Capital accumulation plan members saw a slight uptick in their plan outcome in the first quarter of 2024, as annuity rates rebounded to levels comparable to those from the third quarter of 2023 and gross income replacement ratios remained at multi-year highs, according to a new report by Eckler Ltd. The consultancy’s latest CAP income […]
Four years ago, as the coronavirus pandemic entered its third month, I unknowingly — and unwittingly — took my first steps towards a new chapter in my career. As a writer for a Canadian travel trade publication, I was suddenly without work as the health crisis brought the global travel industry to a screeching halt. […]
At the 2024 Defined Contribution Plan Summit, which was hosted in Vancouver on Feb. 27-29, attendees learned about the various challenges and solutions for DC plan sponsors across the accumulation and decumulation phases, including how to cater to different generations’ needs and innovative investment and drawdown options, through expert thought leadership and employer case studies […]
Inspired by the University of British Columbia’s variable payment lifetime annuity option, the Australian Retirement Trust is taking a similar approach to decumulation, which, in turn, may hold lessons for Canadian defined contribution plan sponsors, said Brnic Van Wyk, the plan’s head of asset and liability management, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 DC […]
Financial literacy initiatives and a wide range of capital accumulation plan options are key components in supporting the financial health of midwives, said Nicole Mellin, executive director of the Association of Ontario Midwives Benefits Trust (pictured left), during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Defined Contribution Plan Summit in February. The association provides its roughly […]
From its roots as a retirement plan for Saskatchewan farmers, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan has grown over the past four decades to accommodate Canadians from all provinces and walks of life, said Shannan Corey, the plan’s executive director, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Defined Contribution Plan Summit in February. “It’s really meant to […]
During a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Defined Contribution Plan Summit in February, three defined contribution plan sponsors shared their respective decumulation journeys and their thoughts on where the DC plan sector is in terms of effectively supporting this particular phase of plan members’ lives. At ATCO Ltd., roughly 5,500 employees are enrolled across […]
Technology plays an increasingly important role as defined contribution pension plan sponsors seek to deploy decumulation support and retirement advice at scale, said Jean-Michel Lavoie, vice-president of strategy and market development for group retirement services at Sun Life Financial Inc. (pictured right), during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 DC Plan Summit in February. The […]
Employer-sponsored retirement plans that offer matching contributions can help younger workers retire earlier and with more money, according to a new report by Mercer Canada. The report based its findings on a sample worker aged 30 earning $70,000 and with $30,000 of personal debt, using five per cent of their income to either pay down […]
Retiring baby boomers are in an era of decumulation anxiety, as they convert their pension assets into income that they fear won’t hold up over the entirety of their retirement. The decumulation problem is complex for defined contribution pension plan sponsors because it involves transferring lump sum pension assets to retirees who may lack investment […]