Pension plan administrators’ overall satisfaction with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is on the rise, according to a new survey. The survey, commissioned by OSFI and conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc., sought perspectives on the regulator, including the usefulness of its guidance, its effectiveness at identifying problems with pension plans, the clarity […]
Quebec has passed its bill eliminating disparities in pension and supplementary group benefits plans. The bill was passed on Tuesday with a number of additions to the province’s labour standards, including the following paragraph: “Any distinction made solely on the basis of a hiring date, in relation to pension plans or other employee benefits, that affects employees performing […]
Lower bond yields and mixed markets drove down the median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit plans in May, according to Aon’s monthly survey. On June 1, 2018, the median solvency ratio stood at 100 per cent, a drop of 1.7 percentage points since the end of April. Half (51 per cent) of the plans surveyed were […]
Canadian group annuity sales reached an estimated $1 billion in the first quarter of 2018, according to Willis Towers Watson’s quarterly update. The significant volume of activity is largely due to a single large transaction. Recently, Alcoa Corp. completed an annuity buyout worth more than $700 million for about 2,100 pension plan members across Canada. […]
The reduction in government benefits (38 per cent), life expectancy (27 per cent) and volatility in financial markets (24 per cent) are the most frequently cited trends affecting people’s plans for retirement around the world, according to Aegon’s latest annual retirement readiness survey. The findings are based on the responses of 14,400 workers and 1,600 […]
In comparing the Canada Pension Plan to private pensions, a new study finds the latter face more regulatory hurdles, are more complex and face higher costs as a result. The study by the Fraser Institute reviewed the different regulations governing the CPP in comparison to other plans, including private and public sector pensions, registered retirement […]
As part of a comprehensive plan review, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is looking at a number of changes, including to indexing provisions. While a plan executive is offering a more nuanced version of the issue, the Canadian Union of Public Employees union is sounding the alarm about possible changes. Read: Boosted by public equities, […]
A new report by the C.D. Howe Institute says taxpayers are on the hook for the unfunded liability of pension plans for federal employees. In the report, authors William Robson and Alexandre Laurin argue that official figures for federal pension obligations understate future costs and leave many plans seriously underfunded. “The federal government in particular presents […]
United Steelworkers union members in western Labrador have ratified a five-year collective agreement that includes increases to medical benefits, pensions and wages. More than 1,300 union members who work for the Iron Ore Co. of Canada will return to work after a nine-week strike. “Our members are the people who work hard every day and […]
Blue Pier is introducing a new customized, fully outsourced workplace pension plan to encourage all employers to offer retirement savings programs to their employees. The product allows employers to choose the plan design, including defined benefit, defined contribution, target benefit and hybrid options. They then enrol staff and make contributions, while Blue Pier will manage the plan, […]