On the eve of the federal-provincial finance ministers meeting in Whitehorse, a curious disconnect is emerging in Canada. A chorus of prominent voices has been lamenting the dismal condition of Canada’s “ailing” pension system and exhorting our politicians to act. The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) published a paper in October 2009 that starts out, […]
It’s been another tumultuous year for the capital accumulation plan (CAP) industry: pending harmonized sales tax, government reform on pensions and, lest we forget, market volatility. But through it all, the CAP industry has held up, and for that, it deserves a hats off. “It’s been a great year for the CAP industry because we’ve […]
Leo de Bever, CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corporation, discusses AIMCo’s evolution and the impact of the downturn on the money management industry. As a crown corporation, how is AIMCo different from other managers? We are more in line with Teachers’ or OMERS. The crown corporation structure puts us aside from the government, but we […]
There has been much discussion about the state of the Canadian pension system. Many defined benefit (DB) plans are underfunded, most defined contribution (DC) plan participants are not saving enough, and some Canadians do not save at all. Concerned about the state of Canadian pensions, Alberta, BC, Ontario and Nova Scotia struck expert commissions which […]
The pension industry has had its share of headlines this year: General Motors, Bernard Madoff and Earl Jones, Canada’s own Ponzi king, come to mind. And though some experts speculate that a market turnaround is near, Canada’s defined contribution (DC) plans have also made headlines. Last year, our Top 50 DC Plans Report found 18 […]
Although the markets have shown some positive signs of recovery, the solvency position of Canadian defined benefit (DB) pension plans remains an issue for most plan sponsors. Over the last year and a half, the solvency ratio of a typical DB plan (60% equities, 40% fixed income) showed a significant decline of approximately 35% from […]
McGill University wants its employees to think big picture—with their retirement savings and their total compensation. Pension plan sponsors have been left reeling after the dive the markets took last year, and McGill University is no different. “Over 85% of our employees are in the balanced account—that account saw a loss of 15%, as of […]
Guiding Light August 01, 2008 | Alyssa Hodder In a challenging social and economic environment, plan sponsors are looking to pension and benefits consultants for enlightenment. It’s a demanding market for pension and benefits consultants. On the pension side, there’s only so much business to go around—particularly since the rate of conversion from defined benefit […]
A large majority—87%—of defined benefit (DB) plans in Canada will likely stick with the DB model over the next five to 10 years, according to a survey conducted by the Canadian Pension Fund Directory (a sister publication of Benefits Canada) for Pyramis Global Advisors. The survey, Exploring New Ground: Key Global Pension Strategies for […]
Many decades ago, pension plans were set up as a mechanism to ease older workers out of the workforce gracefully before they became a liability to their employer. In those days, pension plans typically fell within the purview of the senior human resource officer. As pension funds grew in size, and their risks—especially those of […]