With the Muslim population steadily growing in Canada, employers that offer defined contribution pension plans can avoid unintentionally creating a pension gap by providing these members with access to retirement savings solutions that align with their faith. Under Shariah law, Muslims can’t hold investments that would bring social or environmental harm, such as shares in […]
Just over half (56 per cent) of Americans feel on track for retirement, an 11 per cent drop in confidence compared to 2022, according to a new survey by BlackRock Inc. The survey, which polled more than 450 large defined contribution pension plan sponsors, 1,200 workplace retirement plan savers, 1,300 independent savers and 300 retired […]
While more than half (55 per cent) of U.S. generation X employees participate in an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan, nearly two-thirds of men (62 per cent) and women (64 per cent) participating in these plans say they’ve saved less than 10 per cent of their retirement savings target, according to a new report by the […]
The U.K. government is introducing legislation that aims to increase defined contribution pension plan savings by more than £1,000 a year in retirement for the average plan member. The legislation will commit nine of the U.K.’s largest DC plan providers to an objective of allocating five per cent of assets in their default funds to […]
Predictions of the demise of defined benefit pension plans are premature. The reality is DB is still alive and well in the public sector, with a growing number of multi-employer plans making the promise of financial certainty in retirement provided by DB pensions available to private sector employers of all sizes. What’s under threat is […]
High inflation and interest rates are having a real impact on people’s finances, according to Benefits Canada‘s 2023 CAP Member Survey, which found 76 per cent of capital accumulation plan members say inflation is negatively impacting their financial situation, while 59 per cent say the same about interest rates. For many people, the day-to-day cost […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is asking the federal government to consider changes in proposed amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Act and Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, including retaining the definition of defined benefit provision and expanding access to pooled registered pension plans. In an open letter, the ACPM noted the government’s proposed […]
At the beginning of April, the OPSEU Pension Trust made a change to a definition in its plan text that will have meaningful implications for plan members with disabled children who need to continue to rely on their parents into adulthood. The organization expanded the definition of a child eligible for survivor benefits to include […]
When Alaska switched its public education employees from two defined benefit pension plans to a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, more staff left their positions, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. The report benchmarks retirement benefit offerings among state-level plans in Alaska and nationwide, analyzing the evolution of public pension […]
More than half (58 per cent) of U.S. employees say outliving their assets is their greatest fear in retirement, according to a new survey by Cerulli Associates. While the percentage is even higher for near-retiree and retiree generations (generation X and baby boomers), longevity risk is the greatest concern across all generations. As a result, […]