About 900 employees at Rio Tinto Group’s aluminum smelting facilities in Kitimat, B.C. are on strike after Unifor Local 2301 and the company failed to reach an agreement on July 25. The union continued negotiations with Rio Tinto until the strike deadline at midnight, according to a press release. Unifor is seeking changes to workers’ […]
Diversity, equity and inclusion is top of mind for many plan sponsors these days. And, while issues around retirement and pensions likely aren’t the key focus for employers looking to tackle DEI issues, they should be. This March, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released a study that found the pension gender gap, or the difference […]
More than 125,000 Canadians became active members in a registered pension plan in 2019, according to a new report by Statistics Canada. It found the number of active members was up two per cent from 2018 to just over 6.5 million. Women accounted for more than three-quarters of the increase in new memberships — up 97,500 from 2018 to 3.3 million — while about 28,000 more men joined […]
The 830 locked-out employees at Reliance Home Comfort sites in Ontario are heading back to work after their union ratified a new contract with the company on June 30. The new collective agreement includes two new paid sick days, improvements to the extended health benefits cost-sharing and a one per cent increase to the matching […]
Two East coast companies are among the early adopters of a retirement savings platform for employers in the not-for-profit sector. Prince Edward Island Family Violence Prevention Services Inc. and Newfoundland-based Thrive previously offered their employees group registered retirement savings plans. Danya O’Malley, executive director of the PEI Family Violence Prevention Services, says lower fees was […]
Amazon.com Inc. is launching a digital health-care platform for its Canadian employees. The My Wellbeing platform provides employees with access to a range of health-care resources — including virtual physiotherapy sessions, a virtual gym, mental-health support and mindfulness sessions — according to a press release, which noted the platform runs targeted well-being campaigns and challenges […]
Despite the uncertainty wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, Americans are continuing to save for retirement through defined contribution pension plans, according to new data from the Investment Company Institute. The institute tracks contributions, withdrawals and other activities based on DC plan record-keeper data covering more than 30 million participant accounts in employer-based plans on a […]
Purpose Investments Inc. is introducing a new longevity pension fund, which invests 50 per cent in equities and 50 per cent in fixed income. It can be incorporated into a defined contribution plan to provide plan members with an in-plan decumulation option, says Pat Leo, vice-president of retirement solutions at Purpose Investments, noting investors can redeem […]
Much debate remains about whether private equity is an appropriate option for members of capital accumulation plans. Canada’s neighbours to the south have been examining the potential legal pitfalls of these allocations. A recent information letter from the U.S. department of labor set forth a framework plan sponsors can use to consider the prudence of […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is calling on the Ontario government to consider amending the Employment Standards Act and the Pension Benefits Act to allow for auto-enrolment and auto-escalation features in capital accumulation plans. Specifically, it would like the government to allow employers to automatically deduct employee contributions from payroll to facilitate these features. […]