“Plans are, for the first time in a long time, in a position to off-load risk,” says Murray Wright, one of the contributors to LifeWorks Inc.’s monthly report on Canadian pensions. According to Wright, the principal of retirement and financial solutions at LifeWorks, pension chief financial officers are paying particular attention to one number found […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is updating its process for releasing guidance regarding assumptions for hypothetical pension windup and solvency valuations. For quarterly guidance relating to periods from March 31 to Dec. 30, June 30 to Dec. 30 and Sept. 30 to Dec. 30, an explanatory report providing supporting material will be issued after the […]
The funded position for an average Canadian defined benefit pension plan improved slightly on both a solvency and accounting basis in June, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. (formerly Morneau Shepell Ltd.) The average solvency ratio was 109.3 per cent in June, compared to 108.2 per cent in May. On an accounting basis, the average […]
If there was a Hall of Fame for catastrophic years, 2020 would be a certainty for admission, with Canada among many nations around the globe struggling through a sickening cycle of coronavirus pandemic waves, interrupted only by economic and societal lockdowns. But take a look at the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan’s […]
The funded position for an average Canadian defined benefit pension plan improved slightly during May, with a solvency of 108.2 per cent, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. (formerly Morneau Shepell Ltd.) On an accounting basis, it found expenses for the average pension plan had dropped precipitously since the beginning of 2021, at […]
Two experts weigh in on the merits and drawbacks of taking the traditional annuities route versus opting for the newer do-it-yourself option. Marco Dickner, retirement risk management leader for Willis Towers Watson in Canada Although annuity purchases have become an important pension risk management option over the last decade, a countertrend is emerging for plan […]
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 […]
A first-quarter rally in both the equity markets and bond yields have propelled defined benefit pensions to their best funded positions in more than a decade, according to a report by Morneau Shepell. Based on raw data from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and internal sources that Morneau Shepell uses to compile its indices, the […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans’ funded positions continue to improve in 2021, ending the first quarter at their highest levels in more than 20 years, according to Mercer Canada’s pension health index. It found solvency ratios increased from 114 per cent at the end of 2020 to 124 per cent at the end of March 2021, with the median solvency ratio […]
Long before the global pandemic, jurisdictions across Canada were embarking on pension solvency reform, with some moving from strict 100 per cent solvency funding requirements to going-concern plus models, which incorporate a funding cushion. Low interest rates, which make solvency funding very expensive, have been a key driver pushing the going-concern plus model, says Dean […]