A lack of communication and transparency with stakeholders and employees have been found to be the biggest mistake companies make during a corporate or operational crisis, according to a survey jointly released today by the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) and Fleishman-Hillard Inc. The survey, which polled financial analysts and investor relations officers (IROs) across […]
Statistics are a funny thing. They can be twisted and turned and manipulated to support or refute nearly any question. But they serve an important purpose and often shed light on important topics that may otherwise not get the attention they deserve. Case in point is the last Benefits Canada Survey of Capital Accumulation Plan […]
Great-West Life has introduced a customizable new member home page for GRS Access, the company’s secure, transactional website. The enhancements allow plan members to personalize the information they see on the GRS Access home page. Members decide what information they want to display. They can get a quick picture of their investment portfolio balance, both […]
Canadian plan sponsors, administrators and providers give clear communication and plain language around benefits, pensions and other HR programs lip service, but few make any serious effort to put the principles of plain language into practice. Even fewer have formal quality assurance processes to monitor their application. In fact, in a world in which plan […]
Sun Life Financial has developed one of the first apps for RIM’s coming-soon PlayBook tablet. The app is designed to reduce paperwork by going wireless and increase enrollment in corporate pension plans. Thomas Reid, Sun Life’s senior vice-president of group retirement services, was reported in the Globe and Mail as saying “it’s the first app […]
Over the past decade, defined benefit (DB) pension investment has changed dramatically in nearly every way but one—plan governance still means trustees are responsible for making final decisions about what’s best for the future of the plan. But being a pension trustee today sure is different than it was back when plans were mostly built […]
As a plan sponsor, you have likely lived through at least one request for proposal (RFP) process—for payroll, insurance services, actuarial or benefits consulting, recordkeeping or administration services. And from your experience, you have likely asked the following questions: Why do I need to do this? What do I need to include? and How do […]
Few Canadians will voluntarily educate themselves about financial matters—especially when it comes to retirement planning. Just ask the many plan sponsors and providers that have spent big money on member education materials and financial planning tools that sit largely ignored and unused. Thanks to the Capital Accumulation Plans Guidelines (CAP Guidelines), there’s not a well-governed […]
Technological change is all around us, and many industries—such as media, banking and retail—have used it to significant advantage. The group benefits industry, however, has lagged behind in this area—whether caused by the complexities of industry amalgamation, the inflexibility of legacy mainframe systems or other operational hurdles. But that reaction time is shortening as the […]
There is a lot of room for improvement on group savings and retirement plan member statements, as a poll by Ipsos Reid finds 44% of Canadians with a group plan don’t know what their retirement income will be. Another 41% are unaware if their current savings rate is on target to meet their future income […]