Benefits like employer-paid registered retirement savings plan contributions are among payroll components to be subject to British Columbia’s new employer health tax. The B.C. government will begin levying the new health tax in January 2019 as it moves to eliminate the province’s medical services plan premiums. In a news release, the government said the transition […]
Plan sponsors often say they’re quite happy with their retirement savings plans. But is that position good enough to ensure an organization’s plan is competitive and benefits its plan members? Some of the trends across Canada, as evident from employee requests, reflect the changing needs of the workplace. They include: Group RRSPs or TFSAs with a […]
After nearly two months of strike action, Compass Minerals International Inc. and hourly workers at its mine in Goderich, Ont., remain at a stalemate in contract negotiations over proposed cuts to employees’ pensions. The latest contract offering from the company includes the removal of the deferred profit-sharing portion of the plan along with the elimination of its early retirement […]
In comparing the Canada Pension Plan to private pensions, a new study finds the latter face more regulatory hurdles, are more complex and face higher costs as a result. The study by the Fraser Institute reviewed the different regulations governing the CPP in comparison to other plans, including private and public sector pensions, registered retirement […]
Schroders Investment Management Ltd. is appointing Shawn Cohen as institutional director, a role aimed at building relationships with defined contribution record keepers and third-party asset managers in Canada. Reporting to Ross Servick, Schroders’ head of Canada, Cohen joins the firm from MFS Investment Management Ltd., where he was most recently director of relationship management. Prior […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is tweaking its approach to its compensation disclosure guideline, including a provision to allow advisors to deliver the information to clients. After releasing the guideline in January, the CLHIA announced in February that it would be seeking feedback on a number of areas related to the guideline. While the […]
Despite his death earlier this year, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad’s influence lives on at the international furniture behemoth. The notoriously frugal Kamprad reportedly flew economy class, whether for company or personal travel, and drove an old Volvo. The iconic Swedish retailer remains committed to operating within the guidelines set by his 1976 treatise, “The testament of […]
There has been a lot of talk about variable benefits from defined contribution pension plans recently. Ontario has changes in the works to allow them, while a number of provinces have moved on the issue in recent years. And while it’s not yet common for plan sponsors to offer variable benefits, some organizations have had the […]
Hub International Ltd. has acquired yet another benefits brokerage: Quebec-based Les Avantages Sociaux Delta Inc. Based in the Montreal area, Delta provides support and actuarial services for group insurance and retirement plans, as well as human resources and disability management. With the acquisition, Delta will join Hub’s Quebec business. Delta’s founder and chairman, Roger d’Eschambault, […]
While Canada’s defined contribution pension industry faces many challenges, the continuous improvement of offerings from service providers is one of the things that’s working, according to Western University’s Louise Koza. “I think what’s working is we have some very good service providers that are continuously improving their technology, their services, their education and their administration,” said Koza, the […]