The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted a median return of 3.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. The report, which tracks performance and asset allocation across Canadian DB plans, credited the positive investment return to the strong performance of equities. Read: Average […]
The union representing more than 600 employees at GreenShield Canada in Toronto and Windsor, Ont. has ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains, ending a strike that began on March 1. The agreement includes a $1.50 increase to the defined benefit pension plan for each year, bringing employees from a $71 […]
The funded ratio of U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans declined to 98.5 per cent in fiscal 2023 from 99.4 per cent in 2022, according to a new report by Milliman Inc. The report, which reviews the financial disclosures of the 100 largest U.S. public corporate DB plans, found their average return on investments was […]
An Ontario Superior Court ruling that allowed IBM Canada Ltd. to retrospectively rectify drafting errors that created unintended additional pension benefits for employees on disability leave augurs well for plan sponsors seeking similar relief going forward. “The case clarifies that there is a specific test for rectification of pension plans and other unilateral instruments, which […]
The Workplace Insurance and Safety Employees Trust generated a net return of 7.9 per cent in 2023, with net assets reaching $4 billion, up from $3.8 billion in 2022, according to its latest report. In a press release, Christopher Brown, WISE Trust’s chief executive officer, said the results are a testament to its partnership with […]
In its 2024 budget on Tuesday, the federal government announced a new working group dedicated to encouraging increased domestic investments by Canadian institutional investors. Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is being tasked to lead an organization that will identify priority investment opportunities in the country for the more than $3 trillion held by […]
The New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System and Board of Education Retirement System signed an agreement with the Royal Bank of Canada to publicly disclose its financing ratio of low-carbon energy to fossil fuels. The investment organizations are mandating RBC, as well as Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., to adhere […]
Nearly half (47 per cent) of U.S. millennials are moderately confident in their ability to accumulate enough retirement savings, according to a new survey by software company Iralogix Inc. The survey, which polled more than 500 workers between the ages of 28 and 43, found 29 per cent said they have no confidence in their […]
The total premium of U.S. pension risk transfer sales reached US$12.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 53 per cent increase from the same period in 2022, according to a report by LIMRA. It found that pension risk transfer sales totalled $45.8 billion in 2023, down 13 per cent from 2022. There were […]
A renewed call for increased domestic investments by Canadian pension plans isn’t surprising amid an ongoing discussion around the role of investment organizations in supporting the economy, says Malcolm Hamilton, a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. “I think it’s very natural for Canadian businesses . . . [that] focus on the Canadian economy, not […]