Conte Financial Services Inc. and Dickinson & Associates are merging to become the Prime Benefits Group. The two Ottawa-based employee benefits and pension consulting firms finalized the merger earlier this month. The new firm continues to operate out of Canada’s capital city. Read: Hub acquires Ontario benefits, HR consulting firm Tony Conte, formerly president of Conte Financial Services, and […]
U.S. employers are planning to maintain core health benefits but are exploring other changes to preserve jobs and manage expenses, according to new a new survey by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The survey, which looked at data from nearly 4,000 employers over several months, found close to half have planned salary freezes for management and executives (43 per cent) and non-management […]
Claims for medications treating mental-health issues like anxiety and depression reached 97 per cent of 2019’s total claims volume by the end of August 2020, according to new data from Express Scripts Canada. In addition, 2020 has seen a 20 per cent increase in claimants for medications relating to depression compared to 2019. “For the remainder of […]
Vodacom Group, a South African telecommunications firm, is providing all global employees with 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Employees will be able to take the leave if they or their partner are having a baby, adopting a child or becoming a parent through surrogacy. They can take […]
Nearly half (45 per cent) of U.S. employers see investments in health and well-being as an integral part of their workplace strategy, compared to 36 per cent that said the same in 2019 and 27 per cent in 2018, according to an annual survey by Business Group on Health. The survey, which polled 122 large employers with […]
Navacord Corp. is expanding its group benefits business by acquiring British Columbia-based independent benefits brokerage Dehoney Financial Group. Dehoney, which has been in business for 40 years, provides benefits and retirement consulting, administration and life insurance products for executives and employees, working with a mix of public and privately owned Canadian companies. Read: Navacord acquiring Ontario-based […]
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Scotiabank kicked the expansion of its existing childcare offering for employees into high gear. “Given the bank has announced that anyone who’s working remotely will continue to do so until the end of 2020 minimum, we wanted to make sure we had some extra options available for employees since working remotely […]
Canada Life Assurance Co. is introducing a self-directed registered education savings plan to help employers support their employees’ varying financial priorities. Employers can add the RESP to their employee benefits plan at no addition cost, while plan members can choose either the family or individual plan, where they can contribute as much or as little […]
Uber Technologies Inc. is trying to keep its Canadian drivers from joining or starting class-action lawsuits against the company — a move that threatens to upend a $400-million fight from drivers wanting to be recognized as employees, says a lawyer. Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru, who is pursuing the case, said drivers using the platform were […]
Plan sponsors have to move beyond benefits plan reporting and dig into analytics to better understand medication non-adherence and the top disease states affecting their workforces. “Leveraging plan-specific data can help answer the fundamental questions needed to manage your benefits program,” said Shawn O’Brien, Telus Health’s principal of data enablement and drug, health, dental product roadmaps, during a session at Benefits […]