The union representing General Motors of Canada Co. employees in Ontario have ratified a new three-year collective agreement that removes changes to a legacy defined benefit plan as part of ongoing pension discussions. The deal restores the legacy DB plan by removing a member contribution requirement and a 30-year cap on credited service introduced in […]
Defined contribution pensions are taking a bumpy ride in the coronavirus pandemic, with plan sponsors and their members facing volatile stock markets, financial uncertainty and interruptions to business as usual. Whether related to plan design, investment options, decumulation or overall financial well-being and education, what issues are taking the spotlight this year and what changes […]
Unifor locals representing Via Rail Canada Inc. employees have opened bargaining in Montreal as contracts are set to expire for more than 2,000 members. Members identified a number of key issues for contract negotiation, including a strengthened pension plan, according to a press release. The current collective agreements expire on Dec. 31, 2019. Read: Unifor […]
While defined contribution pension plans evolve and defined benefit plans decline, the McGill University pension plan is a true blend of both types — at least for some employees. When Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of finance at the university’s Desautels Faculty of Management, joined the plan after 2009, a DC arrangement was available for […]
The number of women in Canadian registered pension plans reached a record high of 3.2 million as of January 2018, bringing them up to 50.5 per cent of plan members, according to new data from Statistics Canada. It also found the number of Canadians in registered pension plans surpassed 6.3 million in 2017, increasing by 62,800 members, […]
Assets in registered pension plans were $1.7 trillion in 2015, a three per cent increase from 2014, according to new figures published by Statistics Canada. Larger pension plans with at least 30,000 members held more than half (55.2 per cent) of the assets. Of those larger plans, 32 account for half of all pension plan […]
Pension plans are the topic du jour, even outside of HR circles. Funding challenges, retirement income adequacy, intergenerational equity and financial stability are only a few of the issues under discussion and in the media. But all talk and little action may be sounding the death knell for these programs. Unless pension plans can evolve relatively quickly to meet changing needs and circumstances, they face extinction.
DB and DC plans should be more similar, according to Jim Leech, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan president and CEO.
Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants recently agreed to a new hybrid pension plan for new hires. It consists of a slimmed down DB tier, supplemented by a new DC tier. Some observers think this announcement signals a change in direction for pension plans, but that is unlikely to be the case. […]