Social media and technology is creating new opportunities to communicate with plan members, according to Kate Nazar, assistant vice-president, client relationships, group retirement services, with Sun Life. Nazar told delegates at the Benefits & Pension Summit today that mobile technology can play an important role in increasing plan enrollment. Approximately 60% of Canadians have cell […]
The funding deficit faced by U.S. states’ public employee retirement plans grew 26% over the course of a year, according to a new report. According to a report released today by the Pew Center on the States, the gap between the pension and health benefits that state governments have promised their employees in retirement and […]
The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in the Ault v. Canada (Attorney General) case serves as a reminder to pension service providers that they may have fiduciary duties to plan beneficiaries, and emphasizes the importance of accurate and full disclosure to plan members of relevant information. The case involved the administration of a public […]
Plan sponsors often determine their DC plan’s investment structure around what the industry is offering, rather than what is best suited to their own plan objectives and members. It’s time for sponsors to step back and consider the structure that makes the most sense in their particular circumstances—and for the industry to respond accordingly. For […]
Perhaps you’re a member of a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team and your company is considering an acquisition. What if you’re not a pension expert? What if, during due diligence, you discover that the company you are considering acquiring has one or more DB pension plans or other long-term obligations such as retiree health benefits? […]
The United Steelworkers (USW) union has won a landmark legal decision forcing an insolvent corporation to honour pension obligations to employees. The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that Indalex Ltd. did not fulfill its fiduciary duties to employees—which include members of United Steelworkers—when the company filed for protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors […]
The new pension plan deemed supply GST/HST rules are now fully in effect, and their impact is already hitting plan sponsors. Confusion, yes, but there is also a lack of awareness on just how much they might impact pension plans and other employee benefits arrangements. And, in many cases, this is leading to non-compliance. If […]
Statistics Canada reported in its Pension Plans in Canada survey that, in 2006, just under 220,000 Canadians were members of small registered pension plans (plans with fewer than 100 members). This compares to large registered pension plans, each with 1,000 or more members, totalling more than 4.4 million members in Canada. In the 15 years […]
Most managers of alternative assets oversee a variety of alternative strategies, including private corporate debt, private equity, real estate, long/short global bonds, managed futures and hedge funds. And managers have heard just about all of the objections to these investments—most more than once. The objectives are known as the terrible too’s. Too risky: The real […]
The head of the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council has voiced his opposition to a recent request by public sector pensioners for increased pension benefits. Richard Alexander, executive director of the council, which represents employers across the province, told The Telegram newspaper that the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Sector Pensioners’ Coalition, which represents former government […]