The federal government is currently considering increasing CPP and QPP benefits, which would mean a significant premium hike for working Canadians and even more serious impacts for the economy.

But small business owners in particular are concerned about the costs associated with any expansion of benefits, according to Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly.

Earlier this month, CFIB issued an update of its Forced Savings report, examining the so-called 10-10-10 proposal for CPP/QPP expansion.

This plan would hike CPP benefits by 10 percentage points from 25% to 35% of maximum pensionable earnings (MPE), raise the MPE by $10,000 from today’s $51,100 to $61,100, and implement all of this within 10 years.

Trouble is, this double-whammy payroll tax hike could mean that many Canadians see their take home pay drop each year on January 1 for 10 straight years, Kelly maintains.

Thinking about the future -- especially retirement -- isn't always at the top of the list when you're young.

Many young Canadians are living for the moment and looking for instant gratification. They already have a lot on their plate to worry about including graduating, funding college or university, and acquiring a good job in today's highly competitive job market. 

So it's no wonder they feel unprepared financially for retirement...it just seems like such a long way ahead in the future.

A new report from BMO Bank of Montreal reveals that 80 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 are concerned about their ability to save for retirement.

That's just one more thing to add to their growing list of worries.

Canadians are twice as likely to support a Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) (64 per cent), rather than increase their CPP or QPP contributions (34 per cent) as a means to save more for retirement, according to a recent survey.

Do you feel the same way? The Canadian Federation of Independent Business certainly does. Or would you like to see greater access to CPP, as pension expert Monica Townsend argues? She's certainly convinced the Toronto Star's Martin Cohn.

Many advocacy groups had been pushing for a boost in future CPP benefits that would be funded by a phased-in increase in CPP contributions, paid for equally by workers and their employers.

Critics suggest that PRPPs aren't really "pensions" at all since employers don't have to participate in the first place and won't necessarily fund things if they do. Nor, unlike the CPP, will the resulting plans be able to provide a predictable, indexed benefit in retirement or the same sort of survivor and disability benefits.