The Pension Investment Association of Canada is urging the federal government to open a comprehensive consultation regarding the cessation of real return bonds. In an open letter, the PIAC said the decision was made without extensive consultations with the primary purchasers of real return bonds, including pension investors. While real return bonds have typically exhibited a lower […]
Climate and cybersecurity are the leading risk factors concerning Canadian pension plan administrators, according to a pension lawyer. Susan G. Seller, a pension and benefits lawyer at Bennett Jones LLP, adds third-party arrangements and commercial real estate risks round out the most pressing categories for federally regulated pension plans. “We’re living in a time where […]
Canadian institutional investors are still in a sweet spot with the relationship between stocks and bonds in 2023, despite a difficult start to October for the S&P/TSX composite index, says one expert. At the end of last week’s trading period, the Canadian equities index showed a negative return of 0.72 per cent, leaving the S&P/TSX […]
Nine in 10 (89 per cent) U.S. defined benefit pension plan sponsors say they’re expecting to completely divest their plan liabilities in roughly four years, according to a new survey by MetLife Inc. The survey, which polled 250 DB plan sponsors, found nearly all (94 per cent) said the financial impacts of volatility and related risks […]
The median solvency ratio of defined benefit pension plans in Canada increased during the third quarter of 2023, according to separate reports from Mercer and Aon. Mercer’s report showed median solvency ratio rose from 119 per cent at June 30 to 125 per cent at Sept. 30, according to Mercer’s latest pension health pulse. The report, […]
The estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process increased from 100.2 per cent of a plan’s accounting liabilities to 100.5 per cent of those liabilities in August, according to Milliman Inc.’s latest pension buyout index. The index uses the FTSE above median AA curve and annuity purchase composite […]
The funded ratio of the U.S.’s 100 largest defined benefit pension plans dropped slightly in August, from 76.8 per cent as of July 31 to 75.3 per cent as of Aug. 31, the result of a $98 billion funded status decline, according to Milliman Inc.’s latest public pension funding index. The result was driven by […]
The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ new risk management guideline allows for additional flexibility amid evolving issues such as cybersecurity and environmental, social and governance considerations, said David Bartucci, head of pension regulations and regulatory effectiveness at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario and a member of the CAPSA’s risk management committee, during […]
The funded ratio of the 100 largest U.S. public defined benefit pension plans increased to 76.8 per cent as of July 31, up from 75.8 per cent at the end of June, according to a new report by consulting firm Milliman Inc. It found a second consecutive month of positive market performance drove this result, […]
U.S. state and municipal pension funds are on track to miss investment targets and are unlikely to see meaningful improvements in their unfunded liabilities or funded ratios in 2023, according to a new report by the Equable Institute. The report, which analyzed trends in benefits, cash flows, contributions, funding and investments at 225 of the […]