The average defined benefit pension plan saw its funded position continue to improve in April on a solvency and accounting basis, according to a new report by Morneau Shepell Ltd. During the month, bond yields and credit spreads stabilized, although long-term bond yields increased slightly, negatively affecting long-term fixed income returns. Global equities performed well, […]
Fundamental changes to the traditional workplace are causing greater levels of mental distress for managers and non-managers alike in the Canadian workforce, noted findings from Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest monthly mental-health index. At the one-year mark, the mental-health score for March 2021 (negative 11.2) was similar to that of April 2020 (negative 11.7) but slightly […]
The best way to learn is by doing. And since March 11, 2020, when a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, we’ve all certainly learned a lot by doing things we never thought we’d do. Over the past 13-plus months, I’ve done everything from lining up to buy toilet paper to doing yoga […]
For years, digital offerings played second banana to in-person options for many employers aiming to connect with and support employees. Not anymore. As employers and employees face down year two of the coronavirus pandemic, digital supports have moved from understudy to centre stage. “The pandemic has changed the environment significantly, as we all know, and […]
As the coronavirus pandemic ground the world to a halt in March 2020, stopping was not an option for Gale Rubenstein or her colleagues on the board of trustees at the University Pension Plan Ontario. The jointly sponsored pension plan had only come into existence two months earlier, and the clock had already begun ticking […]
When Leona Guenette comes down with a bad case of bronchitis, she knows exactly what antibiotics she needs. Normally for Guenette, the pension and benefits administrator of the Sagkeeng First Nation, that meant scheduling an appointment with her local doctor to get a prescription. But as of June 2020, when Sagkeeng and 350 other First […]
A first-quarter rally in both the equity markets and bond yields have propelled defined benefit pensions to their best funded positions in more than a decade, according to a report by Morneau Shepell. Based on raw data from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and internal sources that Morneau Shepell uses to compile its indices, the […]
Hub International Ltd. is acquiring Calgary-based Wessex Financial Inc. Wessex Financial is a family and business benefits provider that specializes in association benefit planning, individual member services, critical awareness and financial literacy programs. Read: Hub acquiring Edmonton benefits, retirement consultancy This is the latest of a string of Canadian benefits providers and consulting firms that Hub International […]
As Canadians’ mental health continues to decline, employees are still hesitant to reach out to friends and co-workers to get help to deal with mental-health issues, according to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s new monthly mental-health index report. According to the report, February’s mental-health index (negative 11.5) is slightly higher than January’s (negative 11.7) score; however, compared […]
Remember those Freedom 55 ads that always seemed to be on TV in the ‘80s and ‘90s? I recently went down a YouTube rabbit hole and re-watched some of them and, well, let’s just say they’re as ridiculous as I remember. In one 30-second spot from the early ‘90s, a downcast businesswoman reads the paper […]