In its 2023 budget on Tuesday, the federal government proposed roughly $13 billion over the next five years and $4.4 billion ongoing to fully implement the national dental-care program. The plan — to be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator — will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual […]
After reaching a near 40-year high over the past year, headline inflation started to cool in the final months of 2022 following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index was up 6.3 per cent year over year in December, down from a […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s assets returned 1.9 per cent during the third quarter of fiscal 2023, according to its latest quarterly report. By Dec. 31, 2022, the investment organization’s net assets reached $536 billion, up from $529 billion at the end of September. The $7-billion increase consisted of $10 billion in net income, less $3 […]
Finance’s toughest problem just got a whole lot trickier, thanks to the quandary of inflation. Legendary economist William F. Sharpe sealed his place in history when he collected the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on investment decision-making, but in defined contribution pension circles, the emeritus professor at Stanford University is […]
An article on the potential impacts of Alberta withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Employers raising concerns over Alberta leaving CPP, but expert says move could yield benefits for workers 2. Co-operators acquiring Smart Employee Benefits […]
Similar to 2022, the coming year will present both challenges and opportunities for defined benefit pension plan sponsors, with the rewards going to plan sponsors that are resilient, embrace change and are willing and able to act when opportunities arise. Several trends that will be top of mind in the year ahead are: Inflation The […]
Canadians’ total pension wealth increased by 7.9 per cent in 2021 to reach nearly $4.9 trillion by the end of year, according to a new report by Statistics Canada. It found revaluations of pension asset prices — largely due to equity market gains — increased pension wealth by $259.4 billion in 2021. On average, pension […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is calling on the federal government and capital accumulation plan sponsors to support members’ financial wellness by focusing on decumulation. In a new white paper, the ACPM proposed the creation of a “retirement dashboard” that informs retirees of their available sources of retirement income — including government retirement benefits, […]
Capital accumulation plan member outcomes saw modest increases in the third quarter, due to high annuity rates that shielded members from modest investment market declines, according to a new report by Eckler Ltd. It found a typical male member retiring at the end of September achieved a gross income replacement ratio of 60.3 per cent […]
The maximum pensionable earnings under the Canada Pension Plan for 2023 is increasing to $66,600 from $64,900 in 2022. The new ceiling was calculated according to a CPP legislated formula that takes into account the growth in average weekly wages and salaries in Canada, according to a press release from the Canada Revenue Agency. Contributors who earn more than $66,600 in 2023 […]