An article on Amazon Canada’s ‘Dogs at Work’ program was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Amazon expanding ‘Dogs at Work’ program to Canada, easing employees’ return to workplace 2. Survey finds 39% of women considering quitting job due to stress, burnout 3. 76% […]
Franklin Templeton is entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Putnam Investments from Great-West Lifeco Inc. for about US$925 million. As part of the agreement, Great-West will become a long-term strategic shareholder in Franklin Resources Inc. — Franklin Templeton’s parent company — with a 6.2 per cent stake. In addition, Great-West will will provide an initial long-term […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging Retraite Québec to provide additional flexibility in the funding of municipal and university defined benefit pension plans. In an open letter, the ACPM requested flexibility to fund up to 100 per cent of amortization payments from the reserve, noting this change would allow for better management of financial risks […]
U.S. defined benefit pension plans posted net returns of 4.47 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from Investment Metrics plan universe. The performance was led by allocations to public equities, which generated 6.47 per cent during the quarter. Fixed income allocations also performed well, rising 2.93 per cent. Alternative […]
An article on how defined benefit pension plan sponsors can use a surplus was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Expert panel: How DB pension plan sponsors can use surplus 2. Median solvency ratio of Ontario DB pensions rose to 115% in Q1 […]
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay US$1 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by its two public sector pension plans that alleged the bank made misleading statements about its compliance with federal regulators after a fake account-opening scandal came to light in 2016. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of members of the […]
Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have officially ratified an agreement on multi-jurisdictional pension plans, which will come into effect on July 1. In March, the two provinces announced their intention to sign the agreement, which had previously been adopted by every other province except Prince Edward Island. The agreement’s adoption was contingent on an amended […]
In 2022, the typical defined benefit pension plan achieved an investment return of roughly negative 12 per cent. However, due to dramatic increases in bond yields and a subsequent decrease in pension liabilities, many pension plans ended 2022 with the same — or better — solvency funded level that they had at the beginning of […]
The median solvency ratio of Ontario defined benefit pension plans rose during the first quarter of 2023, from 112 per cent at the beginning of the year to 115 per cent at the end of March, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s latest pension solvency report. During the quarter, pension fund investment returns averaged […]
A pair of surveys on the state of Canadian workers’ mental health were among the most-read stories on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Survey finds 40% of Canadian gen Z employees at a mental-health ‘breaking point’ 2. Survey finds 40% of workers taking time off due […]