Large and small, pension plan sponsors are adopting in-house tools, partnering with technology research institutes or relying on investment managers for technological support with asset allocation, risk management and other aspects of investment management. The growing interest coincides with an increasingly complex investment, demographic and regulatory landscape. A 2020 Deloitte report on the importance of […]
While McGill University has factored decumulation into its pension plan for decades, the plan sponsor is continually fine tuning these strategies for members, said John D’Agata, the university’s director of pension and benefits, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. McGill’s pension plan has more than $1.5 billion in assets and more than 9,500 […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is investing in a wireless communications infrastructure company. Diamond Communications, which specializes in developing wireless network facilities to enhance internet and cellular services in remote regions, owns and manages a network of 300,000 wireless infrastructure sites in Canada and the U.S. It also owns 4,000 sites rented by internet service […]
An article on Bill C-228 receiving royal assent was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Controversial super-priority pension bill receives royal assent 2. PSAC, government tentative agreement includes new protections around remote work, wage increases 3. FHSA may work best in conjunction with group […]
The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan’s funded status dipped from 82.5 per cent to 75.1 per cent on a going-concern basis in 2022, according to its annual report. The decrease in the funded ratio year over year was due to the asset losses in 2022 and to the fact the plan’s discount rate was maintained […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging Retraite Québec to streamline its approach to actuarial solvency valuations for pension plans with members outside of the province. In an open letter, the ACPM requested the regulator either reconsiders its position on actuarial solvency valuations or grant exemptions to allow only one valuation to be carried […]
As countries seek to reach net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2050, demand for buildings to be retrofit to improve energy efficiency will more than double, according to a new report from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan that highlights several aspects of its sustainable investment strategy. “The good news is that the expertise and technology required […]
In its 2023 budget, the federal government announced plans to require that federally regulated pension plan sponsors disclose their cryptocurrency asset exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The government has yet to announce how the pension disclosure requirements will be implemented. “Just how these guidelines will affect standards of governance or regulatory […]
Alcoa Corp. is de-risking roughly $315 million (US$235 million) in Canadian defined benefit pension obligations and assets with an annuity transfer. The group annuity contracts will be executed by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., which will assume payments for roughly 500 participants in September, according to a press release. Read: Alcoa entering $1BN […]
What’s in a name? A pension by any other name would smell as sweet — or would it? I started writing this month’s Pension Feature as an exercise to sift through some of the terms used by the pension industry to describe the different types of plans, but also to answer the question: Does the […]