The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan exceeded its return benchmark in 2021, though its solvency ratio on a growing-concern basis remains underwater, according to its annual report. The defined benefit pension plan’s assets grew by 6.1 per cent last year, reaching $5.856 billion. Net investment returns, however, grew by 9.63 per cent, slightly higher than […]
The economic impact of the pandemic has been unevenly distributed across various industries, with travel and transportation among the hardest-hit sectors. However, while travel restrictions and subsequent employee layoffs in these industries made headlines throughout 2020 and 2021, the pension plans provided by these employers have largely weathered any economic fallout. The impact on air […]
While a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw negative investment returns in March, it also improved on a solvency and accounting basis, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. Last month, the typical DB pension plan used in LifeWork’s monthly pension indices saw investments dip in value by 0.4 per cent as a […]
The average solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans in Mercer’s database increased five percentage points in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report by the consultancy. The report, which assessed the performance of 464 pension plans, found as at March 31, 2022, the plans’ average solvency ratio reached 108 per […]
The second year of the coronavirus pandemic offered defined benefit pension plan sponsors a reprieve from the chaos sown in financial markets during its first year. “A lot of pension plans ended up roughly where they started in 2020, but it was a very bumpy road,” says Gavin Benjamin, a retirement and financial solutions partner […]
Despite rising concerns about inflation and the war in Ukraine, the funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan improved slightly on both a solvency and accounting basis in February, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. In February, the solvency of the average DB pension plan rose by half a per […]
An article on British Columbia’s paramedics and their need for enhanced mental-health benefits was the most read story over the past week on BenefitsCanada.com. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. B.C. paramedics seeking enhanced mental-health benefits 2. Canadian pension plans overcoming legislation, governance challenges: webinar 3. Ontario’s DB pension plans should take steps […]
With Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans in their best financial shape since 2009, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is advising plan sponsors and administrators to better prepare for the future. “They need a good sense of investment policies as well as how the plan itself may be affected [by different scenarios],” says Lester […]
Nearly two years after the declaration of the global coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent impact on the worldwide economy, institutional investors are looking to the future with cautious optimism. Amid a recovering economy and rising inflation, pension plan sponsors are taking a long-term investment view and staying the course in the year ahead, while incorporating […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw improvements on a solvency and accountancy basis in December, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. It found the average plan saw its solvency index rise to a new high of 112.1 per cent, up from 110.4 per cent at the end of November. Its balance sheet […]