Jack Layton posts

Jack Layton has died. Where will the NDP go from here?

The next six to 12 months will determine how good a job the late party leader did at succession planning.

Follow Huffington Post Canada's Ottawa bureau chief Althia Raj for live Layton updates.

The NDP aren't alone. Many family-owned businesses and other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also grappling with succession plans as baby boomers start to retire en masse and in some cases, pass away. But business groups and advisors say most family-owned firms are not ready for leadership change – because they have not planned sufficiently.

Like this article? Don't miss another one. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook .

Have you seen the posters? The ones that say, "You wouldn't let your grandparents choose who you date. Then why let them choose your government?" Sure they're ageist, and some say offensive, but they're also a little bit true. Middle-aged and older Canadians vote in higher numbers than our youth, and pensions matter to them.

So with the federal election just over a week away, you just know that all the party leaders are making big pension promises. We thought this would be a good time to recap what the leaders are saying, and find out if it will change the way you vote.

Conservatives
Stephen Harper has promised to double the amount of money you can put into your Tax Free Savings Account. Currently, you can put up to $5,000 a year into a TFSA without paying taxes on any interest or capital gains earned within that account. Harper says he will raise that amount to $10,000 a year, but there's a catch. He won't do it until the federal deficit is eliminated, which is predicted to happen in fiscal 2015–16.

Beyond that, the Conservatives will stay the course with the new Pooled Registered Pension Plan, which we told you about in December.