The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ guideline for risk management provides that plan administrators should create a framework to identify, evaluate, manage and monitor…
One of the many consequences of the coronavirus pandemic was an unprecedented interest in the life expectancy of Canadians. While the increased focus on life…
With the arrival of the new year, there are three topics that will be important for pension plan sponsors, members and other industry stakeholders in…
Interest rate levels are critically important to the financial health of defined benefit pension plans. Many DB plans are in their best financial positions in…
In 2022, the typical defined benefit pension plan achieved an investment return of roughly negative 12 per cent. However, due to dramatic increases in bond…
Similar to 2022, the coming year will present both challenges and opportunities for defined benefit pension plan sponsors, with the rewards going to plan sponsors…
In the Expert Commission on Pensions’ 2008 review of Ontario’s pension system, it recommended an agency or unit of the provincial government serve as a…
Pension coverage in the public sector is high, with the vast majority of public sector employees covered by a defined benefit pension plan. However, the…
As a new year dawns, our attention turns to what’s ahead, the following are a few of my predictions for trends in the world of…
After being off of Canadians’ radar screens for years, the re-emergence of inflation in recent months is receiving significant attention for many, including pension plan…
Over the past several months, much attention has been paid to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on financial markets and, subsequently, defined benefit pension plans’ financial conditions…
Alongside recent reforms to funding rules for Ontario-registered defined benefit pension plans, the Ontario government also made changes to the pension benefits guarantee fund, including improvements…
In 2016, the Government of Canada reached an agreement with the provinces that provides for significant enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan, with an announcement of…
With the aging of Canada’s population, the move to defined contribution pension plans in the private sector and increases in life expectancy, the issue of…
As 2017 draws to a close, we turn our attention to the new year. As usual, there’s a lot happening in the Canadian pension environment. Below are…
Legislation requires a defined benefit pension plan to provide members leaving active service with the option of transferring out the lump-sum commuted value of their…
The interest in pension funding rules is as great as ever, with changes taking effect in Quebec in 2016 and a review of funding rules…
We may be witnessing the most significant changes to the funding rules of Canadian defined benefit pension plans in more than 25 years. First, since…
Defined benefit pension risk is as much in the spotlight today as ever and remains a significant issue for plan sponsors, even when the sponsor’s…
When it comes to reducing pension risk, there’s an interesting dynamic between desire and ability. During periods when the desire to de-risk is high, the…
In recent years, pension plan sponsors were optimistic about upcoming de-risking activity. In a Towers Watson (now Willis Towers Watson) survey conducted in the summer…
A pension management task that doesn’t receive much attention is the need to collect and maintain detailed data relating to individual pension plan members. While…
Many employers that sponsor DB pension plans are considering reducing the risk in their plans. An approach to reduce risk that is gaining popularity is…
The financial health of Canadian DB pension plans improved dramatically in 2013. While employers have begun reaping the rewards from this improvement, they should not…
Most regulators do not view a buyout group annuity purchase from an ongoing pension plan as a complete settlement of the obligations covered by the…