Five years after Ontario’s auditor general uncovered an issue with the way the province was including pension assets in its financial statements, the office is proposing changes related to accounting in defined benefit pension plans. The auditor general’s 2016 annual report revealed a deficit of $5 billion, while the province’s government set the deficit at […]
If I’ve learned one thing about the Canadian pension industry over the past six years, it’s that change comes at a snail’s pace. When I joined Benefits Canada in 2015, my Canadian pension knowledge was a blank slate, so I spent several weeks speaking to pension experts. The key message that came across was this: […]
One, as Harry Nillson crooned in his classic breakup song, can feel like the loneliest number. At the end of working life, many retirees with defined contribution pension plans can be left feeling alone and confused — cut off from their plan sponsors and pension administrators and sent out with their savings accounts into the […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is calling on Retraite Québec to review its draft amendment of a regulation governing supplemental pension plans. In a letter to the pension plan administrator, the ACPM said that a section of the amendment — stating that recovery measures in the event of insufficient contributions to a target-benefit pension […]
With 10 million Canadian baby boomers entering retirement, dynamic pension pools could help seniors turn their accumulated savings into low-cost lifetime pension income, according to a new report by Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing and the Global Risk Institute. According to the report, dynamic pension pools can help Canadians optimize their expected lifetime retirement […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is clarifying its guidance on the administration of pension benefits upon marriage breakdown. The final guidance, which came into effect on Nov. 9, 2021, clarifies the FSRA’s position on issues relating to valuation, payment and division and survivor benefits. It stated pension assets are to be valued based on […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is encouraging defined contribution pension plan sponsors and administrators to evaluate the use of automatic features within the context of their plans. New guidance posted to the FSRA’s website affirms that the Pension Benefits Act and its regulations don’t prohibit the use of automatic features in defined contribution pension […]
The maximum pensionable earnings under the Canada Pension Plan for 2022 is increasing to $64,900 from $61,600 in 2021. The new ceiling was calculated according to a CPP legislated formula that takes into account the growth in average weekly wages and salaries in Canada, according to a press release from the Canada Revenue Agency. Contributors who earn more than $64,900 in 2022 […]
The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing new rules that would give pension plan fiduciaries the ability to make investment decisions based on environmental, social and governance factors. If adopted, the rules would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In its summary of the proposed changes, the Department of Labor said they’d […]
The images of floods, forest fires and heat waves over the past few years is putting climate change front of mind for many, including pension plan sponsors and administrators. It’s become increasingly clear that environmental, social and governance factors are emerging as an important area of concern for pension plan administrators and, by extension, the […]