An increase in the protection limit for defined benefit pension plan members’ assets invested in annuities is making it easier for plan sponsors to de-risk, says Mary Kate Archibald, a principal at Eckler Ltd. Assuris, the not-for-profit organization that protects a portion of retirement benefits from annuities in the event of an insurer’s insolvency, now covers up to $5,000 […]
In 2022, the typical defined benefit pension plan achieved an investment return of roughly negative 12 per cent. However, due to dramatic increases in bond yields and a subsequent decrease in pension liabilities, many pension plans ended 2022 with the same — or better — solvency funded level that they had at the beginning of […]
Large and small, pension plan sponsors are adopting in-house tools, partnering with technology research institutes or relying on investment managers for technological support with asset allocation, risk management and other aspects of investment management. The growing interest coincides with an increasingly complex investment, demographic and regulatory landscape. A 2020 Deloitte report on the importance of […]
While a third of Canadians are very or extremely confident they’ll be able to retire at the age they want to, around 40 per cent are somewhat confident and a fifth say they don’t think they’ll be able to retire at all, according to MFS Investment Management’s 2022 global retirement survey. “Those stats for the […]
While McGill University has factored decumulation into its pension plan for decades, the plan sponsor is continually fine tuning these strategies for members, said John D’Agata, the university’s director of pension and benefits, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. McGill’s pension plan has more than $1.5 billion in assets and more than 9,500 […]
Even though it sounds obvious, maximizing retirement income and making it last for life isn’t what drives most retirees when it comes to making decisions — which is contributing to the challenges around decumulation, said Fred Vettese, an author and pension expert, during Benefits Canada‘s 2023 Defined Contribution Plan Summit. “The hurdles we have to […]
Alcoa Corp. is de-risking roughly $315 million (US$235 million) in Canadian defined benefit pension obligations and assets with an annuity transfer. The group annuity contracts will be executed by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., which will assume payments for roughly 500 participants in September, according to a press release. Read: Alcoa entering $1BN […]
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has completed its acquisition of BCHR Holdings — also known as Buck — for US$660 million. Through the agreement, Gallagher will expand its retirement, benefits and human resources consulting services in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a press release. Buck’s team of 2,300 employees will operate under the direction […]
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors in the U.S. are facing increasing costs when de-risking through annuity buyouts, according to a new report by consulting firm Milliman Inc. It found the estimated cost to transfer risk to an insurer increased in February to 99.7 per cent of a plan’s total liabilities, up from 99.3 per cent […]
After reaching a near 40-year high over the past year, headline inflation started to cool in the final months of 2022 following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index was up 6.3 per cent year over year in December, down from a […]