The Pension Investment Association of Canada is calling on provincial governments to allow pension plan sponsors to opt out of making any special payments for a period of six to 12 months or until there’s greater visibility of the end of the fallout from the coronavirus crisis. “We recommend that no conditionality or approval requirements be applied […]
Provincial and federal regulators are beginning to roll out relief measures for defined benefit pension plan sponsors, ranging from administrative filing extensions to freezes on commuted-value transfers. At the federal level, the government announced Thursday it will be halting solvency special payments for federally regulated DB plans until the end of 2020 to ensure plan […]
Squeezed by onerous funding requirements and overarching fiduciary duties, defined benefit plan sponsors are increasingly willing to embrace alternative structures — such as multi-employer pension plans, jointly sponsored pension plans and pooled registered pension plans — to relieve some of the pressure. “Most employers simply shouldn’t be in the business of running a pension plan, […]
Coquitlam, B.C.’s School District #43 has appointed CWB Trust Services as custodian and trustee for its non-teaching staff’s defined benefit pension plan. “As we conducted our review, we were pleased by the flexible service model and single integrated reporting platform,” said Chris Nicolls, chief financial officer and secretary-treasurer for the school district, in a press release. […]
A potential Alberta Pension Plan would expose Albertans to material underwriting risks and the potential for political involvement in decisions about the plan’s investment policy, according to a new report. The report — authored by Keith Ambachtscheer, founder of KPA Advisory Services Ltd. and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management — also estimated […]
While the case for creating an Alberta Pension Plan looks straightforward on the surface, it’s far from a slam dunk, according to a memo published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In the memo responding to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s plan to consult on whether the province should withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and start […]
Although it’s somewhat late in the making, Alberta’s new pension legislation proposing a joint governance structure for three of the province’s largest pension plans appears to have kept up with the times. “The legislation is a made-in-Alberta plan that takes into account that almost 25 years have passed since we first saw this type of […]
Manulife Financial Corp. is partnering with Vitech Systems Group Inc. as a software provider and system integrator for its Canadian group benefits business. Vitech’s insurance administration product, V3, supports group health, dental and life insurance from quote through to claim. “Vitech and V3 will support our focus on providing customers and distribution partners with a […]
The federal government’s difficulties with its problem-plagued Phoenix pay system are now affecting pension plan members who won’t be receiving their pension and insurance benefits statements this year due to potential inaccuracies with the information. And while much of the attention on Phoenix has focused on employees not getting paid on time, it has also been causing problems for […]
Smartphones, touch screens and voice-assisted technologies like Siri and Alexa are transforming our lives. As people rely more on machines to help manage their daily activities, the business environment has evolved rapidly to match the changing expectations. The pension industry is no different. While plan participants expect their retirement accounts to be secure and easily […]