After a tough couple of years, Canadians continue to face several challenges against an increasingly turbulent economic landscape. While most coronavirus restrictions were lifted in late spring 2022, the seventh wave of the pandemic arrived in July alongside rising inflation, which is compounding prices from the gas pump to the grocery store. Though the 2022 […]
The modern economy is highly uncertain, with inflation and rising interest rates cutting into bottom lines everywhere. Employers are nervous as the cost of capital and the cost of their inputs seems to rise every day. But employees are nervous, too. And since no one knows when inflation will end, it’s difficult for anyone to […]
The second quarter of 2022 proved difficult for Bâtirente’s diversified funds, according to the organization’s investment strategy manager. “As was the case in the first quarter, Bâtirente’s diversified funds experienced a difficult second quarter performance . . . [with losses correlating with] their risk profile,” said Jean-François Dumais, in a press release. The five diversified […]
Capital accumulation plan member outcomes saw a modest decline in the second quarter of 2022, as rising interest rates and the corresponding rise in annuity rates helped offset the falling investment markets, according to Eckler Ltd.’s latest CAP income tracker. It found a typical male member retiring at the end of June 2022 achieved a […]
The vast majority (90 per cent) of low to moderate income workers say they’d open a long-term savings account if they were offered incentives, according to a new survey by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and non-profit organization Commonwealth. The survey, which polled nearly 1,000 employees living on low to moderate incomes, found most respondents […]
The uniting theme at the 2022 Defined Contribution Plan Summit was financial wellness, a chief concern for any employer that offers a pension plan to its workforce. In particular, with inflation reaching its highest level in four decades and people facing several competing financial priorities, including simple day-to-day expenses, plan sponsors are bringing flexibility to […]
The 2022 Defined Contribution Plan Summit, which was hosted in Victoria, B.C. on May 11-13, featured several case studies from innovative DC plan sponsors, as well as presentations by thought leaders to help employers embrace their employees’ evolving financial priorities and prepare for the future. Across the two-day event, the themes included: rethinking retirement in […]
During a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 DC Plan Summit, Simon Cabral, Scotiabank’s director of global defined contribution plans, shared how the organization ties employees’ financial wellness into their broader well-being. A few years ago, the bank rebranded its benefits offering, linking its benefits, retirement savings and employee share ownership plans. The new strategy includes […]
Building a defined contribution pension plan’s investment portfolio should incorporate the benefits and drawbacks of various historical regimes to provide a strong foundation, said Ruthann Pritchard, institutional portfolio manager for global asset allocation at Fidelity Investments, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 DC Plan Summit. “A robust glide path has to consider all of […]
Dynamic pension pools can have a significant and positive impact on retirement outcomes if they’re supported by the appropriate legislative changes, said Barbara Sanders, associate professor in statistics and actuarial science at Simon Fraser University, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 DC Plan Summit. The University of British Columbia has a dynamic pension pool […]