Unionized employees at the Globe and Mail could be on strike by midnight Wednesday over disputes with the newspaper around pensions, benefits and a gender wage gap. The 320 employees, who are members of Unifor Local 87-M, include reporters, editors, circulation, operations and advertising sales staff. They gave the bargaining committee a 94 per cent strike […]
It’s a constant challenge for employers to ensure their plan members understand and appreciate the pension and benefits programs available to them. It isn’t easy, but employers stand a better chance of success when the information is meaningful and relevant. The marketing and retail industries have been doing it for ages, to the point where personalization isn’t […]
Using a Canada-model pension plan, employees would see $5.32 in retirement income for every dollar they contribute compared to the typical $1.70 resulting from an individual approach, according to a new report by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The report, The Value of a Good Pension, divides Canadian retirement options into five distinct types: an individual […]
For the first time since the Financial Services Commission of Ontario began monitoring defined benefit pension solvency in 2009, the province’s DB plans posted a median solvency ratio above 100 per cent in the third quarter of 2018. As of Sept. 30, the solvency ratio reached 101 per cent, up from 97 per cent the previous quarter. […]
The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities has released a draft revision of its guideline No. 2, which looks at electronic communication in the pension industry. The guideline was initially set out in February 2002 to help pension plan administrators and members apply new electronic commerce legislation to communications required under pension legislation. In the CAPSA’s initial consultations to develop […]
An accounting indexation error by Veterans Affairs Canada has deprived thousands of veterans of indexation increases to their monthly disability pension, according to Canada’s veterans Ombudsman. The office of the veterans ombudsman uncovered the error, which could total around $165 million for the period of 2003 and 2010, when it analyzed the math behind the implementation […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median return of 0.42 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing’s universe of 81 corporate, public and university plans. While not as robust as the previous quarters, the gains mark the tenth straight positive quarter, with the universe posting a one-year median return […]
These days, peace of mind is hard to come by, but the employers at the 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards roundtable centred their discussion around the many ways they can positively contribute towards their workforces’ mental, physical and financial health, particularly when it comes to absenteeism and improving return-to-work processes. “We know that if people are […]
Perseverance, communication and innovation are just a few of the words used to describe Jeff Aarssen. Aarsseen, the recently retired vice-president of group customer sales at Great-West Life Assurance Co., received the award for industry leadership at Benefits Canada’s 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards in Toronto on Oct. 11. “It’s very meaningful, personally,” says Aarssen. “It means that 38 […]
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford is pledging his support for Ontario steelworkers and their pensions in the wake of the United States’ government’s 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel. In an announcement last week to Algoma Steel Inc. employees in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Ford said the provincial government would be helping in the form of regulatory relief from […]