Amazon.com is facing a lawsuit that claims the company violated U.S. federal law by using nearly US$350 million in forfeited 401(k) funds to offset the company’s own contributions rather than to reduce administrative fees for plan participants, according to a report by Reuters. In December, Cory Curtis, an employee of the online retail company, filed a […]
An article on the issues that Canadian pension plan sponsors are considering in 2025 was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. Expert panel: Regulatory guidelines, geopolitical risk impacting pension plan sponsors in 2025 2. Lawsuit alleges feds prevented […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans increased to 125 per cent by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 122 per cent as at Sept. 30, 2024, according to a new report by Mercer. The report, which tracks roughly 450 plans in Mercer’s database, found nearly nine in […]
Variable payment life annuities and the impact of gender identity on actuarial standards are among the issues the Canadian Institute of Actuaries is monitoring in 2025, says Simon Nelson, a principal at Eckler Ltd. and chair of the CIA’s pension practice committee. A CIA task force on VPLAs will present its findings early this year, […]
The National Police Federation, which represents 20,000 Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, has launched a class action claiming the federal government has wrongfully prevented part-time officers from buying back into their pension plan. In a press release, Brian Sauvé, president and chief executive officer at the NPF, said virtually the entire class of part-time officers […]
User personalization and an ease-of-use approach are key in the adoption of artificial intelligence technology tools by pension plan sponsors, according to a new report by the CFA Institute Research & Policy Centre. It found the application of AI has the potential to revolutionize plan sponsors’ administrative duties but will require a collaborative approach that […]
With the start of a new year, there are several developments and trends that will likely impact Canadian pension plan sponsors in 2025. Implementation of regulatory guidelines In September 2024, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities published a new guideline for risk management for plan administrators and an update to their guideline for capital […]
The Toronto Transit Commission Pension Plan is appointing Heather Wolfe as its new chief executive officer, effective March 3, 2025. She succeeds acting CEO James Clarkson, who stepped into the role last March following the departure of Sean Hewitt as leading executive. Clarkson will return to his role as chief financial officer at the investment […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is closely monitoring administrative risk and pension plan sponsors’ geopolitical concerns in 2025, says Andrew Fung, the organization’s executive vice-president of pensions. He cites increasing non-investment management risks like fraud, identity theft, data breach, cybersecurity and the use of artificial intelligence as emerging risks that plan sponsors will […]
An article about the National Institute on Ageing’s report on missing pension plan members was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. NIA addressing issue of missing pension plan members with new report 2. 88% of employees with disabilities, neurodivergence […]