The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is consulting on proposed pension benefits guarantee fund assessment deadlines and calculations guidance, which is designed to assist plan administrators in maintaining compliance with the Pension Benefits Act. The proposed guidance includes: that the deadline for paying the assessment is nine months after the fiscal year end, whether the pension plan […]
Pension plan members have super-priority when it comes to normal costs but not to special costs owed to bankrupted plans, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador finds in a recent ruling. In the case, Anthony Capital Corporation (Re), between the trustees of the defunct Anthony Capital Corp.’s executive pension plan and representatives for the […]
While 65 has long been considered the traditional retirement age, younger employees face the possibility of working longer. Plan sponsors can learn much from the unique financial journeys taken by different generations toward their eventual golden years. A 2019 Scotiabank investment poll revealed that 68 per cent of Canadians are currently saving for retirement, but […]
The union representing 400 Dominion Diamond Mines employees is attempting to guarantee that the company honours its multi-million dollar pension shortfall as it goes through a court-ordered creditor protection process. If the shortfall isn’t prioritized, the Union of Northern Workers said it’s concerned that active members and pensioners would all face reduced pensions. “How much […]
CARP is highlighting the need for further protections for defined benefit pensions in its 2020 Ontario budget priorities. The submission noted CARP, formerly the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, supports the steps taken by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario and the provincial government to bolster innovation in DB plan design, as well as reducing red […]
Pensions have been imperilled by corporate insolvency before, but three new amendments to federal laws may create stronger protections for employees and retirees. Changes to the Canada Business Corporations Act went into immediate effect after receiving royal assent in June, and amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act take effect today. Further […]
Two organizations representing Canadian pensioners are asking the British Columbia government to reject the recommendations of a recent report by the Ministry of Finance that suggests lowering required pension solvency funding from 100 per cent to 85 per cent. “We actually disagreed with the very objective of the report,” says Marissa Lennox, spokesperson for CARP, formerly the […]
Looking back over years of momentous corporate bankruptcies and their impact on defined benefit pension plan members, the current fervor around Sears Canada Inc. hardly seems to mark a new trend. Before Sears, and even before Stelco Inc., there was Nortel Networks Corp. In 2009, when the multinational telecommunications company filed for bankruptcy protection in […]
Though Trish McAuliffe didn’t know much about pension benefits at the time, they were at the heart of one of her earliest working memories. In the 1980s, McAuliffe was a new employee at General Motors of Canada Co., putting together automobile interiors, when she dutifully joined the picket line during an eruption of labour strife […]
Though Trish McAuliffe didn’t know much about pension benefits at the time, they were at the heart of one of her earliest working memories. In the 1980s, McAuliffe was a new employee at General Motors of Canada Co., putting together automobile interiors, when she dutifully joined the picket line during an eruption of labour strife […]