The trend toward DC plans creates a host of new challenges: for plan sponsors, whose members look to them for investment information; for governments under increasing pressure to ensure that Canadians have sufficient income in retirement; and for Canadians themselves, who need to take the initiative to ensure that they’re able to save a suitable […]
Despite the complexity of designing, communicating and administering a DC plan, employers do their best to get plan members engaged and on track with retirement savings. However, for each employer that does this, this poses some unique challenges. With this in mind, Benefits Canada sat down with four plan sponsors and asked each one to […]
Who doesn’t know about the power of communications? They can diffuse or create a crisis, reinforce or revolutionize, educate, misinform, motivate, stall and persuade or dissuade. An organization would be wise to harness the power of positive, effective communications to increase the value of its benefits and compensation investment! But before launching into your benefits […]
The importance of the communication of an employee benefits plan cannot be undervalued. It creates employee awareness of the available benefits, plan restrictions and general provisions of the plan; supports an employer that is trying to establish plan value; assists employers in meeting its plan administrator responsibilities. Whether you have the resources to develop and […]
For some employers, getting employees to formulate a financial plan for retirement is much like leading a horse to water. You can’t make employees plan any more than you can make that old horse drink. But if you can understand why employees aren’t considering retirement or acting on the messages you’ve been disseminating, you can […]
March to May is our big season to meet with clients and perform our annual comprehensive DC plan review (most of our clients also do investment reviews more frequently). Among other things, we sit down with the plan recordkeeper and determine the communication and education strategy to address the various issues raised in our review […]
Sun Life Financial plans to offer a free mobile application for group benefits and group retirement and savings plan members. Submitting benefit claims and saving for the future will be easier with a single mobile app that will redefine the Canadian plan member experience. “Sun Life Financial was the first Canadian provider to introduce e-claims […]
These days, capital accumulation plan (CAP) sponsors have a big job. Many plan members look to them for advice on their retirement plans. But sponsors don’t want to be accountable for providing it. So how do they deliver on the need for advice, given the risks associated with offering it? Education and information will always […]
Social media and technology is creating new opportunities to communicate with plan members, according to Kate Nazar, assistant vice-president, client relationships, group retirement services, with Sun Life. Nazar told delegates at the Benefits & Pension Summit today that mobile technology can play an important role in increasing plan enrollment. Approximately 60% of Canadians have cell […]
Do cultural biases have an impact on the decisions your employees make about their retirement savings and benefits? “Of course,” says Chad Lewis, founder of Intercultural Focus, from Boston, Mass. Culture is something plan sponsors need to keep in mind not just when developing their plans, but when communicating their plans as well. Lewis, the […]