When Gracie Inacay, former executive director and head of HR at Harris Associates, joined the firm, she took a good, long look at its defined contribution plan. In 1994, it had started as a profit-sharing plan. Once an employee had put in 1,000 hours and was employed at the end of the year, they received […]
Anxiety is running high for many Canadians who are feeling the immediate financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic due to job losses, reduced work hours and significant declines in investment portfolios. But some may also feel unease if they can’t access money from specific funds within their defined contribution pension plan. “Right now, we’re aware […]
With coronavirus causing market volatility and an increase in the size of solvency liabilities, defined benefit pension plans are feeling the impact. One potential way for plan sponsors to ease the pain is by performing an early actuarial valuation to capture year-end 2019 numbers. While most Canadian jurisdictions require plans to file valuations every three years, […]
Financial hardship is hitting employers across Canada and they’re starting to make difficult choices around cost-cutting measures within their businesses. “Some plan sponsors may be considering changes to their plan design to address these cost concerns during these turbulent times,” said Jana Steele, partner and department chair of the pension and benefits team at Osler, Hoskin […]
The coronavirus pandemic has hit us all hard, and pensions and benefits are no exception. The pandemic has implications for out-of-country emergency travel insurance, disability benefits and even day-to-day health-care claims, since plan members aren’t able to access many of their usual practitioners and may be looking for virtual alternatives. From a pension standpoint, the recent […]
An arbitrator has ruled in favour of the Winnipeg Police Association in its dispute with the City of Winnipeg over the police pension plan. The association filed the grievance in November 2019 after the City attempted to make alterations to the defined benefit pension plan. The changes included increasing employee contributions from eight per cent to 11.5 […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is introducing some measures to help federally regulated private defined benefit pension plans get through the difficult times caused by the coronavirus. Particularly, the regulator is temporarily freezing portability transfers and annuity purchases. In both cases, plan sponsors can write to the OSFI to for consent to […]
As many employers are forced to temporarily lay off employees due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, what does that mean for the provision of benefits and pension plans? Kim Siddall, vice-president and local practice leader at Aon, says eliminating benefits isn’t the route most employers would voluntarily choose, but she acknowledges that where […]
Acknowledging the rapidly evolving circumstances around the coronavirus, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is considering approaches to help defined benefit pension plan sponsors in their ongoing administration and compliance efforts. In a note published on its website, the FRSA said its reviewing its work, stakeholder engagement activities and other commitments to prioritize activities. […]
The nearly four-month lockout at the Federated Co-operatives Ltd. refinery in Regina over pension changes could be nearing an end. However, while Unifor has accepted recommendations from an independent mediator, the Co-op Refinery Complex said in a statement it’s unable to accept the recommendations in full and will have to make modifications out of its […]