Canada’s governments should consider updating the current retirement age to match the reality of today’s workforce, according to a new report by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. “Canadians are living longer than ever, and many are choosing to work beyond age 65,” said John Dark, president of the CIA, in the report. “It makes sense to […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada has released comments on the proposed strategic priorities for the newly formed Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, which will officially launch this spring. “In our first year, our focus is on burden reduction and regulatory effectiveness,” the FSRA said in a consultation paper on proposed priorities for 2019-20. […]
In early 2016, Rogers Communications Inc. announced it would be closing its defined benefit plan to new entrants and replacing it with a defined contribution plan. The company offered staff six months to enrol in the DB plan before its closure on July 1, 2016. While it faced several challenges in administering the DB plan, […]
Defined contribution plan sponsors should consider Canada’s public pension system when designing their plans, according to a panel comparing the Canadian system to the ones in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden at Benefits Canada’s 2019 DC Plan Summit in Banff, Alta. in February. Canada’s three-pillar system is comprised of old-age security and the guaranteed income […]
In its 2019 budget announcement on Thursday, the Ontario government said it’s taking a step towards implementing a framework for target-benefit pension plans. The budget included preliminary legislative changes that would expand the eligibility criteria for multi-employer target-benefit plans to include non-unionized multi-employer plans, in addition to those that are collectively bargained. The move is intended […]
A new paper from Ryerson University’s National Institute of Ageing is calling for the creation of workplace tax-free pension plans to better support Canadians’ financial security in retirement. Under the current workplace registered pension plan model, noted the research, lower to middle income Canadians are essentially discouraged from saving for retirement due to the potential financial […]
The Ontario government is eliminating the requirement of government approval for employers seeking to merge single-employer pension plans with jointly sponsored pension plans. The change, put through as Bill 66, repeals section 80.4(1) of the Pension Benefits Act. It’s intended to make it easier for employers to pool risk, according to a release from the province’s Ministry of […]
The union representing University of Saskatchewan support workers is one step closer to striking in an ongoing dispute regarding its members’ wages and pensions. Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1975, which has been without a contract since the end of 2015, voted to strike in September 2018 but has been held back by two disputes in front of […]
Multiple stakeholder groups are praising the 2019 federal budget’s proposal to amend tax rules to allow for late-life and variable annuity structures. The proposed advanced life deferred annuity would be a qualifying annuity purchase under registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds, including trusts run by these accounts, as well as defined contribution pension […]
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. […]