The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities has outlined its priorities for April 2019 to March 2022 in its new strategic plan, which included initiatives like focusing on defined contribution plan decumulation and cyber security. Jason Vary, president at Actuarial Solutions Inc., notes while all the identified priorities were worthwhile, some are more important than […]
A report published by the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council in February 2019 offers compelling evidence about the broad benefits of workplace pension plans. The report, by Robert Brown, builds on a 2017 CPPLC report by Bob Baldwin that asked Canadians to quantify the maximum amount they’d pay, as a percentage of annual income, to maintain their […]
In 2016, when Bert Clark became the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario’s first president and chief executive officer, he was tasked with building the organization from scratch. Like a startup, he had the opportunity to begin from square one, free of legacy systems. “I think one of the advantages we have is that we’re 25 […]
While a lot of attention has been paid to “the front end of pension plans,” there hasn’t been enough focus on how that translates into retirement income, said Blair Richards, chief executive officer of the Halifax Port ILA/HEA, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 DC Plan Summit in Banff, Alta. in February. “We should […]
In the face of a challenging capital market and its subsequent volatility, defined contribution plan sponsors must consider the affect on plan member behaviour, said Colin Sinclare, managing director of institutional sales for Western Canada at MFS Investment Management. “Volatility affects the compounding of returns in DC plan members savings plans. As well, it has behavioural […]
With different generations in the workplace requiring personalized approaches, the pension industry is reimagining traditional savings plans, said Brady Aarssen, assistant vice-president of business development strategy at Great-West Life Assurance Co., speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2019 DC Plan Summit in Banff, Alta. in February. Millennials, for instance, are the largest segment of the workforce, they’re […]
Looking at the role of plan design in driving member outcomes, it comes down to data and experience, according to Margaret Rux, principal and department head of retirement plan client services at the Vanguard Group., at Benefits Canada’s 2019 DC Plan Summit in Banff, Alta. in February. Capturing data from five million members and more […]
Simplifying DC plan enrolment should begin by eliminating the “tyranny of choice,” making it easier for plan members to just get started, according to Tom Reid, senior vice-president of group retirement services at Sun Life Financial. “We’re not saying choice is bad, but at certain moments choice is really not the most welcome thing and […]
As the retirement savings environment evolves, the pension industry must be aware of the changes to move with them, said Zaheed Jiwani, principal at Eckler Ltd., in a session wrapping up the key learnings from Benefits Canada’s 2019 DC Plan Summit in Banff, Alta. in February. These changes include shifting demographics, new offerings and consolidation […]
Alongside recent reforms to funding rules for Ontario-registered defined benefit pension plans, the Ontario government also made changes to the pension benefits guarantee fund, including improvements to benefits payable by the PBGF and changes to its annual assessment paid by employers. Employers should budget for the change in their assessments, effectively beginning with assessments due in 2019. […]