Nearly half (44 per cent) of employers that offer retirement benefits said employee productivity has been better than normal over the past year, compared to 29 per cent of employers that don’t offer retirement benefits, according to a survey by Maru Group Ltd. on behalf of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The survey, which […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan are among the 20 largest pension funds in the world in terms of assets under management, according to a new report from the Thinking Ahead Institute. The not-for-profit investment research organization’s report, which was based on figures from the end of 2020, ranked […]
Board and executive-level efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance issues into pension plans’ investment strategies are frequently thwarted by unclear guidance from plan sponsors and uncertainty about fiduciary duties, according to a new working paper by the University of Pennsylvania. The paper concluded that efforts to implement ESG criteria in investment decision-making are frequently hamstrung […]
Since target-date funds were introduced to the Canadian market in the early 2000s, they’ve become the dominant investment choice for defined contribution pension plan members. The funds, which are balanced with dynamic asset mixes that adjust as members approach retirement, are offered in a series — typically, one fund for each five-year target retirement band — with each fund […]
Tucked away in the federal budget are proposals that will lighten the load for defined contribution pension plan administrators confronted with historical under and over contributions. “These errors are usually inadvertent system or software issues or new regulatory guidance or rulings that have retroactive effect,” says Mark Firman, a pensions and benefits lawyer with Stikeman […]
The union representing Via Rail Canada Inc. employees has ratified a new agreement that will increase employer contributions for members of the company’s hybrid pension plan. The new two-year contract covers 1,700 employees at Via Rail and removes age and service conditions that determined the employer match percentage for optional contributions made by plan members […]
We won’t soon forget 2020. This tumultuous year was characterized by a global pandemic, lockdowns around the world, spiking unemployment levels and business failures. Increasing political polarization in developed countries resulted in clashes between governments seeking to control COVID-19 and anti-mask factions, all amid a U.S. election, the results of which the sitting president continues […]