The costs of employer-provided health plans in Canada are expected to rise seven per cent next year, outpacing general inflation by more than five per cent, according to a new report by Aon Canada. Contributing factors include higher drug prices, the impact of non-communicable health risks and the continued introduction of new and expensive therapies. Indeed, […]
While working Canadians expect to retire, on average, at age 62, they’ll require $878,000 in retirement savings, more than twice the amount of current retirees, according to a new study by Mackenzie Investments. It found 45 per cent of respondents who are still working said they plan to continue doing so in some capacity, compared […]
Like a spiky meteorite, when the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year it demolished employer’s best-laid plans and is forcing them to find innovative ways to support, motivate and retain employees. During a virtual roundtable on Oct. 16, the 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards finalists discussed how they’ve quickly responded to everything from employee mental health to supporting financial wellness […]
With Canadian employees feeling the toll the coronavirus pandemic is taking on the economy, should policy-makers facilitate the use of workplace emergency savings plans? “We know from data that 28 per cent of Canadian households who are financially impacted by COVID in August were drawing down on their [tax-free savings accounts] and [registered retirement savings […]
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold Wednesday as it said the country’s economy won’t recoup the losses from the coronavirus until 2022, with the road to recovery dependent on the path of the pandemic. In July, the Bank of Canada said it believed the country had been spared from a […]
The private equity market was on a hot streak coming into 2020 and despite the economic wreckage caused by the coronavirus, fundraising has generally held up, said Jamie Becker, counsel for private equity and pension fund investments at Torys LLP, when speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Global Investment Conference in September. “There was […]
Highlighting a long-standing commitment to the health of its employees, SSQ Life Insurance Co. was awarded the Sanofi Canada Wellness Pioneer Award at Benefits Canada‘s 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 16. Its health and wellness program, which was established 15 years ago, integrates health prevention and health promotion, a lever it considers essential to […]
The geopolitical systems and institutions that formed after the Second World War are coming under fire and a shift in global order is underway, said Erik Brown, a research analyst at the Global Risk Institute, when speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s Global Investment Conference in September. In particular, China and other emerging markets have […]
In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the stock market has recovered to pre-pandemic levels for various reasons, but institutional investors shouldn’t be overly optimistic and must keep risks top of mind, said Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University, when speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Global Investment Conference in September. […]
Before the pandemic hit, momentum was building to fight climate change, said Eli Angen, a principal in responsible investing, strategy and risk at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. At the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Global Investment Conference in September, Angen pointed to the decreasing cost of the energy transition and greater societal and business awareness […]