Very few American pension funds are incorporating environmental, social and governance issues, according to a new survey by NEPC Investment Consultants. Just 12 per cent of participants said they’re incorporating ESG factors into their investment manager selection process, while 59 per cent said they aren’t and 29 per cent said they aren’t but they’re interested in doing so. The majority […]
The real solution for missing pension plan members is the establishment of a regime that allows plan sponsors to turn over unclaimed balances to a public agency, according to the Pension Investment Association of Canada. “The inability of a plan sponsor to discharge its fiduciary duty for un-locatable members is a function of a public policy […]
Delta Air Lines Inc. employees in Canada, represented by the United Steelworkers union, have ratified a new five-year contract, which includes maintaining their defined benefit plan and improvements to their paramedical and vision benefits. “This contract represents a great achievement for our members and for our bargaining committee,” said Steven Hadden, president of the United Steelworkers, […]
This series of articles examines some actionable ideas to help plan administrators meet the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ guideline No. 4. Following on from the previous article, which looked at the first five principles of this guideline, this one will cover the next five principles around pension governance. Principle 6: Governance information The sixth principle recommends that […]
Sears Canada Inc. retirees, through Koskie Minsky LLP, filed a motion in court on Friday seeking the retailer’s remaining cash to help fund their pension shortfall. While the plan’s deficit sits at $260 million, the company currently holds about $135 million, according to a recent report by FTI Consulting Canada Inc., the court appointed monitor for the retailer’s insolvency. If the […]
After several months of negotiations between Nova Scotia’s East Coast Credit Union and Unifor, 44 employees have voted in favour of strike action over the proposed closure of their defined benefit plan. The credit union is proposing to close the pension to new entrants and then wind it up over 10 years, according to president and chief executive officer Ken […]
Hourly workers at Compass Minerals International Inc.’s mine in Goderich, Ont. have voted in favour of a new collective agreement that allows them to maintain their previous pension and benefits. The vote, by members of Unifor Local 16-O, has put an end to a 12-week strike at the salt mine. The three-year deal also includes a 2.5 […]
Until recently, Alberta common-law couples that were splitting up couldn’t divide their pension assets, even if both parties wanted to. This changed in April 2018, after the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta heard Lubianesky v. Gazdag. It determined the provision of the Employment Pension Plans Act that prevented such division was unconstitutional. In 2015, two […]
The National Pension Hub is awarding funding to three research projects, focusing on themes like portfolio construction and plan design. The hub, which the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services created in October 2017, is a Canadian centre for pension knowledge and research. One research project, which will be led by Stephen Bonnar, a post-doctoral fellow, and Douglas […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a higher median solvency ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2018 in comparison to earlier in the year, according to new data from Aon. The median solvency ratio reached 100.2 per cent, which was up from 98.7 per cent in the first quarter of the year. […]