While a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw negative investment returns in March, it also improved on a solvency and accounting basis, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. Last month, the typical DB pension plan used in LifeWork’s monthly pension indices saw investments dip in value by 0.4 per cent as a […]
In the fall of 2021, 39-year-old Krista Lehman quit her job as a program assistant at a Vancouver post-secondary institution to take a mental-health break and pursue other career options. When it came to her defined benefit pension plan, her employer’s human resources department provided her with a package that offered her the choice of […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds rose 1.8 per cent to $2.18 trillion in the third quarter of 2021, up from $2.14 trillion in the previous quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Within trusteed plans, public sector assets grew two per cent to $1.7 trillion, accounting for 77.6 per cent of […]
This month marks the two-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus a global pandemic. In some ways, we’ve come a long way since then, but in others, we’re hovering close to where it all started. One thing is for sure: the pandemic continues to create a through line in Benefits Canada’s content […]
After navigating the unpredictable markets of the past two decades, some defined benefit pension plan sponsors could be forgiven for wanting to seek out some certainty. But a new threat has emerged in the form of rapidly rising inflation and the possibility of rate increases after decades of persistent lows. The consumer price index increased […]
Right from the very beginning, the coronavirus pandemic has taken Canadian real estate investors on a wild ride. After the freefalling panic of March 2020, the sector settled into a relatively comfortable rhythm and undulated through several waves of the virus, saving one of its steeper peaks and troughs for the tail end of 2021. […]
In certifying a pension class action by Brewers Retail Inc., an Ontario Superior Court judge denounced the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario for defying a decision of its predecessor, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. Justice Ed Morgan certified the class on Feb. 10, 2022, setting the stage for a settlement approval hearing. In […]
The second year of the coronavirus pandemic offered defined benefit pension plan sponsors a reprieve from the chaos sown in financial markets during its first year. “A lot of pension plans ended up roughly where they started in 2020, but it was a very bumpy road,” says Gavin Benjamin, a retirement and financial solutions partner […]
Target-benefit plans are being hampered by a disconnect between how they’re regulated and how they’re managed, according to a new report for the C.D. Howe Institute. In the report, Barry Gros, a retired actuary and chair of the pension board at the University of British Columbia’s staff pension plan, reviewed how target-benefit plans are managed, how […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System returned 15.7 per cent for 2021, a significant increase on its 2020 return. In its annual report, the OMERS said four key factors drove the outperformance relative to its benchmark, which was 6.6 per cent — its portfolio of public equities returned 20.7 per cent; its private equity businesses grew […]