Increased deal-making in the Canadian annuities market is adding pressure to defined benefit plan sponsors seeking to de-risk their plans, says Jason Vary, president of Actuarial Solutions Inc. “[The market is] getting worse,” he says. “This year, I’ve had some experiences where we’re placing some small annuities, under $5 million, and we really struggled to […]
Hub International Ltd. is acquiring London, Ont.-based Zavitz Insurance & Wealth Inc. Zavitz Insurance provides group employee benefits, living benefits, life insurance services and financial and retirement planning. The organization is the latest acquisition by Hub over the last few years. Read: Hub International acquiring Oakville, Ont.-based Mitchell Sandham Last month, Hub acquired Oakville, Ont.-based Mitchell […]
With the federal government’s 2022 budget proposing to allow expenses related to fertility and surrogacy to be claimed by a wider range of individuals under the medical expense tax credit, will the move lead to increased coverage under workplace benefits plans? The government’s proposal would expand the definition of a patient to include the taxpayer, […]
The strength of equities was among the factors pushing the transaction volume of Canada’s group annuities market to a record high in 2021, according to experts. According to a recent report by LifeWorks Inc., the total volume of group annuities sold in Canada reached $7.5 billion in 2021, up 70 per cent from the previous […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has reached a deal to sell half of its shares of a Washington-based energy company to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. According to the terms of the deal, the CPPIB will sell half of its 31.6 per cent stake in Puget Holdings to the Ontario Teachers’ and the other […]
Canada’s top central banker is making a plea for the country to more quickly address the impacts of climate change to avoid any economic ripple effects on households and businesses. Tiff Macklem made the case in a speech Tuesday that Canada’s financial system needs to become as resilient to climate change as it has been […]