Talk:Canada's retirement income system

Structure of the article
An alternative way to structure this article would be as follows: Would this alternative structure make the article easier to read? --Quebec 04:53, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * 1) Briefly present all the tiers, one by one
 * 2) Look at how the tiers combine and interact for the single person retiring at 65, as a function of pre-retirement income.
 * The concept of the article makes sense to me and adds to the wiki. That said, the term tier n doesn't resonate with me, particularly as section headers. I've re-read it a couple of times and cannot suggest an alternative for the terminology, so perhaps it is best as is. Is the intent of the article for the reader to find their "tier" to understand the mechanics and numbers and which programs are involved? Or is it a tax/retirement planning article? --Peculiar Investor 09:08, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * I would suggest using the same terminology as government website: Understanding Canada's retirement income system "Pillar n" is a section title. --LadyGeek 10:16, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * "Mechanics and numbers": yes. "Retirement planning": yes as well. It's the first article to read before you get into OAS, GIS, CPP/QPP, workplace pensions, RRSPs, and TFSAs. How will your retirement be funded, i.e. which of the tiers will contribute? Ideally you would read this on your first day of employment. In practice, you would read this when you start worrying about retirement.
 * The tier terminology is widespread, and makes sense (to me anyway) when you look at a graph like the 4th one in the article, where the tiers are stacked on top of each other. But for a reader unfamiliar with the topic, or impatient, it may be difficult to follow. Maybe we can add information to the subtitles, e.g. "Tier 1: OAS and GIS"; "Tier 2: CPP and QPP"; "Tier 3: other retirement savings". "Pillar" is also widespread, and indeed is used by FCAC but you can't stack pillars. (I don't feel strongly about this)
 * "find their tier": most Canadians will receive income from several tiers of the retirement income system. --Quebec 10:28, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * "find their tier", take 2: if you are asking this, it probably means that the proposed reorganization is needed. I think you got confused because there are three tiers to the retirement income system, but also three main pre-retirement income cases are discussed, i.e. 0.5*YMPE, etc. and the discussion about the three cases is intermixed with the presentation of the tiers. --Quebec 10:33, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * I've reorganized the article using the alternative structure proposed above. I've also added a new figure to better explain the three-tiers concept. Please see if the article is now clearer.--Quebec 11:44, 30 December 2016 (MST)

Yes, the article is much clearer. I have moved your discussion of the "fourth pillar" to the introduction, as I think you intended to briefly mention it without further discussion. The introduction now explains why your graphic only shows 3 tiers. Reading this again, you do mention Tier 4 in the Summary of "Putting it together". I think more detail on Tier 4 is needed in this and possibly subsequent sections. Could your introductory graphic be changed to include an (unofficial) Tier 4, and perhaps revise the text I just moved? --LadyGeek 13:41, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * The introductory figure has been updated to add the 4th tier (hit refresh in your browser if you still see the old figure). The forth tier text was replaced after tier 3. Hopefully the table of contents and the existing intro (including the revised figure) provide enough information so that the reader knows that a description of tier 4 is coming up.--Quebec 14:37, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * The introductory figure is clear, but there should be a brief explanation that the 4th tier is not part of the official Canadian system. The 4th tier is used in practice as a way to refer to assets not included in the 3-tier system (that's my interpretation of your descriptions). Should there be any further mention of Tier 4 in the second section (contribution at different income levels, and how the different tiers interact)? --LadyGeek 15:08, 30 December 2016 (MST)
 * The sentence just before the figure now mentions that there are 3 mains tiers, and that a forth tier exists. The 4th tier is defined as other assets in the figure, then it is explained in a paragraph after Tier 3. I think that's good enough?--Quebec 04:43, 31 December 2016 (MST)
 * I attempted further clarification, which is to describe that the 4th tier is not part of the official system. Administrative: "forth" (quatrième) should be "fourth" as ("four" + "th" suffix). I think this is good enough. Revert or clarify further as you wish, I don't see any reason to delay promotion of this page. --LadyGeek 12:24, 31 December 2016 (MST)

Ready for main space?
I've re-read everything one last time, and I am done with this article. Is this article ready for main space (LadyGeek says yes above)? Where should it be placed in the Template:Retirement_planning_sidebar? Should we move the “Retirement planning“ heading and the listed articles (Importance of saving early, Savings rate, ...) at the top of this sidebar, and include the present page between “Prioritizing investments” and “Preparing to retire”? --Quebec 12:40, 31 December 2016 (MST)