KPMG LLP has run its first series of retirement education sessions through in-person workshops, one-on-one meetings and a version on Skype for employees at its smaller locations. The firm introduced the sessions in May after a 2015 pilot program with a small group of employees found people wanted to receive more education about their retirement savings. […]
Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada is introducing what it says is a “great bridge to decumulation” by launching new target-date funds that focus defined contribution pension plan members on their goal for retirement income. The funds, which will be available for group savings plans in 2018, will require plan members to set a retirement income target […]
Most target-date funds aren’t serving employees well, argues a paper published earlier this month in the Social Science Research Network. While target-date funds are an easy option for employees who aren’t comfortable with making investment decisions, the funds don’t consider employees’ desired retirement incomes or how well the portfolio fares over time, writes researchers Peter A. Forsyth, […]
The gross income replacement level of capital accumulation plans has remained steady for both males and females over the previous quarter, while increasing investment returns were offset by a slight decrease in annuity rates, according to Eckler Ltd.’s capital accumulation plan income tracker. The tracker assumes the member made annual contributions at a rate of […]
The Ontario government is moving to allow for variable benefits from defined contribution pension plans, according to the 2017 budget tabled yesterday. “I think it’s positive the Ontario government gets that [addressing] decumulation is a rising need for capital accumulation plans,” says Joe Nunes, president of Actuarial Solutions Inc. But he cautions that the proposed solution, […]
Meeting plan members’ retirement goals (29 per cent) and managing litigation risk (25 per cent) are the top factors driving defined contribution pension plan sponsor decision-making, according to new research by global investment manager PIMCO. The annual research surveyed nearly 70 defined contribution consultants and advisors providing services to more than 12,000 plan sponsors in […]
The Public Employees Benefits Agency, which administers the pension plan for public sector employees in Saskatchewan, has been looking at how to support members around decumulation for several years. “It’s a big issue. If you think about it, many people in a defined contribution plan go into a default fund and stay there forever. So […]
Unlike the promise by defined benefit plans of a stream of income during retirement, their defined contribution counterparts focus more on the accumulation of assets. And that’s a problem, according to Robert Merton, a professor of finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Merton, who spoke at Benefits Canada’s Defined Contribution […]
Defined contribution pension plans in Canada are maturing quickly and becoming more sophisticated. Contributions and plan assets continue to grow, investment options are evolving and many employers are now operating in multigenerational workforces with a wave of employees who are nearing retirement. How plan sponsors can respond to the evolving landscape was a key focus […]
The pension and benefits industry often talks about flexibility and customization of plans, but how many companies are actually changing their offerings to introduce those elements? ATB Financial is one company that’s taking action on the issue following its pension redesign in recent years. “The most relevant strategic driver for reviewing and redesigning our pension […]