There’s little doubt that working Canadians want a secure source of retirement income. The challenge for the pension industry is how to deliver the desired retirement income in a sustainable manner. In April 2017, the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council published the results of a survey that provided key takeaways that will be useful to governments, policy-makers […]
A retired lieutenant in the naval reserve has launched a $100-million lawsuit against the Canadian Armed Forces for “chronic, excessive and unreasonable” delay in paying discharged members their pension benefits. Donald Jost, 50, has commenced a proposed class proceeding on behalf of all members of the regular and reserve Canadian forces who were discharged as […]
“Indexing has its place, but an open-ended commitment at taxpayers’ expense is totally out of the question, particularly when the private sector cannot afford to include such open-ended liabilities as a business expense.” That was the conclusion of a Benefits Canada story entitled “The new elite: those with indexed pensions.” Read: Chronicling the Canadian pension […]
It seems the current pension crisis — whether it be over reform of the Canada Pension Plan or high levels of underfunding among private plans — is always the most significant one yet. But as past issues of Benefits Canada going all the way back to the first one in 1977 show, alarm about the […]
While today marks the one-year anniversary of Ottawa reaching an agreement with most of the provinces to expand the Canada Pension Plan, the future of the Quebec Pension Plan remains up in the air. While the enhanced CPP will take effect in 2019, there’s still uncertainty around what Quebec will do with the QPP. The […]
The enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan are problematic and incomplete and won’t do much to improve the retirement income prospects of low-income employees, according to a new study by the Institute for Research on Public Policy. The study, authored by pension consultant Bob Baldwin and statistician Richard Shillington, does acknowledge that the Liberal government […]
Alongside the Ontario government’s announcement earlier this month regarding a new funding framework for defined benefit pension plans in the province, it also said it would require plan administrators to establish written governance and funding policies. This move is one of a number of proposed measures designed to protect benefit security for members of defined […]
A key aspect to managing the increasing compensation costs of federal government employees is a transition away from defined benefit pension models, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. Target-benefit plans would provide more stable contribution rates by allowing more benefit flexibility, says the report, while another option would be jointly-sponsored pension plans, in […]
I’ve often said that Canada’s three-pillar retirement income system serves today’s seniors rather well, especially those who used to have lower working income. The system is far from perfect, however, and one of its more glaring flaws involves the ages at which people can retire. I have yet to hear a cogent justification for why […]
The Ontario government is moving to allow for variable benefits from defined contribution pension plans, according to the 2017 budget tabled yesterday. “I think it’s positive the Ontario government gets that [addressing] decumulation is a rising need for capital accumulation plans,” says Joe Nunes, president of Actuarial Solutions Inc. But he cautions that the proposed solution, […]