With the Honourable Ted Menzies, Federal Minister of State (Finance)

8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Friday, February 24, 2012

The Dunes / Beach Room, Holman Grand Hotel

This information session includes an address by the Minister followed by a Q&A session for media and Chamber members on the Pooled Registered Pension Plan .

Call the Chamber at (902) 628-2000 to register for this free session.

The recently announced federal government legislation on Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) is seen as welcome news for small businesses and their employees by the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Pooled Registered Pension Plan will allow more small businesses and self employed individuals to participate in a pension plan.  The plan is voluntary for both employers and employees and employers have the option of whether to contribute or not.  The benefit to employees is that contributions are made through automatic payroll deductions, making saving for retirement more streamlined.  Because of the size of the pool, PRPPs are expected to have lower management fees than other retirement savings programs. 

 “The majority of small businesses currently do not offer a pension plan for their employees.“ commented Kathryn Coll, President of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce.  “The Pooled Registered Pension Plan offers small businesses an opportunity to enhance their employee benefit programs, potentially assisting with the attraction and retention of staff.”

About the Speaker

The Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance)

Ted Menzies was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006, 2008 and 2011. In October 2007, Mr. Menzies was sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. Previously, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation and the Minister of International Trade. He was appointed Minister of State (Finance) in January 2011.

Prior to his election to Parliament, Mr. Menzies worked in the areas of agriculture and international trade. He held the post of President of the Canadian Agri-Food and Trade Alliance and was Vice-President of the Grain Growers of Canada. He has owned and operated a farm for more than 30 years.

Mr. Menzies has played an active role in municipal, provincial, national and international boards and committees, including the Appeal Board for the Alberta Financial Services Corporation and Lions Clubs International.

He and his wife, Sandy, have two children.