default fund – Benefits Canada.com

Head to head: Is it time for DC plan sponsors to quit the balanced fund?

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:59:57 +0000

One defined contribution plan sponsor sings the praises of the traditional balanced fund, while another outlines a different option that better matches risk levels according to plan members’ life stages. Rob Jackett, senior director of finance and administration at Canadian Baptist Ministries Balanced funds are still relevant today for employer-sponsored savings plans. It’s important for employers […]

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2023 Top 50 DC Plans Report: Unleashing the power of multi-employer pension plans

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:56:31 +0000

Increased volatility, stubborn inflation and erratic interest rates are making for financially uncertain times, where it can be more reassuring to seek safety in shared risk, rather than shouldering financial ambiguity alone. Celebrated for their pooled assets and shared risk, multi-employer pension plans are gaining traction. Tami Dove, director of member experience at the Co-operative […]

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UBC faculty pension plan offers fossil fuel-free investment option

mschmit — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 04:54:00 +0000

Over the last several years, a small group of faculty members at the University of British Columbia has been calling on its pension plan’s board of trustees to consider divesting from fossil fuels. As support for divestment grew, the board of the UBC faculty pension plan, which is defined contribution, agreed to assess whether there […]

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How the Saskatchewan Pension Plan helps members through retirement

mschmit — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 04:54:14 +0000

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is improving investment choice for members in the accumulation phase and introducing new options to help them through decumulation as well. Leading up to retirement, SPP members are defaulted into a balanced fund, which has been in place since the plan started in 1986. In 2010, it introduced a short-term fund, […]

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What do target-date funds have in common with automobiles?

mschmit — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 04:47:27 +0000

At Benefits Canada‘s 2020 DC Plan Summit in Montreal in February, in a session highlighting innovations in target-date funds, Gary Chateram, former vice-president of institutional sales at Fidelity Investments, drew parallels to the progress in the automobile industry. When the original concept for target-date funds was filed in 1995, it wasn’t widely accepted, he said, noting […]

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Using creativity to engage employees with pensions

mschmit — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 04:38:33 +0000

When is the best time to tell your employees about how good your pension plan is? “Before someone else tells them about theirs,” said Keith Baker, payroll and benefits manager at the U.K. arm of Starr Companies, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2020 DC Plan Summit in Montreal in February. Sharing his organization’s overhaul […]

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Head to head: Is too much choice an issue in DC plan investment options?

mschmit — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 04:59:23 +0000

Canadian defined contribution plans offer a range of investment choices, from a single balanced fund, in some cases, to more than 25 options. Douglas Anderson, corporate services officer at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario: As a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s pension committee, I believe in offering […]

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How to drive DC plan members into the default investment option

mschmit — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 05:20:00 +0000

If most defined contribution pension plan members who invest their own money underperform those who invest through professionally managed options, how can plan sponsors encourage more uptake of default options? “By understanding the drivers associated with acceptance of a default investment, plan sponsors and defined contribution plan consultants might have additional success getting more participants […]

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Sounding Board: It’s time to take a simpler approach to communicating CAP investments

mschmit — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 05:15:51 +0000

In the 1970s and early 1980s, defined benefit plan members clamoured for the portability provided by converting their plans to defined contribution arrangements. But that enthusiasm has waned over the years, with the majority of capital accumulation plan members simply not up for the challenge of managing their own investments. For plan sponsors, concerns also include […]

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Is more investment choice actually good for DC plan members?

mschmit — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 05:00:26 +0000

While previous research has indicated that defined contribution pension plan members benefit from a limited number of core investment options because it reduces choice overload, is this still true now that automatic enrolment and default funds are becoming more common? According to new research by Morningstar Inc., more investment options in a DC arrangement could […]

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