Moderators: Nadia Darwish, vice-president of development, marketing and investment strategy; and Karrina Dusablon, national vice-president of business development, client relationship and member experience, at Desjardins Insurance The consensus among participants was that when focusing on retirement readiness, there’s a need for a broader discussion about promoting financial wellness, said Dusablon. “We need to make financial […]
Moderators: David Devine, regional vice-president, western region, group retirement services, wealth management; and Christine van Staden, vice-president of national accounts at Great-West Life Most plan sponsors agreed that defined contribution plans traditionally focus on those nearing retirement, said van Staden. “But everyone agreed there is a need to take a step back, rebalance the pendulum […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust has launched People for Pensions, an online campaign encouraging its plan members to become informed about defined benefit pension plans and how they support the economy. People have shifted from having a mindset of pension envy to one where they yearn for financial security but don’t necessarily see the value of […]
Retirement is an important milestone. In the pension industry, we understand that active planning is critical to members meeting their goals and being able to enjoy the lifestyle they want in retirement. We also know the reality is most don’t start planning or even thinking about retirement until it’s literally around the corner. Why? When members […]
You’ve implemented a workplace wellness program. You followed recommendations and engaged a professional to identify your employees’ areas of health risk and establish a foundational data set. You allotted an appropriate budget to the program to allow for incentives, rewards and even social functions to further entice employees to participate. The program content was fresh […]
“I had no idea.” “How can that be?” “Just doesn’t make any sense.” “But even if it keeps you alive?” These are just some of the responses I heard from neighbours and acquaintances a few years ago after a local paper quoted me in a story on cancer drug funding. In the article, I discussed […]
Nearly half (48 per cent) of retired Canadians aged 50 and over stopped working earlier than expected, with 33 per cent doing so because of an unexpected health issue and 22 per cent doing so because they were asked by their employer, according to a new survey by CIBC. The survey also found 38 per […]
CAA South Central Ontario will share the lessons learned during its transition to a defined contribution pension plans at the 2017 Benefits and Pension Summit in Toronto on April 11-12. The organization transitioned to a defined contribution arrangement in 2013. In the following three years, the organization focused on the defined contribution plan it introduced […]
At a time when 11 million Canadians don’t have a workplace pension plan, it makes good sense for those who do to learn about their pension and how to make the most of it. The trouble is it’s pretty hard to get most people under the age of 50 to take an interest in their […]
You’ve decided to launch a defined contribution pension plan for your employees, but you don’t know where to begin. What’s the answer? How do you decide what’s right for your organization? Let’s take this step by step. Step 1: Purpose The first step is determining the intention and objectives of the retirement program. In other […]