The largest defined benefit pension plans in the U.S. saw average funded status improve by eight per cent in 2021, according to a new report by Willis Towers Watson. It found the country’s largest DB pension plans saw their average funded statuses reach 96 per cent last year, higher than at any point since 2007. […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw its funding position deteriorate slightly on both a solvency and accounting basis in November, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. According to the report, the index covering the estimated average DB plan saw its solvency ratio dip, from 111.5 per cent to 110.8 per cent. […]
Air Canada and unions representing more than 20,000 employees are reaching an agreement that will wind down a shared pension trust to the benefit of retired workers who are part of the company’s defined benefit plans. The airline was granted relief from pension solvency funding when facing insolvency in 2009. As part of the arrangement, […]
After being off of Canadians’ radar screens for years, the re-emergence of inflation in recent months is receiving significant attention for many, including pension plan professionals. Some believe the inflationary increases will be transitory because recent price increases are primarily due to short-term disruptions in the Canadian economy caused by the emergence from restrictions due […]
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is amending funding rules for the province’s multi-employer pension plans. The amendments include a permanent exemption from solvency funding requirements for MEPPs, retroactive to Dec. 31, 2020, when the previous temporary exemption ended. In addition, going-concern unfunded liabilities must now be funded over 10 years instead of the previous […]
The solvency status of Canada’s defined benefit pension plans dipped for the first time this year in July, according to a new report by Lifeworks Inc. The monthly pension indices report found the average Canadian DB pension plan saw its solvency ratio dip to 108.7, down 0.6 from the previous month. This is the first […]
More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of registered defined benefit pensions plans in Ontario have solvency ratios above 100 per cent, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s second quarterly update. The report found average funded ratios were up for the fifth consecutive quarter, with the median funded ratio reaching 106 per cent […]
The average funded ratio of the top private sector defined benefit pension plans in the U.S. dipped for the first time since September 2020, according to a new index by actuarial firm Milliman. The index, which tracks the funded ratio of the 100 top-performing U.S. private sector DB plans, saw the average ratio dip to […]
The aggregate funded ratio for Canadian defined benefit pension plans in the S&P/TSX composite index increased from 94.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 to 95.6 per cent in the second quarter, according to a new report from Aon. It also found pension assets rose by four per cent during the same period. The […]
While solvency funding relief helped Canada’s pension funds withstand the turbulence of 2020, a long-term vision with an eye to a more robust funding framework would offer better support, according to pensions experts. Responding to the crisis, the federal government launched a consultation last fall on measures to alleviate pension solvency funding requirements for defined […]