The Pension Investment Association of Canada is calling out Ontario’s proposed defined benefit solvency funding framework for its lack of solvency reserve account structures, a model that exists in the regulatory landscapes in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec. In a letter to Charles Sousa, the province’s minister of finance, the association’s chair Brenda King notes it has advocated in favour […]
The median solvency ratio for Canadian defined benefit pension plans dropped slightly in February as equity markets stalled, falling to 99.8 per cent from 101.3 per cent in January, according to Aon’s monthly survey. January’s solvency ratio was the highest since 2002, noted the survey. However, nearly half (49.6 per cent) of plans were more than fully funded […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds fell to $1.77 trillion in the third quarter of 2017, down from $1.8 trillion in the second quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada. While the figure was down 0.6 per cent compared to the previous quarter, it was up three per cent from the […]
Net returns in defined benefit pension plans were higher than net returns in defined contribution plans by an average of 0.46 per cent annually over the last 10 years, according to new research by CEM Benchmarking Inc. That compares to the 1.8 per cent difference the last time the organization compared the performance, for the period […]
Carleton University employees are beginning job action Monday morning in defence of their defined benefit pension plan. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents some 900 administrative, technical and library staff, is arguing that the university is attempting to strip pension language from its employees’ collective agreement. “Throughout bargaining, Carleton has placed obstacles in the path […]
The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan’s funded status has grown to 118 per cent, up from 113 per cent last year. According to its actuarial valuation at Jan. 1, 2018, the plan reached a funding reserve of $2.3 billion and is allocating this surplus to strengthen its benefit and contribution stability as a cushion […]
Referring to Sears Canada Inc.’s recent pension issues, the government announced in its 2018 budget it would seek feedback from pensioners, employees and companies in the coming months to determine options to better address retirement security for Canadians. “All Canadians deserve more peace of mind when it comes to their retirement and companies must act in good faith towards […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is urging Ontario to take an actuarial approach to its proposed changes for the pension benefits guarantee fund. The province has proposed increasing the guarantee provided by the fund to $1,500 per month from $1,000. In a wider submission to the province’s Ministry of Finance on the proposed new funding rules for defined […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System saw its net investment return rise to 11.5 per cent at the end of 2017, compared to 10.3 per cent at the end of 2016 and a benchmark of 7.3 per cent. Its investments generated almost $10 billion in net investment income during the year, with net assets increasing to $95 billion […]
Investors are putting risk at the centre of their asset allocation decisions — and that’s good news. The trouble is, the risk models they’re using aren’t up to the task. So says Sebastien Page, head of global multi-asset at T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Despite shortcomings with the current models, he believes there are solutions to help investors […]