PSW DAY MILESTONE: UNION RETIREMENT SAVINGS PROGRAM REACHES $1 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKERS
RICHMOND HILL, ON, May 19, 2026 /CNW/ - More than 1,000 participants have earned over $1 million in retirement savings bonuses through the my65+ PSW Savings Bonus Program since March 31, 2026. This innovative incentive program is aimed at helping approximately 5,000 personal support workers across Canada to start building retirement savings, many for the first time.
Created after years of advocacy by SEIU Healthcare in partnership with Common Wealth, the federal program helps PSWs access retirement savings opportunities long out of reach for many workers in the sector.
Funded through the Government of Canada's Personal Support Worker Retirement Savings Innovation Program pilot, eligible workers can receive up to $7,500 in retirement savings bonuses over two years through the my65+ retirement plan. For many PSWs, these bonuses represent the first meaningful opportunity to begin building long-term financial security.
There are an estimated 300,000 PSWs in Canada, many of them women, newcomers, and racialized workers performing some of the most demanding work in the healthcare system. PSWs delivering homecare - a growing part of the system that Canadians prefer over institutional care - tend to not have access to workplace pensions or retirement benefits.
Together, SEIU Healthcare and Common Wealth created my65+, Canada's first retirement savings plan designed specifically for modest-income healthcare workers. The results are a true display of SEIU Healthcare's dedication to advocacy for better wages, benefits, and retirement security for frontline workers.
May 19th is Personal Support Worker Day in Canada.
QUOTES
"SEIU is dedicated to making sure no healthcare worker is left behind. PSWs delivering homecare spend their lives caring for others, and they deserve the same dignity of being able to build a secure future for themselves and their families that is available to workers in other parts of the healthcare system. This PSW Day, we're celebrating today's milestone to show what's possible when unions and government come together to deliver for Canadian workers." – Tyler Downey, SEIU Healthcare
"This is a major milestone for PSW retirement security," said Alex Mazer, Co-founder and CEO of Common Wealth. "This innovative program aligns closely with our mission to expand access to retirement security. It builds on over a decade of partnership with SEIU Healthcare to improve retirement outcomes for PSWs and illustrates the powerful role government can play in supporting workers who've been excluded from workplace savings."
"A strong economy depends on a thriving care sector and the hard workers who make it possible. To every Personal Support Worker: thank you for caring for our loved ones with dignity and respect. You deserve that same security and respect when you retire. Together, we'll build a better health care system – for workers and for patients." - The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Canada's Minister of Jobs and Families
SEIU Healthcare is a union proudly representing more than 75,000 frontline healthcare workers across Ontario. Learn more at www.seiuhealthcare.ca
SOURCE SEIU Healthcare
For media inquiries, contact: Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare, Mobile: 416-529-8909, Email: [email protected]
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