The Canadian Institute of Actuaries has responded to Nova Scotia’s consultation on a new defined benefit pension funding framework, including how a target-benefit funding model could be linked to an enhanced going-concern funding model. The province’s consultation, which began in September 2017, put forward a number of options for a new framework, including: maintaining the current solvency funding standard […]
Almost all Canadian middle-class families will see more money coming off their paycheques by the time changes to the Canada Pension Plan take full effect, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. The report, released today, includes both the portion of CPP contributions paid by the employer and the employee in its calculations and accounts for the full […]
As 2017 draws to a close, we turn our attention to the new year. As usual, there’s a lot happening in the Canadian pension environment. Below are four pension trends to watch for in 2018. 1. Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan reform The Canada Pension Plan enhancements will be phased in from Jan. 1, 2019, and the Quebec […]
Bankruptcy and its impact on company’s pension plans was a big story in 2017, with Sears Canada Inc. and Stelco Inc. grabbing the most headlines of the year. Benefits Canada rounds up your favourite pension stories of 2017: Sears faces $300M retirement benefit shortfall as retailer seeks CCAA protection 2017 Top 100 Pension Funds Report: The evolution of DB […]
The Ontario financial regulator’s move to wind up the Sears Canada Inc. pension plan will be proceeding to a hearing after a creditor of the struggling retailer requested one. Sears itself didn’t request a hearing, which interested parties had the ability to do up until a mid-December deadline. The creditor, 1291079 Ontario Ltd., made the request on […]
With the pension woes at Sears Canada Inc. in the spotlight, the political parties have been busy touting their solutions to the defined benefit conundrum. This fall, parliamentarians from both the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party put forth private members’ bills aimed at boosting the priority of pension obligations during bankruptcy and restructuring […]
Ontario has published a description of its new funding framework for defined benefit pension plans, including details on how the provision for adverse deviations will work under new going-concern rules. Under the proposed new funding framework, the provision for adverse deviation — a percentage used to determine additional contributions in respect of the normal cost and going-concern […]
Over the past 10 years, assets in pension plans registered in Alberta have reached $54 billion, an increase of 149 per cent, according to a new report published by the province’s pension regulator. The superintendent of pensions’ 2016 report, published last week, looked at the 753 pension plans under its supervision. The total includes 182 defined benefit plans, 451 […]
Ontario’s fall economic statement confirmed a number of previously announced frameworks for the province’s pension, health-care and employment programs, including a look at addressing decumulation. The statement, delivered by Ontario’s Finance Minister Charles Sousa on Tuesday, noted the government is exploring new approaches to help retirees draw down their savings in an efficient, cost-effective manner so their savings […]
Representative counsel for Sears Canada Inc.’s retirees has sent a letter to the monitor, FTI Consulting Inc., and all parties involved in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings asserting their first priority claim against the company’s estate on behalf of pension members. In the letter sent recently, Andrew Hatnay, a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP, wrote that […]