The Investment Funds Institute of Canada is calling on the federal government to increase Canadians’ retirement savings capabilities.

In its submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in anticipation of the 2007 federal budget, IFIC’s recommendations for non-registered investments include implementing Tax Pre-Paid Savings Plans — in which contributions are not tax deductible, but neither are withdrawals — with lower-income Canadians receiving a matching grant to help them save for their retirement.

It also says that the government should implement changes to further defer or eliminate capital gains taxes — as the federal government promised during the last election — including the possibility of re-introducing the $100,000 capital gains lifetime exemption.

For registered investments, IFIC recommends increasing the maximum age at which RRSPs must be converted to an annuity or RRIF to age 73, eliminating the clawback calculations for the Guaranteed Income Supplement for RRSPs and RRIFs, and increasing the maximum annual RRSP contribution limit.

“These proposals taken together provide a solid framework for middle and lower income Canadians to save more for their retirement so that they are less dependent on government programs when they retire,” said Joanne De Laurentiis, IFIC’s president & CEO.