Canadian defined benefit pension plans’ median solvency ratio increased in the second quarter of 2023, according to a new report by Mercer. The report, which looked at the performance of more than 500 Canadian DB plans in its database, found a rise from 116 per cent to 119 per cent during the quarter. Meanwhile, a similar report […]
The federal government is launching a consultation on draft amendments to pension legislation pertaining to the transfer of unclaimed benefits for missing plan members. Under the Pensions Benefits Standards Act, plan administrators can transfer pension assets of missing members to a ‘designated entity.’ The draft amendments specify who qualifies as a missing member or beneficiary, as […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging the Ontario government to ensure its proposed rules for multi-employer target-benefit pension plans don’t undermine existing incentives that enable employers to create and maintain workplace pension plans. In an open letter, the ACPM said it believes the provision for adverse deviation will overly restrict the ability of MEPP trustees to manage […]
When Alaska switched its public education employees from two defined benefit pension plans to a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, more staff left their positions, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. The report benchmarks retirement benefit offerings among state-level plans in Alaska and nationwide, analyzing the evolution of public pension […]
In 2022, the typical defined benefit pension plan achieved an investment return of roughly negative 12 per cent. However, due to dramatic increases in bond yields and a subsequent decrease in pension liabilities, many pension plans ended 2022 with the same — or better — solvency funded level that they had at the beginning of […]
The average Canadian pension plan’s funded ratio reached 120 per cent as of March 31, 2023, up one per cent over the quarter, while the average going-concern solvency ratio was 111 per cent, up four per cent, according to a new report by Normandin Beaudry. The report attributed these increases to the strong performance of financial […]
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors in the U.S. are facing increasing costs when de-risking through annuity buyouts, according to a new report by consulting firm Milliman Inc. It found the estimated cost to transfer risk to an insurer increased in February to 99.7 per cent of a plan’s total liabilities, up from 99.3 per cent […]
After reaching a near 40-year high over the past year, headline inflation started to cool in the final months of 2022 following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index was up 6.3 per cent year over year in December, down from a […]
While it’s common practice for pension plan sponsors to factor climate risk into investment strategies, there’s more work to be done on factoring climate change into mortality and morbidity assumptions, says Bernard Morency, past chair of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ public affairs council and co-chair of its climate change and sustainability steering committee. “As […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is urging the federal government to reconsider the cessation of real return bond issuances, citing potential financial impacts to defined benefit pension plans and members. In an open letter to the Ministry of Finance, the PIAC said the decision was made “without fulsome consultation or warning” and impacts pension […]