To find value in a competitive infrastructure market filled with dry powder, plan sponsors can look beyond equity and senior debt, focusing instead on junior infrastructure debt, according to Claire Smith, alternatives director at Schroders. “Canadian pension funds are no stranger to infrastructure equity investment, but we’ve seen valuations in this market getting higher,” she […]
In an increasingly challenging investment and regulatory environment, many pension plans are looking to a new model, delegating key investment management and service activities to third-party providers, said Ivor Krol, vice-president and lead of the institutional portfolio solutions group at Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management. Speaking at the 2018 Defined Benefit Investment Forum in […]
While many pension plan sponsors are moving away from defined benefit plans and favouring more affordable defined contribution structures, a new option for plans is merging the management of their assets and liabilities with larger plans. Since 2016, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa and, most recently, Torstar Corp. have merged […]
Belonging to an employer-sponsored pension plan can help boost returns on workers’ outside investments, according to new research by Statistics Canada. Although previous research examined how membership in a pension can affect how much employees save, Statistics Canada sought to understand the potential effects on generated returns. To that end, it analyzed the relationship between pension coverage […]
Any modifications to federal pension legislation should encourage plan sponsors to continue offering defined benefit pension plans, while helping them fulfil their pension promises to plan members, according to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. “Fulfilling pension promises is especially important for those plan members who can least afford the risk of benefit reductions, such as those with […]
While a defined benefit pension plan’s main goal is to provide steady income for retirees, in doing so they also provide substantial benefits to local, state and national economies, according to a report by U.S.-based National Institute on Retirement Security. In 2016, retired Americans received US$578 billion in pension benefits with $294.7 billion paid to retired state and […]
The Corporation of the City of York employee pension plan is merging with the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. The City of York plan is one of five defined benefit plans sponsored by the City of Toronto. It covers 83 retired members and 79 survivor pensioners. Its latest valuation showed that, as of Dec. 31, 2017, it had […]
Three lawsuits were filed in December by the parties seeking the best possible outcome for former Sears Canada Inc. employees with regard to the funding deficit of their defined benefit pension plan. Collectively, the suits were filed by the monitor in the Sears Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings; the Hon. Douglas Cunningham, the litigation trustee appointed by the CCAA court; […]
The solvency positions of Canadian defined benefit pension plans declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 after experiencing gains in the first nine months of the year, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The median solvency ratio dropped to 95 per cent at the end of 2018 from 102 per cent at the end of […]
Veterans Affairs is being accused of avoiding consultations with veterans after introducing details of its Pensions for Life program. The new pension plan, taking effect April 2019, will save the government money in the short term, and reduce the compensation awarded to many disabled soldiers. During the first four years of the plan, Ottawa will pay […]