The baby boomers, of which I am one, are famous for having distorted just about every market they have touched. Housing was perhaps the first major market to be impacted by their arrival and we all know what that did to the cost of real estate in hot locations like Vancouver or Toronto. Now with […]
PARTNER CONTENT This long-standing series is a quick way to tap into timely and relevant issues answered by industry experts. View all Benefits Pensions Investments May 13, 2024 | Benefits Why is it important for employers to understand and implement return to work best practices? Answer from Marie-Chantal Coté, Senior Vice President, Group Benefits, Sun Life Did […]
The venture capital investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Plan is partnering with the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab for a study on virtual reality in Canada. The study will aim to better understand the realities of working in or with virtual reality, including the challenges it raises, how it affects companies now and its future […]
Effective competition in workplace pensions could be the result
In recent years, Canada’s largest companies have struggled with the inherent ups and downs of managing risk in their defined benefit pension plans. Two employer-sponsored pensions in particular — despite experiencing similar types of labour strife, government intervention and plan redesign — have so far embarked on very different investment strategies to suit their businesses […]
Could robo-advisors be the nudge plan sponsors need to offer members investment advice?
Discussions about pension plan de-risking tend to focus on minimizing—or at least managing—financial risk for DB pension plan sponsors. Across the spectrum of pension risk management strategies, plan sponsors often consider a DC plan to be a low-risk, or no-risk, solution, particularly if they previously provided a DB plan. In fact, when DB plan sponsors talk of de-risking, that is often “code” for converting their plan to a DC arrangement. DC plans certainly mitigate plan sponsor financial risk: there is little danger of having to make higher sponsor contributions to account for market volatility or increased longevity, as is possible in the case of a DB plan.
Major trends are reshaping Canada’s pension industry—from greater employer interest in sharing or off-loading pension risk to increased on de-risking.
Despite similar costs, the Dutch healthcare system features shorter wait times than the Canadian system with similar to superior outcomes, according to a study.
Offering coverage for paramedical services can make your benefits plan attractive to employees. But, at the same time, paramedicals can crush your plan’s experience, saddling you with runaway expenses. How can you manage the need for a quality health benefits plan while also keeping the plan sustainable?