Pension plan administrators should get used to dealing with requests for their actuarial documents while lawyers duke it out over just how confidential they are, according to a pension lawyer. Natasha Monkman, a pension lawyer at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, says plan administrators have traditionally viewed financial information filed with their provincial regulators […]
Despite British Columbia’s introduction of provisions for target-benefit pension plans in 2015, a report from the province’s regulator suggests the option has seen a slow uptake. Only 30 pension plans with target-benefit components were registered as of Dec. 31, 2016, according to a report released by the Financial Institutions Commission of British Columbia on Wednesday. Many of […]
Legislation requires a defined benefit pension plan to provide members leaving active service with the option of transferring out the lump-sum commuted value of their accrued account, instead of receiving a monthly lifetime pension at retirement. However, this portability option isn’t a requirement if members are eligible for retirement at the time they leave employment. […]
New draft regulations published in Quebec this summer address policies around annuity purchases for defined benefit pension plans for the first time. Industry stakeholders have been expecting the province’s regulations, which are currently under consultation, since Jan. 1, 2016, when Quebec implemented legislative changes that replaced its solvency regime with enhanced going-concern funding rules and required […]
Public pension plans have received flak over the years, with critics calling for greater transparency around liabilities and fairness for taxpayers. The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses launched a campaign back in 2011 to raise awareness about public pensions and their cost to Canadians. According to the CFIB, public servants already earn more every year […]
With research showing that Canadian women are at greater risk of experiencing poverty during their senior years, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan is asking policy-makers to address pension risks that leave the group vulnerable to financial instability in retirement. As part of a research series that examines senior poverty in Canada, the pension plan […]
Public pension plans are beneficial to taxpayers, according to a new report that suggests tax revenues created through retiree spending and pension investments may actually exceed what the public pays into them. The report, from a series by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems in Washington, looks into several arguments used to discredit public pension funds […]
While the motion by Sears Canada Inc. retirees to force a windup of the company’s pension plan is in line with a significant body of jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada, that’s not to say there’s any certainty of success. Ultimately, the decision is in the hands of an Ontario Superior Court judge, who enjoys wide discretion. […]
The dispute over the fate of the pensions of Sears Canada Inc. retirees and employees will be back on the agenda this week as lawyers go to court to seek the windup of the company’s defined benefit plan. Last week, counsel for the employees and retirees filed a motion seeking a plan windup as they […]
Among those with the most to worry about when a company as big as Sears Canada Inc. enters restructuring proceedings are the members of the pension plan. In the case of Sears employees, the company has a significant shortfall in its defined benefit pension plan despite closing it to new entrants in 2008. According to […]