my65+ program offers PSWs up to $7,500 in bonuses under a multi-million federal retirement pilot
A $29.9m federal pilot is testing whether targeted retirement bonuses can narrow the pension gap for Canada’s roughly 300,000 personal support workers (PSWs), most of whom do not have workplace retirement plans, according to program partners.
The my65+ PSW Savings Bonus Program has opened enrolment for its first 4,000 participants, giving PSWs the chance to earn up to $7,500 in bonuses over two years on contributions to the my65+ retirement plan, according to Common Wealth and SEIU Healthcare.
The program focuses on PSWs who meet criteria for occupation, work history, and workplace retirement security coverage, and who then start making qualifying contributions toward their retirement.
Funded through the Government of Canada’s Personal Support Worker Retirement Savings Innovation Program pilot, the initiative channels $29.9m into matching-style bonuses for an underserved segment of the health-care workforce, according to federal officials.
The PSW Savings Bonus Program uses a tiered incentive design to encourage both plan entry and persistence.
Participants receive a $1,000 bonus on their first qualifying contribution, with further incentives available when they continue to contribute, according to program details.
Common Wealth manages the my65+ plan and the PSW Savings Bonus Program in partnership with SEIU Healthcare.
SEIU Healthcare represents more than 68,000 frontline health-care workers in Ontario and has played a central role in advancing retirement security initiatives for PSWs, according to the union.
Patty Hajdu, minister of Jobs and Families and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, said “a strong economy depends on a thriving care sector and the hard workers behind it.”
She said the measures will help personal support workers “build a financial safety net and retire with confidence,” and, with support from healthcare unions, will “strengthen [the] workforce and ensure Canadians have access to high-quality, reliable care across the country.”
Program partners frame the pilot as a response to structural gaps in retirement coverage.
There are an estimated 300,000 PSWs in Canada, most of whom lack access to workplace retirement benefits; their work remains systemically undervalued and does not offer the financial security afforded to other health-care professionals, according to program materials.
The workforce is largely made up of immigrant women doing some of the hardest and most compassionate work in the healthcare system, said SEIU Healthcare president Tyler Downey.
He said “this is about fairness, dignity, and recognizing the value of a lifetime of care work that PSWs provide,” adding that SEIU has fought for years to improve their conditions and that Common Wealth “has been our partner from day one in helping deliver a retirement solution that meets their needs.”
Common Wealth positions the pilot as part of a longer-term strategy to expand access to retirement security for workers excluded from traditional workplace savings arrangements.
Common Wealth co-founder and CEO Alex Mazer said the program advances PSW retirement security and reflects more than a decade of work with SEIU Healthcare to improve workers’ retirement prospects.
He said it shows how government support can help workers excluded from workplace savings plans, calling the launch “a major milestone for PSW retirement security.”
The results of the PSW Savings Bonus Program will inform future policy and program design aimed at improving retirement savings access for workers without pension coverage, according to the partners.
Mazer said the launch marks a beginning rather than a finish line and that more work is still needed.
He argued that demonstrating PSWs will use accessible retirement tools is crucial to building durable solutions, calling the initiative “a starting point, not an endpoint.”
