Promoting employee financial awareness and retirement readiness amid the rising cost of living is a priority for the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council in 2025, says Cheldon Angus, chief people and technology officer at the Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees’ Pension Plan and co-chair of the CPPLC.
“More and more these days, employers are prioritizing their financial literacy education for different life stages. It’s helping Canadians plan for current and future costs like housing, transportation and prescriptions.”
According to CPPLC research, only one in three Canadians are confident in their ability to retire at their desired age and a similar number are confident they’ll be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
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“Financial literacy is paramount and I think that’s kind of the evolution of pension plans. Once they’ve got their systems and governance in place, it’s really about how they can continue to expand their services for members.”
While awareness of modern pension plans and retirement savings options among Canadian employees continues to grow, Angus notes traditional defined benefit plans — including Saskatchewan’s Plannera and Nova Scotia’s Public Service Superannuation Plan — are opening their membership to more employers, providing more retirement options for workers.
“From our research, the defined benefit pension is the preferred type of plan for those aged 35 and older and [DB plans] improve the total reward for employers who want to track that top talent for the long term.”
Similarly, the CPPLC is monitoring the evolution of legislation pertaining to variable payment life annuities. “These options are allowing more tax-sheltered savings or standardization and the harmonization of regulations across provinces. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the federal government all began updating their pension standards to accommodate these products, although full implementation is still in progress.”
Read: Head to head: Are employers’ financial literacy initiatives translating into reality?