The market value of Canadian employer-sponsored pension plans grew 3.9 per cent to a total of $1.7 trillion in the third quarter of 2016, nearly doubling the increase of 1.8 per cent in the second quarter of the year, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The survey examined a sample of 144 defined benefit, […]
The College of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan was 113.3 per cent funded on a going-reserve basis as of Jan. 1, 2017, according to its latest actuarial valuation, representing a 2.6 per cent increase from last year’s funded status. The valuation assumes members who are currently retiring will live to age 89. The […]
In its latest round of negotiations with Canada Post, the Union of Postal Communications Employees, a division of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, is fighting for defined benefit pensions for all of its members. “We believe that [defined contribution] does very little for the plan itself but has significant impact on our members’ retirement security,” […]
The financial health of Canadian defined benefit pension plans improved again in February as buoyant stock markets offset the impact of moderating bond yields, according to Aon Hewitt’s monthly pension plan solvency survey. The survey, which is based on the results of defined benefit pension plans administered by the organization, found median solvency stood at […]
Newly-elected members of the House of Assembly in Newfoundland and Labrador could be moved out of their defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution pension plan instead. On Monday, the Liberal caucus chair Randy Edmunds sent a letter to speaker Tom Osborne suggesting the province’s House of Assembly Management Commission explore moving to a […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System improved its net investment return to 10.3 per cent at the end of 2016 compared to 6.7 per cent at the end of 2015, citing a strong performance from its public investments. The pension fund increased its net assets to $85.2 billion in 2016 from $77.1 billion in 2015, […]
The interest in pension funding rules is as great as ever, with changes taking effect in Quebec in 2016 and a review of funding rules in Ontario currently underway. For plan sponsors, members and other interested parties that would like to have a better understanding of how defined benefit pension funding rules work, it’s useful […]
Manitoba should initiate an overall pension funding reform review similar to other provinces rather than continuing to rely on temporary solvency relief measures, according to Kevin Fahey, chair of the Pension Investment Association of Canada. In a letter to Linda Buchanan, acting superintendent of pensions at the province’s pension commission, Fahey’s comments and recommendations stem […]
Longevity for Canadian pensioners is lower than anticipated, which could be costing defined benefit plan sponsors, according to new research by Club Vita Canada Inc. The longevity analytics firm and subsidiary of Eckler Ltd. found Canadian male pensioners are living about 1.5 years less than expected from age 65, while female pensioners are living about […]
When General Electric Co. acquired French multinational Alstom’s energy activities in November 2015, the transaction was via a stock purchase. That meant the whole division joined GE, including six defined benefit pension plans. “We notified employees and applied for regulatory approval to merge the legacy Alstom DB plans into our primary GE Canada DB plan,” […]