Demand for international pensions and savings vehicles is continuing to grow as employers try to optimize their benefits packages for different groups within their global workforce, according to a new survey by WTW. Its 15th annual international pension plan survey, which covered more than 1,000 international pension and savings plans sponsored by 955 organizations, found […]
Defined contribution pension plan providers and advisors say plan sponsors should offer and support in-plan decumulation options, according to a new survey by PIMCO Canada Corp. The survey, which polled 12 DC plan providers and advisors, found more than half (53 per cent) of respondents said their plan sponsor clients haven’t considered implementing in-plan decumulation options, […]
Private sector pension plans could realize higher rates of return and produce lifetime income if they followed a model similar to their public sector counterparts, said Keith Ambachtsheer, executive in residence at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a senior fellow at the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University, during a […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is promoting retirement planning with its inaugural Pension Awareness Day on Feb. 16. Through the event, the FSRA is aiming to spark conversations about retirement savings and inspire employees to take full advantage of employer-sponsored pension plans, says Caroline Blouin, executive vice-president of pensions at the FSRA, noting […]
For some Canadians, the term pension may still conjure images of a secure stash of money guaranteed to ensure a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. I should know — until joining Benefits Canada in 2020, I counted myself among this group. Defined benefit pension plans — the epitome of the image described above — still exist, but […]
Matching employer contributions in capital accumulation plans are as close to free money as employees can legally get. “You’re not changing your risk — because the money goes to the same fund it would otherwise — and you’re getting two-times the return,” says Eric Monteiro, senior vice-president of group retirement services at Sun Life Financial […]
Capital accumulation plan sponsors need to focus on providing lifetime retirement income for plan members amid the growth of decumulation solutions such as advanced life deferred annuities and variable payment lifetime annuities, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. It noted DC plan members currently have three main options to draw down […]
Defined contribution pension plan members in the U.S. are committed to saving and investing, as only two per cent stopped contributing to their plan in the first half of 2022, according to a report by the Investment Company Institute. The report, based on record-keeper data covering more than 40 million DC plan members, noted one per cent […]
In 2019, Nick Smith graduated with $50,000 worth of debt — $30,000 in student loans and $20,000 with a student line of credit. Low-paying jobs and a high cost of living made it hard for Smith to make a dent on his debt until he got hired as a mechanical technologist in Halifax at Dillon Consulting […]
Despite President Joe Biden’s new student loan forgiveness program, nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of U.S. employers that currently offer a student loan repayment program won’t be changing their policy, according to a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, which polled more than 300 U.S. employers, found the majority (74 […]