In the investment space, readers were focused on the moves of the big public pension funds and real estate investment in 2019, with the top three most-read stories tackling those topics. Benefits Canada rounds up the industry’s favourite investment stories of the year: 1. Canadian DB plans return median 1.7 per cent in Q3 2. Hugh O’Reilly stepping down from OPTrust 3. OPTrust partners […]
This month’s Head to head considers the merits of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans as the country’s pension landscape becomes an increasingly diverse patchwork. Jerry Dias, president of Unifor National: Let’s cut to the chase. Absent a voice for workers through a union and collective bargaining, there really wouldn’t be much debate around defined […]
Domtar Corp. is entering into an agreement with Sun Life Financial for a group annuity buyout. The transactions will transfer about $360 million in obligations and related assets from the paper mill company’s defined benefit plans in Canada over to the insurer. Read: Rayonier Advanced Materials pension taking on annuity buyout In addition, it will convert about $101 million […]
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 […]
Rayonier Advanced Materials is transferring a portion of its Canadian defined benefit plan obligations with a $293-million annuity buyout. Through the transaction, Sun Life will take over the responsibility for pension benefits owed to nearly 1,500 Ontario and Quebec pensioners and beneficiaries. The plan members include former employees of forestry company Tembec, which was acquired […]
Globally, negative yielding bonds are alarming investors. And while Canadian government bonds haven’t gone negative, movement in other countries is demonstrating to institutional investors that anything is possible. So if bond yields do go negative, what could this mean for Canadian pension plans’ funding statuses? Canadian defined benefit plans can be valued in three different ways, all […]
In a letter to the tax branch of the Department of Finance, the Association of Canadian Pension Management said it would be reasonable for certain large defined contribution pension plans to be issuers of advanced life deferred annuities. According to the current Income Tax Act, only a licensed annuity provider can issue an ALDA. However, the ACPM […]
The Liberal Party of Canada is set to form a minority government after Tuesday’s federal election when it won 157 out of 338 seats. While the party made few health-care and pension promises in its election platform, the win puts a spotlight on the Liberals’ 2019 budget promises. Most notably, following the release of the final expert panel’s […]
While defined contribution pension plans evolve and defined benefit plans decline, the McGill University pension plan is a true blend of both types — at least for some employees. When Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of finance at the university’s Desautels Faculty of Management, joined the plan after 2009, a DC arrangement was available for […]
The 2008 financial crisis is an event that defined benefit plan sponsors won’t soon forget. Roller-coaster markets exposed gaps in their investment strategies, while de-risking appeared on pension committee agendas as they assessed the damage and focused on the road to fully funded statuses. Back in 2008, few tools were available to de-risk pension plans. […]