The Co-operative Superannuation Society Pension Plan’s digital-first communications plan netted it the pension plan communications award at Benefits Canada‘s 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 16. The CSS pension plan’s communications strategy was influenced by the technology and fintech industries and meeting its members where they are — online. “We’re a defined contribution pension plan, so it’s […]
With federal and provincial regulators introducing relief measures this year to support pension plans amid the financial upheaval resulting from the coronavirus crisis, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario saw a lot of action from plan sponsors registered in the province. “In terms of whether plans are taking advantage of the relief — they are in […]
Looking back at all of the pension legislation stories we’ve written up during the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve noticed federal and provincial governments definitely favoured defined benefit plans over defined contribution plans in their various temporary regulations. In the first month of the pandemic, the feds halted solvency special payments for federally regulated DB plans until […]
Defined contribution pensions are taking a bumpy ride in the coronavirus pandemic, with plan sponsors and their members facing volatile stock markets, financial uncertainty and interruptions to business as usual. Whether related to plan design, investment options, decumulation or overall financial well-being and education, what issues are taking the spotlight this year and what changes […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario are establishing a new committee to review both regulators’ approaches to supervising defined contribution pension plans. Through the collaboration, the OSFI and the FSRA is aiming to work toward improving outcomes for DC plan members and, where possible, enhance regulatory […]
While many Canadians panicked and stocked up on toilet paper when a global pandemic was declared in March, most capital accumulation plan members stayed calm enough not to make fund changes, according to a webinar hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Thursday. “[We] found, overall, plan members appear to be staying the […]
My last column, in April, talked about how Canadian target-date fund suites behaved differently during the first quarter of this year, where markets were reacting to the coronavirus crisis. The disparity of year-to-date returns continued in the following months. For some capital accumulation plan sponsors, the behaviour of their plans’ TDFs over recent volatile market […]
The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting many trends in group retirement and investment programs, pushing the industry to be flexible and quick with some of the newer offerings. As plan sponsors review their group retirement plans in the coming months, they may want to consider some, or all, of these four trends. 1. Financial wellness becoming a must. […]
Retirement income can be sliced into three broad categories: what an individual receives from their employer, what they receive from the government and everything else. While plan sponsors are naturally most concerned with what they provide for plan members, including all forms of income in the conversation is integral to properly planning for retirement, says […]
Since retirees and active plan members are fundamentally different, should their investment options reflect that distinction? That’s the question confronting defined contribution plan sponsors as they explore the relatively new world of in-plan decumulation. As of January, when the Ontario government passed a series of new regulations under the Pension Benefits Act, the majority of […]