The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds rose to $1.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, up from about $1.85 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The increase represents a rise of three per cent from the fourth quarter of 2017 and 5.7 per […]
The federal government has agreed in principle to pay $100 million to settle a four-year lawsuit with veterans who say they were discriminated against when the government deducted their disability pensions from the income-replacement benefits they received from Veterans Affairs Canada. The veterans initially filed the lawsuit in 2014, saying the government violated the section of […]
A court-appointed monitor for the Sears Canada bankruptcy process says it opposes a proposal that would effectively allocate all the failed retailer’s remaining assets to the company’s underfunded pensions. FTI Consulting argued in a Sept. 7 filing to Ontario Superior Court that the pension proposal should be dismissed due to legislation and case law. A petition […]
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is having déjà vu. After closing its defined benefit plan to new members in 2013 and introducing a defined contribution component, the organization is now reversing course completely, closing its DC plan at the end of 2017 and re-opening its DB plan to all employees on Jan. 1, 2018. […]
Canada rose two spots to No. 9 among 43 countries in Natixis Investment Managers’ 2018 global retirement index. The modest rise in Canada’s ranking is attributed to improving economic conditions and environmental factors, according to the report, which also points to several factors — low interest rates, growing levels of public debt, aging populations and […]
Gains from U.S. equities and shrinking liabilities led to healthier Canadian defined benefit pension plans at the beginning of September, according to Aon’s latest data. Its median solvency ratio, which tracks the plans it administers, rose one percentage point since Aug. 1, 2018, to 102.9 per cent. The number of plans that are fully funded also rose […]
As Air Canada seeks approval from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to form its own life insurance company, bringing it one step closer to the annuities market, will this move become a trend for large organizations with looming pension payouts? In an email to Benefits Canada, a spokesperson from the airline said the move is […]
In response to its new defined benefit pension funding regime, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario has developed a chart illustrating the rules applicable in five scenarios, based on valuation and filing dates. The new regime, which took effect on May 1, 2018, includes: shortening the amortization period to 10 years from 15 years for funding a […]
The federal government’s proposed framework for unclaimed pension balances is fundamentally flawed, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. In a letter to the department of finance, Ronald Sanderson, director of policyholder taxation and pensions at the CLHIA, said transferring unclaimed pension balances to a designated entity should be optional rather than mandatory. […]
The Weyerhaeuser Co. is putting in action a number of steps to reduce its U.S. defined benefit pension liabilities while maintaining the plan’s current funded status. First, the Seattle-based timberland company will offer select plan members the opportunity to take an immediate lump-sum distribution, which will be paid from plan assets during the fourth quarter of […]