The Association of Canadian Pension Management is once again calling on the Ontario government to modernize the Employment Standards Act and the Pension Benefits Act to allow for automatic enrolment and escalation features in capital accumulation plans. In a letter sent to the ministry of labour on Nov. 30, 2021, the ACPM noted the changes […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is calling on the federal government to permit standalone variable payment life annuities to pool participants from all registered retirement plans. In its 2022 federal budget submission, the CLHIA said VPLAs, as enacted, will only be available to members of very large defined contribution pension plans, excluding Canadians […]
For defined contribution plan members who were intending to retire in the first half of 2020, the market crash caused by the coronavirus may have upended those plans. Markets reached a trough in March, followed by some recovery, but with little clarity on what investments will do next, it’s a challenging time for plan members […]
The coronavirus pandemic could be the most devastating crisis of most Canadians’ lifetimes. In the past two months, efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has led to shuttered cities, event and travel cancellations, job losses and extremely volatile financial markets. And without a doubt, the global pandemic is negatively affecting retirements. Like those who […]
One of the reasons for the switch from defined benefit to capital accumulation plans is that employers assume CAPs are less financially and legally risky, as well as less expensive to administer. However, with the switch to CAPs, employers are shifting all the investment, longevity and inflation risk, as well as responsibility for managing pension outcomes, to […]
Squeezed by onerous funding requirements and overarching fiduciary duties, defined benefit plan sponsors are increasingly willing to embrace alternative structures — such as multi-employer pension plans, jointly sponsored pension plans and pooled registered pension plans — to relieve some of the pressure. “Most employers simply shouldn’t be in the business of running a pension plan, […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is asking the federal government to develop a strategy for access to high-cost drugs and to make flexible annuity options available for a variety of retirement savings vehicles. In its 2020 budget submission to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, the association called for the federal government to work with provincial and territorial governments and […]
As pension regulators move forward with legislation permitting annuity options for certain capital accumulation plans, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is calling on the federal government to make flexible annuities available for registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds and tax-free savings accounts. In March 2019, the federal budget proposed enabling advanced life deferred annuities for […]
In the 1970s and early 1980s, defined benefit plan members clamoured for the portability provided by converting their plans to defined contribution arrangements. But that enthusiasm has waned over the years, with the majority of capital accumulation plan members simply not up for the challenge of managing their own investments. For plan sponsors, concerns also include […]
The federal government’s proposals around advanced life deferred annuities and variable payment life annuities represent significant enhancements in decumulation options for Canadian capital accumulation plan members, according to a letter from the Pension Investment Association of Canada. In the association’s feedback to the government, it encouraged the facilitation of the broadest potential access for Canadian savers in […]