The Third Rail: Confronting Our Pension Failures by Jim Leech and Jacquie McNish
A clear, short primer on Canadian pension reform that trades depth for readability.
The short version
- Canadians who want a plain overview of pension policy and reform debates
- Readers curious how the Dutch and Rhode Island reforms worked
- You want personal retirement planning advice
- You need technical, up to date pension analysis
What owners like
- Clear and accessible for non specialists
- Connects the future of pensions to their history
- Uses real reform stories rather than dry statistics
- Credible authors with inside and reporting experience
Common complaints
- Light on technical depth and detailed analysis of the reforms
- Simplifies hard issues such as how pension liabilities are discounted
- Some claims, such as the failure of voluntary savings plans, lack enough supporting evidence
- Focused on Canada and written in 2013, so some context has moved on
Based on Penguin Random House's book page, the AbeBooks listing, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announcement, Keith Ambachtsheer's Globe and Mail review and an economics blog review..
Research scores
Scored from the maker's specs and what owners report. Drew's own notes and photos will refine these.
Ownership
- Oct 2013
First bought.
Drew's hands-on notes for this product are on the way. Long-term updates will be added to this timeline.
What it does
A short 2013 book on Canada's pension shortfall by the then head of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and a Globe and Mail business writer.
- Explains how more than 7 million Canadian workers retiring over 20 years strains the pension system
- Traces how pensions got here, from household savings rates to the public and private sector divide
- Case studies of reform in the Netherlands, New Brunswick and Rhode Island
- Argues for collective pension designs with good governance, scale and pooled risk
- Written by a pension fund chief executive and a five time National Newspaper Award winner
A clear, readable primer for Canadians who want to understand why pensions became a political third rail and what reforms in other places looked like. The trade-off is depth: one reviewer found it light on technical analysis and evidence, and its figures date from 2013.
How it compares
Specs
- Authors
- Jim Leech and Jacquie McNish
- Publisher
- Signal (McClelland and Stewart)
- Published
- 2013 (ebook October 29, 2013); paperback August 25, 2015
- Pages
- 192
- Format
- Hardcover; also paperback and ebook
- ISBN (hardcover)
- 0771046634 / 9780771046636
- ISBN (paperback)
- 9780771047350
Questions
What is The Third Rail by Jim Leech about?
It looks at why Canada's pension system is under strain as millions of workers retire, and at reforms tried in the Netherlands, New Brunswick and Rhode Island.
Who wrote The Third Rail?
Jim Leech, then president and chief executive of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and Jacquie McNish, a Globe and Mail senior writer.
How long is The Third Rail?
The hardcover and paperback editions are listed at 192 pages.
What solution does the book propose?
No single fix, but it favors collective pension designs that benefit from good governance, economies of scale and pooled risk.
Sources
- Penguin Random House: The Third Rail
- AbeBooks: The Third Rail, 9780771046636
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan: The Third Rail proposes solutions to serious pension issues
- The Globe and Mail: review by Keith Ambachtsheer
- Economist and Investment blog: Book review, The 3rd Rail
Researched 2026-10-02. We bought this product; our page is built from the maker's details and what owners report across reviews and forums. We never copy Amazon customer reviews.