The United Way Greater Toronto introduced a defined benefit pension plan in 1965 and moved to a hybrid plan in 1990. While the DB side was fully paid by the employer, the defined contribution component allowed employees to contribute up to four per cent of their annual salary with a 50 per cent employer match. […]
Canadian pension rules and regulations are in need of reform in order to properly address the reality of the 21st century workplace pension landscape, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. The report, authored by Bob Baldwin, a pension industry veteran and chair of the C.D. Howe’s pension policy council, argued that the […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is relaxing its freeze on portability transfers to automatically permit pension plan members who are eligible for early retirement to transfer their commuted values to locked-in savings vehicles, subject to certain conditions. At the end of March, the OSFI introduced a temporary freeze on portability transfers, meaning […]
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 […]
The Ontario government has significantly cut financial penalties for plan sponsors making a late payment of a pension benefits guarantee fund assessment. The change, made through an amendment to the provincial Pension Benefits Act, will apply to plan sponsors that fail to pay their PBGF assessments that are due between April 30 and Dec. 31. Read: An overview […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario has confirmed it will permit a suspension of employer contributions to defined contribution pension plans on a temporary basis. However, any change to either employer or employee contributions can only be on a go-forward basis and must be supported by an amendment to the plan text, said the […]
Changes to Quebec’s pension legislation, including a move away from solvency funding requirements and the introduction of a cost-sharing model, against the backdrop of a low interest rate environment has had a major influence on the City of Montreal’s pension investment strategy. The City manages six plans under one pooled portfolio. The assets from all […]
In this time of pandemic, a lot has been shared about the woes of defined benefit pension plans, but members of capital accumulation plans are also feeling the impact, even though few have even noticed. Fortunately, target-date funds and lifecycle portfolios have really helped. But the government and provincial regulators need to help as well. Once […]
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 […]
The federal government is halting solvency special payments for federally regulated defined benefit pension plans until the end of 2020. The moratorium on payments under the Pension Benefits Standards Act is aimed at ensuring that employers have financial resources to continue their operations and pension plans, as well as to protect plan members, said the […]