Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced plans this morning to introduce a “modest, phased-in mandatory increase” to the Canada Pension Plan. He says that under the current system, many Canadians will  face too-small pensions and financial hardship in retirement.

But don’t expect fast change — Flaherty warns that the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly. “There’s a lot of goodwill and I think we can eventually agree on a direction, but this won’t happen quickly,” he told CBC.

The announcement comes on the heels of several surveys and polls indicating Canadians are unprepared for retirement, and as Flaherty and provincial finance ministers are meeting today in Charlottetown to discuss further pension reform.