral obligation to the people who make this company possible. We can91裸聊视频檛 guarantee these things and we can hardly afford them, but the employees of this company are the foundation for the future. With a solid foundation, we can build another 100 years of success, just the way Ernest Buckerfield did starting in 1919.