Young Canadian employees are facing a series of headwinds stemming from rising housing costs and decades of inaction by the federal government to support retirement savings, said Paul Kershaw, founder of not-for-profit organization Generation Squeeze and a policy professor at the University of British Columbia, during the keynote session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Defined Contribution […]
In its fall economic statement on Wednesday, the Ontario government said it plans to consult with pension industry stakeholders on the possibility of offering variable life benefits to employees in the province. In 2021, the federal government made amendments to the federal Income Tax Act to permit Canadian jurisdictions to regulate this new pension option, […]
Canada’s retirement system ranks No. 17 out of 48 countries, down from No. 12 in 2023, according to a new report by Mercer and the CFA Institute. The report analyzed retirement systems based on adequacy, sustainability and integrity. The top three systems remain unchanged from last year, with the Netherlands receiving the highest overall score (84.8 […]
Overseeing the transition of a single-employer pension plan to a jointly sponsored one felt at times like launching a startup firm, according to Theo Heldman, chief financial officer and vice-president of risk at the Workplace Insurance and Safety Employee Trust, speaking during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. “There was […]
Longevity risk is still among the top concerns keeping defined benefit pension plan sponsors up at night. While a 62-year-old person that retired in 2002 had a life expectancy of 21.4 years, that has now increased to 26.2 years, said Darwin Bozek, president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Pension Board, during a panel discussion at […]
The Nova Scotia government is offering to pay up to $15,000 a year into a new retirement benefits program for doctors in hopes the public money will keep more physicians in the province. Premier Tim Houston announced the new program Wednesday, saying the annual contributions will be available to Nova Scotia’s roughly 3,000 doctors at […]
With many Canadian defined benefit pension plans in a strong funded position, plan sponsors, particularly those with unionized workforces, are increasingly discussing the use of surplus funds, says Gavin Benjamin, a partner in the retirement and benefits solutions practice at Telus Health. The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan rose on […]
The federal government is currently seeking recommendations about its plan to introduce solvency reserve accounts for federally regulated defined benefit pension plans. Under the government’s proposed model, first announced in 2022, these accounts would be optional and constitute a separate account within a DB plan. In a press release, the government said solvency reserve accounts […]
Going through a divorce can be an extremely stressful and emotional experience and, unsurprisingly, the impacts can spill into the workplace. “[Employees may be] at work but waiting for that text from the lawyer — they’re distracted on what they’re going to do next in the proceedings,” says Brent Dul, executive vice-president at Randstad Canada. […]
An article on Citigroup Inc.’s new parental and caregiver leave programs for U.S. employees 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. Citigroup enhancing parental leave, introducing caregiver leave for U.S., Puerto Rico employees 2. Caisse invests $35M in energy […]
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