While total pension wealth rose for an eighth consecutive year in 2016, the wealth of employer-based pension plans increased at a much weaker pace than the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. Total pension wealth rose 3.8 per cent to $3.6 billion by the end of 2016, following a 5.1 per cent gain in 2015. The wealth of employer-based pension plans rose 3.5 per cent to […]
Digital human resources company Rise People Inc. is launching a national partnership program that allows it to offer its integrated human resources, insurance, group benefits and pension product through consultants and advisory firms across Canada. The company noted it aims to combine its technology expertise with advice from consultants, such as Granville West Group in Vancouver; Davis Benefits […]
Independent governance has been one of the key factors in the success of Canadian public pension plans, according to a new report commissioned by the World Bank. “Strong, independent governance is perhaps the most important element of the Canadian model,” the report, released on Wednesday, stated. “Canadian pension organizations are governed to run as high-performing, arm’s-length entities […]
Defined benefit pension plans have long included formulas for integrating the Canada Pension Plan into their contributions and benefits design. But with CPP contributions set to rise in 2019, the question of integration will be a consideration for the sponsors of defined contribution pension plans as well. CPP integration isn’t a particularly common feature of […]
It’s no secret that passive investments, such as exchange-traded and indexed funds, have become more popular with investors over the past 10 years. Such funds require very little to no intervention by investment managers and, therefore, have much lower management fees than the classic mutual fund structure. Read: Continued growth predicted as ETF industry tops $100 billion […]
The Ontario government has introduced a bill that, if passed, will enact several changes to the Pension Benefits Act. “This is a significant step,” says Stephanie Kalinowski, a partner at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, of Bill 177. “Some of these items we’ve been waiting on for a number of years.” First, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of […]
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has appointed Morneau Shepell Ltd. to take over the continuing administration of Stelco Inc.’s five existing defined benefit pension plans as of Jan. 1, 2018. The five pensions plans will continue without any disruption to retirees’ monthly payments, according to a news release, which noted Morneau Shepell would contact all plan members in the […]
Pension arrangements for politicians have long been controversial, but at least in the case of members of Parliament, they’ve begun footing an equal share of the bill. In fact, pension contribution rates by federal politicians have more than doubled in the last five years, according to the latest actuarial report on the pension plan for federal […]
Unionized employees at a Quebec-based aluminum smelter are rejecting a proposed change that would move them to a two-tiered pension arrangement from a defined benefit plan. The Syndicat des Métallos/United Steelworkers Local 9700 says employees at the Bécancour, Que., smelter “categorically reject a discriminatory, inferior pension plan for the next generation of workers.” The proposed change would keep defined benefit plans […]
By presenting pension information in simpler, bite-sized chunks and introducing a colourful character, the Alberta Local Authorities Pension Plan undertook a digital revamp that earned it the pension communications award at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Workplace Benefits Awards last week. Facing the challenge of engaging members on the difficult topic of pensions, the organization took on the task of […]