A bill intended to provide defined benefit pension plan members with super-priority in the event of a plan sponsor’s insolvency passed in the House of Commons last week, furthering division among stakeholders on whether the legislation will cause more harm than good in the long term. The Association of Canadian Pension Management, the Canadian Chamber of […]
An article on the FIRE — financial independence and retiring early — concept was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Is the concept of financial independence and early retirement truly feasible? 2. Expert panel: Can pension administrators deny benefits to plan members who don’t […]
A recent Ontario Divisional Court ruling serves as a caution that employers’ prior conduct may prohibit them from amending pension plans even when the collective agreement clearly allows them to do so. “The takeaway from the decision is that employers’ discretion to amend plans will always be subject to labour law principles in cases that […]
In August, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the U.K. Department for Works and Pensions cut off state pension payments to several expatriate pensioners living in Canada due to their failure to complete and return forms to prove they were still alive. However, the report also found many of these retirees never received the forms […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario has released its final pension deregistration guidance, which identifies the documents, information and timeframes that are required under exemptions from the Pension Benefits Act to avoid a plan’s deregistration under the Income Tax Act. Maintaining ITA registration will permit the pension plan and its members to continue to […]
More than two-thirds (70 per cent) of millennials say they aren’t saving enough for retirement, while 27 per cent aren’t able to save any money, according to a new survey by Edward Jones Canada. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 employees aged 18 and older, found millennials were most likely to cite debt (21 […]
When Saskatchewan’s Public Employees Pension Plan’s board introduced alternatives to its investment lineup in 2020 with an aim to improve the defined contribution plan’s risk-adjusted returns through diversification, it wasn’t its first time at the rodeo. The move came after 15 years of experience and comfort with alternatives through the PEPP’s defined benefit companion plan, […]
Alain Malaket has a nuanced perspective on risk — one informed by his experiences as a third-party administrator, pension regulator, consultant, pension plan director and motorcyclist. Today, InBenefits’ chief executive officer’s perspective informs his interest in alternative pension models. Put simply, he believes people don’t make the best decisions about safeguarding their futures. It’s a […]
In its fall economic statement, the Ontario government said it will ask stakeholders to provide feedback this winter on a draft framework for target-benefit pension plans. “Implementation of a permanent target-benefit framework would pave the way for more employers to offer workplace pension plans, increasing the opportunities for workers to save for their retirement,” said the […]
The Canadian Federation of Pensioners is taking issue with some of the Alberta government’s proposed legislative and policy updates for private sector pension laws, including a focus on transferring pension risk from plan sponsors to plan members. In its response to the provincial regulator’s consultation draft, the CFP said transferring this risk would be a significant […]