Editor:
My brother, Hans, died March 14, 2022 at the young age of 55. Incredibly sad.
What is even sadder is that he was a hard worker and was employed full-time in various jobs since the age of 18. The saddest part of all is that he contributed to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) his entire working career.
My brother was not fortunate enough to find his significant other in his life, and even more unfortunate did not have any children. He would have made a great father. He was, though, crazy about my sons, his nephews, and treated them like his own.
As you know, the CPP is funded by both the employee and the employer, not by the Government of Canada. As administrator of his estate, I was shocked to find out that my brother’s estate was not entitled, aside from the $2,500 death benefit, to any of his hard earned CPP contributions, so the Government of Canada basically stole what was rightfully his … CPP contributions he made throughout his working career.
There is something wrong with this picture, no?
How many people in Canada have died without a spouse or dependents and the Government of Canada have claimed those CPP contributions as their right, less the $2,500 CPP Death Benefit?
This theft has to stop and those CPP contributions should be refunded to the estate of the deceased person.
Carolien van Halderen
