Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadian employers feel they have a responsibility to help their employees with their financial wellness, according to a new survey by the Conference Board of Canada. However, just one-fifth of employer respondents have a formal comprehensive financial wellness strategy in place, while an additional 37 per cent provide several programs that aren’t […]
Feelings of embarrassment and shame around personal financial struggles are affecting Canadians’ workplace productivity and there’s a role for employers to play, according to a new study by Manulife Financial Corp. The study, conducted in partnership with Homewood Health Inc., surveyed more than 200 employee assistance program counsellors. The vast majority (93 per cent) of respondents believe financial […]
With companies like Aetna Inc., Fidelity Investments and Penguin Random House offering programs to help reduce student debt, there’s a growing trend in the United States towards assisting employees with their loans. And with tax reform currently on the table south of the border, a U.S.-based advocacy group is urging the government to provide an exemption […]
Financial concerns weigh heavily on employees’ minds both at home and at work, according to a new survey by Ernst & Young. As such, many organizations recognize the need to help their employees by providing a financial wellness program. The majority (86 per cent) of human resources professionals surveyed said their organization offers such a […]
A consultant’s role was historically a passive one, says Martin Leclair, who recently left a role at Toronto-based consulting firm Proteus Performance Management. The consultant’s role centred on the various aspects of developing pension and benefits plans for employers, from choosing fund offerings and implementing target-date options and automatic enrolment to decisions about formularies, step […]
Retirement is a notion fraught with paradox. For some, it resonates with the possibility of finally having more time to do, well, just about anything. For others, it triggers concern about whether they’ll have enough saved to retire comfortably and securely. And still, for others, it induces a kind of investment-anxiety paralysis filled with self-doubt. […]
Canada is facing a $13.4-trillion retirement savings deficit by 2050, up from a $2.7-trillion shortfall in 2015, according to a new report by Mercer. Among all eight countries included in the report — Australia, Britain, Canada, China, India, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States — the current gap between aggregate savings and expected annual retirement […]
While the revitalized United States economy and strong financial markets are part of the story, the biggest factors affecting American employees’ financial optimism are tied to their personal situations, a study from Bank of America Merrill Lynch has found. The majority (87 per cent) of employees are optimistic about their financial future, including 48 per […]