In its 2020 budget submission to the Ontario government, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is highlighting a lack of access to affordable prescription drugs and inflexible pension plans. With respect to prescription drugs, the CLHIA noted it supports the federal Patented Medicine Prices Review Board reforms, which were introduced on Friday. “It is crucial that the […]
Certain politicians have suggested Alberta withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and go it alone. Would the province benefit from a solitary system or is the idea short-sighted? Niels Veldhuis, economist and president of the Fraser Institute In June, Alberta’s Fair Deal panel recommended the development of a comprehensive plan to withdraw the province from […]
Defined contribution pensions are taking a bumpy ride in the coronavirus pandemic, with plan sponsors and their members facing volatile stock markets, financial uncertainty and interruptions to business as usual. Whether related to plan design, investment options, decumulation or overall financial well-being and education, what issues are taking the spotlight this year and what changes […]
Amid the activity — and inactivity — of this past summer, the federal government and several provinces reached an important milestone affecting plan sponsors and administrators of multi-jurisdictional pension plans. On July 1, 2020, a new agreement regarding the administration and regulation of these plans came into force. A little history Pension plan oversight primarily […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario are establishing a new committee to review both regulators’ approaches to supervising defined contribution pension plans. Through the collaboration, the OSFI and the FSRA is aiming to work toward improving outcomes for DC plan members and, where possible, enhance regulatory […]
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadians said they’d accept a slightly lower salary in exchange for a better — or any — pension plan, according to a new survey by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Abacus Data. The survey, which was conducted online in May and June among 3,500 Canadians aged 18 or older, […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries has selected FTSE Russell to represent the provincial and investment-grade corporate bond spread to be used for the CIA’s new market-based commuted-value calculation. The calculation is used to determine how much to pay a member of a registered defined benefit pension who leaves the plan and elects to receive their […]
Faced with ballooning and unsustainable public pension liabilities, Taiwan’s government was forced to make a tough decision. In 2017, the country’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party passed a bill to dramatically cut retirement benefits for the country’s civil servants, public school teachers, police officers, firefighters and private sector workers. The changes were unpopular, but necessary. Underfunded […]
In the wake of the pandemic-related market volatility that battered already challenged public sector defined benefit plans in the U.S., a recent paper by New York University’s Stern School of Business is arguing that Canadian-style reforms could help secure these plans for the long term. “The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new fissures in state and local […]
Quebecers are more likely to start taking benefits from the Quebec Pension Plan at age 60 than other Canadians with their Canada Pension Plan benefits, according to a new study from the Institute for Research on Public Policy. While deferring benefits is financially advantageous for some, the study found it might be prudent for single people and […]