Mitigating longevity risk is key to solving the decumulation challenge, said Pat Leo, Purpose Investments Inc.’s vice-president of longevity retirement solutions, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. Referring to a recent survey, he noted defined contribution pension plan members were most concerned about market and sequence risks, while underestimating the impact of longevity risk. […]
Alcoa Corp. is de-risking roughly $315 million (US$235 million) in Canadian defined benefit pension obligations and assets with an annuity transfer. The group annuity contracts will be executed by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., which will assume payments for roughly 500 participants in September, according to a press release. Read: Alcoa entering $1BN […]
Private sector pension plans could realize higher rates of return and produce lifetime income if they followed a model similar to their public sector counterparts, said Keith Ambachtsheer, executive in residence at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a senior fellow at the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University, during a […]
A new retirement plan design could allow more public employees in the U.S. to accrue retirement benefits regardless of their length of service, according to a report by think tank the Reason Foundation. The plan, which blends elements of defined contribution and defined benefit pension plans, focuses on providing employees with the target retirement income […]
Similar to 2022, the coming year will present both challenges and opportunities for defined benefit pension plan sponsors, with the rewards going to plan sponsors that are resilient, embrace change and are willing and able to act when opportunities arise. Several trends that will be top of mind in the year ahead are: Inflation The […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is advising the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities to strengthen its proposed guideline on risks related to environmental, social and governance factors, including consideration for pension plan liabilities and climate-related disclosure. In an open letter to the CAPSA, the CIA suggested including a section on how ESG factors should […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is supporting several of the Alberta government’s proposed legislative and policy updates for private sector pension laws, including the move towards a going-concern plus regime for defined benefit plans and the introduction of automatic features in defined contribution plans. In its response to the consultation draft, the CIA cited the benefits […]
After a tough couple of years, Canadians continue to face several challenges against an increasingly turbulent economic landscape. While most coronavirus restrictions were lifted in late spring 2022, the seventh wave of the pandemic arrived in July alongside rising inflation, which is compounding prices from the gas pump to the grocery store. Though the 2022 […]
Alcoa Corp. is de-risking roughly US$1 billion in U.S. defined benefit pension obligations and assets with an annuity transfer. The group annuity contracts will be executed by two subsidiaries of Athene Holding Ltd., which will assume payments for roughly 4,400 participants in November, according to a press release. Read: Looking under the hood of jumbo […]
Higher long-term bond yields driven by rising interest rates are lowering the cost of annuity purchases for defined benefit pension plans, says Mary Kate Archibald, a principal at Eckler Ltd. Since January, the cost of an annuity purchase has decreased by between 10 and 15 per cent, as long-term bond yields increased from 1.7 to […]