With many Canadian defined benefit pension plans in a strong funded position, plan sponsors, particularly those with unionized workforces, are increasingly discussing the use of surplus funds, says Gavin Benjamin, a partner in the retirement and benefits solutions practice at Telus Health. The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan rose on […]
The Nova Scotia Pension Services Corp. — which administers the investment assets of the Public Service Superannuation Plan and the Teachers’ Pension Plan — reported an increase in net assets to $13.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of about $670 million, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. The PSSP saw an investment return of 7.93 […]
The estimated funded ratio of U.S. state and municipal pension plans is expected to increase to 80.6 per cent in 2024 due to the outperformance of investment targets, according to a new report by Equable Institute. The report, which analyzed trends in benefits, cash flows, contributions, funding and investments at 245 of the largest U.S. […]
The estimated funded status of the 100 largest U.S. public defined benefit pension plans rose to 79.9 per cent in June, from 79.4 per cent at the end of May, according to a new report by Milliman Inc. It found public DB plans in the report saw individual estimated returns ranging between 0.4 per cent […]
The Independent Electricity System Operator’s pension plan is in the midst of a comeback from a period of heightened post-coronavirus pandemic volatility, with diversification as the key to its investment roadmap, says Jeannette Briggs, the organization’s director of corporate finance who served as chair of its pension management committee from 2021 to 2023. After conducting […]
The funded ratio of U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans declined to 98.5 per cent in fiscal 2023 from 99.4 per cent in 2022, according to a new report by Milliman Inc. The report, which reviews the financial disclosures of the 100 largest U.S. public corporate DB plans, found their average return on investments was […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans increased two per cent in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report by Mercer. The report, which tracks more than 450 DB pension plans, found the median solvency ratio grew to 118 per cent, as at March 29, 2024, from 116 per cent […]
Ford of Canada’s recent transfer of $923 million in pension liabilities to Desjardins Group, RBC Insurance and Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada augurs well for what has been a rapidly expanding group annuity buyout and buy-in market. “As of 2013, the group annuity market amounted to about $1 billion annually,” says Charbel Assal, senior […]
An article on Eastman Kodak Co.’s plans to outsource management of its pension assets was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the week: 1. Kodak outsourcing US$1.6TN of pension assets to maximize overfunded status 2. OMERS returns 4.6% for 2023, driven by equities, fixed income […]
Eastman Kodak Co. is disbanding a team that manages the firm’s US$1.6 trillion of pension investments and moving its management to Boston-based investment consulting firm NEPC. In a statement, the organization said as at Dec. 31, 2022, the fair value of plan assets was approximately $3.7 billion, with the projected benefit obligation of the plan […]