Like most 19-year-olds, Gary Howe didn’t pay a great deal of attention to his pension entitlements when he signed up with Stelco Inc. as an apprentice industrial mechanic at its landmark plant in Hamilton, Ont. “At that age, I was more interested in my wages and how much cash I would have in my pocket,” […]
Forget the buzz around new target-benefit legislation. Multi-employer pension plans were here first, starting about 50 years ago. Particularly common in unionized, mobile workforces such as the construction and entertainment industries, most multi-employer plans essentially function as target benefits “because they do have the ability to reduce accrued benefits,” says Mike Mazzuca, a partner at Koskie […]
More than a year after its implementation, Quebec’s shift to going-concern funding obligations for defined benefit pension plans has already led to some positive results for employers. “On average, in our experience, employers’ costs have been reduced by 40 per cent,” says Natasha Monkman, a pension and benefits lawyer at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie […]
The Ontario government should include surpluses from two of its jointly sponsored pension plans in its financial statements, an expert advisory panel recommended on Monday. “Simply because you and your friend own this property together, are you going to leave your share of that rental property off your net worth statement as an asset? I doubt […]
Ten Canadian pension funds are among the top 100 global private equity investors, according to a new report by data and intelligence company Preqin. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was ranked No. 1 while the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, at No. 6 and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, at No. 7, […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median gain of 5.3 per cent in 2016, according to findings by Northern Trust Co. Canada. “The net gain in pension returns, coupled with rising bond yields, had a positive impact on Canadian pension funding levels in 2016,” Arti Sharma, head of Northern Trust Canada, said in a […]
CAA South Central Ontario will share the lessons learned during its transition to a defined contribution pension plans at the 2017 Benefits and Pension Summit in Toronto on April 11-12. The organization transitioned to a defined contribution arrangement in 2013. In the following three years, the organization focused on the defined contribution plan it introduced […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans closed out 2016 with an annual return of 6.8 per cent, up from 5.4 per cent in 2015, according to a new report by RBC Investor and Treasury Services. “Against a challenging economic and market backdrop at the outset of 2016, Canadian pension plans generated an impressive overall performance, with […]
At a time when 11 million Canadians don’t have a workplace pension plan, it makes good sense for those who do to learn about their pension and how to make the most of it. The trouble is it’s pretty hard to get most people under the age of 50 to take an interest in their […]
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton went back to the basics of budgeting and planning when it hosted a recent series of financial education sessions for employees. The idea to run the sessions this fall came from reports on the hospital’s employee assistance program, according to Marlene Hall, director of human resources. “Of the work-life services, the second […]