As the University Pension Plan increases its focus on climate change, its responsible investment policy considers environmental, social and governance factors as essential to sound long-term investing. “We’ve seen a lot of evidence from a variety of service providers — from investment banks to investment managers — that have demonstrated [the climate] is getting warmer […]
A bill currently under consideration by Canada’s senate could hasten the closure of open defined benefit plans, according to Gavin Benjamin, a partner in LifeWorks Inc.’s pension and benefits solutions business. “In our view, this is a potential outcome, particularly with respect to companies for whom the ability to borrow is affected by the bill,” […]
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 […]
A bill intended to provide defined benefit pension plan members with super-priority should be a major concern for Canadian DB plan sponsors, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly pension indices report. “While the goal of [Bill C-228] is to protect the pensions of members and retirees in the event of a company’s insolvency, it could […]
In January, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities established a new committee with a mandate to develop a risk management guidance. In the CAPSA’s view, by having an adequate system for managing risks, “plan administrators are better positioned to keep pension assets safe and protect the plan from adverse risks.” Coinciding with this initiative, […]
U.S. President Joe Biden is announcing the infusion of nearly US$36 billion to shore up a financially troubled union pension plan, preventing severe cuts to the retirement incomes of more than 350,000 Teamster workers and retirees across the U.S. The money for the Central States Pension Fund is the largest amount of federal aid provided […]
The average discount rate used by Canadian defined benefit pension plans at the end of 2021 was 0.5 per cent higher than the previous year, according to an annual report from LifeWorks Inc. Drawing from figures submitted by 83 Canadian public DB plans, the report found the average plan used a three per cent discount […]
While pension plan administrators know about their plan members’ employment history and salaries, they may not expect to learn much about their personal lives, including how often they text their spouse or whether they have family dinners every night. However, in most jurisdictions, the spouse of a defined benefit plan member is entitled to a joint […]
An article on the potential impacts of a pension super-priority bill was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Pension super-priority bill passes in House of Commons 2. Ontario municipality establishing six-week indoor mask requirement for city employees 3. CIBC supporting employee health with wellness […]
The Saskatchewan government is introducing amendments to its pension legislation that provide additional flexibility for plan sponsors and introduce new decumulation options for members of defined contribution plans. The bill, which passed first reading in provincial parliament last week, includes provisions for DC plan sponsors to offer advanced life deferred annuities and variable payment lifetime […]