The volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic made the first quarter of 2020 rough for many Canadian defined benefit pension plans. In early June, the Local Authorities Pension Plan Corp., which is mandated to invest with the Alberta Investment Management Corp., said it began the year with $50.6 billion in assets under management and ended the […]
The federal government is extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit for an additional eight weeks to support Canadians who haven’t been able to find employment as provinces start to reopen their economies. “The reality is that even as we start to reopen, a lot of people still need this support to pay their bills while they look for […]
Slack Technologies Inc. is offering its employees the option to work from home permanently, along with extending its coronavirus-related office closures past Sept. 1. In a blog post, Robby Kwok, senior vice-president of people, said the company plans to hire workers who are permanently remote. It’s also looking to revamp the design of its offices for the eventual return to […]
The coronavirus pandemic has been disruptive for all and sadly, devastating and difficult for many. In the pandemic’s early days, we saw a great deal of change and upheaval very swiftly — both for organizations and our communities. The way in which we live our lives day to day changed very quickly. And for many Canadian employers, […]
As the Canada Life Assurance Co. prepares a phased approach for returning to the office, the insurer is thanking its more than 11,000 employees with two paid days on July 2 and 3 for an extra long Canada Day weekend. “Three months ago, we asked our employees to be flexible, adaptable, creative and resilient in […]
The volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic made the first quarter of 2020 rough for many Canadian defined benefit pension plans. In early June, the Local Authorities Pension Plan Corp., which is mandated to invest with the Alberta Investment Management Corp., said it began the year with $50.6 billion in assets under management and ended […]
While 72 per cent of Canadian employers said they’ll make minimal or no changes to their benefits coverage in 2021, 21 per cent are planning some plan design changes around health coverage, according to a new survey by Arther J. Gallagher & Co. Eight per cent said they’re looking at plan design and contribution structure […]
Confronted with an economy gripped by recession and high unemployment, the Federal Reserve made clear Wednesday that it will keep supplying all the help it can by buying bonds to maintain low borrowing rates and forecasting no rate hike through 2022. The Fed has cut its benchmark short-term rate to near zero. Keeping its rate […]
Despite drastic changes stemming from the coronavirus crisis, the majority (58 per cent) of pension fund directors said their fund’s transition to a remote boardroom has had no perceived impact on board effectiveness, according to a global pulse survey by Mosaic Governance Advisors. However, 19 per cent of respondents noted their board’s effectiveness was being […]
When the coronavirus pushed equity markets off a cliff, Canadian defined benefit pension plans had to mobilize to address a number of concerns. The Canadian National Railway Co. pension recently shifted towards a more defensive investment strategy, said Marlene Puffer, president and chief executive officer for the CN investment division of the company, at a […]