As we celebrate Benefits Canada’s 40th anniversary, it’s a good time to look ahead to the next 40 years. Looking ahead, I see the inevitable trend of health benefits moving to a defined contribution approach from a defined benefit one. I expect the trend to mirror the developments in the pension area over the last […]
While today marks the one-year anniversary of Ottawa reaching an agreement with most of the provinces to expand the Canada Pension Plan, the future of the Quebec Pension Plan remains up in the air. While the enhanced CPP will take effect in 2019, there’s still uncertainty around what Quebec will do with the QPP. The […]
Organizational redesign is everywhere, but human resources departments aren’t ready to handle it, a new study from Mercer has found. While 93 per cent of executives are planning structural overhauls, only a third (35 per cent) employ a service delivery model that includes the three components Mercer suggests are necessary for excellence: centres of expertise, […]
While 37 per cent of Canadian employees expect their workplace to focus more on employee health in the coming years, health and well-being ranked in the bottom three on employers’ list of their top talent management priorities this year, according to new research by Mercer. Its 2017 global talent trends study also found flexible working arrangements […]
Girls are “made of sugar and spice and everything nice — and gunpowder and Cubans and bourbon, no ice.” So sang Columbia Business School students in a 2014 parody music video about gender representation in their industry. But while many women now do the same jobs as men, their employment patterns remain distinct and, as […]
The whole world is watching to see what President Donald Trump will say or do next — and Canada’s institutional investors are no exception. When the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec reported its annual results in February, its president and chief executive officer, Michael Sabia, said the world was experiencing an unprecedented level […]
Great-West Lifeco Inc.’s net earnings fell slightly from the previous year as its assets under management grew to more than $675 billion. The company’s profits for the quarter ended March 31 were $591 million, down from $620 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Great-West Life said in its quarterly earnings on Thursday it […]
Roughly a third of U.S. employers (38 per cent) offer paid parental leave to new parents, according to a report from WorldatWork and Mercer. There’s no federal mandate to offer paid leave, although some states and municipalities, such as California, San Francisco, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii, require organizations to do so. “Increased public attention, employee […]
How are different countries tackling decumulation?
The Public Employees Benefits Agency, which administers the pension plan for public sector employees in Saskatchewan, has been looking at how to support members around decumulation for several years. “It’s a big issue. If you think about it, many people in a defined contribution plan go into a default fund and stay there forever. So […]