Canadian health benefits plan members are increasingly feeling financially strained, according to the 2024 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey — a finding that experts say should be a call to action to employers to include more financial wellness supports in benefits plans. Personal finances has remained plan members’ top stressor for the past two years, with […]
An article on International Business Machines Corp.’s latest pension risk transfer was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. IBM transferring US$6 billion in pension liabilities via group annuity buyout 2. How employers can encourage employees to take guilt-free sick days […]
From 2016 to 2024, fewer plan members are confident they’ve saved enough for retirement. Indeed, Benefits Canada’s 2024 CAP Member Survey found plan members’ optimism that their retirement is on track declined to 56 per cent from 63 per cent in 2022, while three-quarters (73 per cent) said they’re worried they won’t have enough saved […]
Argentina’s Senate defied President Javier Milei to push through an increase to pension spending that would cost at least 0.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, dealing a blow to his tough austerity program. The bill, which already swept through the lower house in June, passed the Senate in a 61-8 vote. All […]
Working grandparents who are providing financial support to children and/or grandchildren are risking their own plans for retirement, says Craig Bannon, director of financial planning centre of expertise at the Royal Bank of Canada. “[They might need to] delay their retirement to extend their earning years or continue to work on a part-time basis in […]
The estimated funded ratio of U.S. state and municipal pension plans is expected to increase to 80.6 per cent in 2024 due to the outperformance of investment targets, according to a new report by Equable Institute. The report, which analyzed trends in benefits, cash flows, contributions, funding and investments at 245 of the largest U.S. […]
Nearly all (95 per cent) Canadian employees recognize their financial situation significantly impacts their personal well-being and 92 per cent of human resources leaders agree, according to a new report by Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. The survey, which polled more than 1,600 working Canadians, across all age groups and provinces, found more than a quarter […]
Retirement plan members who engage with their plan digitally have an average retirement account balance 230 per cent higher than those who weren’t engaged ($123,800 versus $51,800), according to a new report by Sun Life Financial Inc. The report, which analyzed data from 1.45 million Sun Life group retirement plan members, found employees who were were digitally engaged are also more […]
A majority (83 per cent) of U.S. workers say they’re concerned the increasing cost of living will make it harder to save for retirement and more than three-quarters (78 per cent) are concerned inflation will stay high, according to a new survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. The survey, which polled […]
Amid an uncertain job market and cost-of-living worries, employers can harness the benefits of artificial intelligence to help employees with reskilling and career development, says Candy Ho, professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and board chair at non-profit organization CERIC. “I think we’ve got a huge opportunity ahead of us with AI and, not jobs being […]