As taxpayers saw their RRSPs and pensions tank
The MPs pension fund grew enviably during the financial meltdown because its interest rate is set by regulation and backed by taxpayers, according to the Canadian Press. Over the 2008-09 fiscal year, the fund earned a quarterly interest rate of 2.5 per cent, adding $53.8 million to its half-billion-dollar value; in the same year, private pension plans experienced a 21 per cent loss of value.