While estimating the longevity of a pension plan’s membership isn’t a new concept, developments in using big data and new tools in predictive modelling could go a long way to making predictions more accurate. “Traditionally, most benefit plans were using standard mortality tables and not really differentiating how much longevity risk they had,” says Manuel […]
The government of Nova Scotia is making changes to its Pension Benefits Act with the aim of offering greater flexibility for defined benefit plan sponsors. The changes include the introduction of reserve accounts, the removal of the current limits on the use of letters of credit, as well as allowing for the discharge of liability when a plan […]
Buy-in and buyout annuity sales hit their highest level in Canadian history in 2018, reaching $4.5 billion, an increase of $800 million over 2017, according to data from Eckler Ltd. The purchases represent a 20 per cent increase in the volume of group annuities bought by Canadian pension plans, year over year. Buy-in annuities, which made up more than […]
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan grew its assets to $79 billion in 2018, up from $77.8 billion at the end of 2017. However, the plan’s funded status fell slightly to 121 per cent, down from 122 per cent the previous year. It eked out a positive 2.17 per cent return in 2018, beating its benchmark, which returned […]
Despite repeated promises to fix the mess, the number of veterans waiting to find out whether they qualify for disability benefits has continued to grow, and there are fears the turmoil will only worsen in the coming weeks. New figures from Veterans Affairs Canada show nearly 40,000 veterans were waiting at the end of November […]
Wabush Mines pensioners in Newfoundland and Quebec will see some reversal of the pension cuts that went into effect when the operations’ parent company filed for creditor protection in 2015. When Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. shuttered Canadian operations, it left the defined benefit pension plan underfunded, subjecting pensioners to a benefits cut of more than 20 per […]
In Ontario’s new defined benefit plan funding rules, the provisions for adverse deviation should be based on the plan’s asset mix, and a riskier asset mix should naturally require a higher PfAD, according to the Association of Canadian Pension Management’s submission to the provincial Ministry of Finance. “Using that logic and an understanding that fixed-income […]
The single-employer defined benefit model doesn’t work for the university sector for one clear reason, says Cynthia Messenger, president of the University of Toronto’s Faculty Association. “The model is flawed in one crucial way,” she says. “When the plan accrues debt, the university administration must repay that debt to the pension plan. And the only […]
Group annuity sales in Canada topped out at a record high of $4.6 billion in 2018, beating 2017’s sales of $3.7 billion, according to the latest data from Sun Life Financial. This represents an acceleration in the market, which had been on the rise, with 2014’s sales hitting $2.5 billion. Strong sales in the last quarter […]
The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1975 is calling for an immediate meeting with the University of Saskatchewan’s board of governors to a find a resolution to the bargaining unrest on campus, which includes issues around the pension plan. The university is proposing to eliminate the current defined benefit plan and replace it with a defined contribution […]