Premier Danielle Smith’s government has rejected a proposal that would have compelled it to respect the results of a referendum on whether Alberta should quit the Canada Pension Plan. On Dec. 6, the United Conservative Party’s majority government voted down an opposition amendment to Bill 2 — the Alberta Pension Protection Act — by the […]
While one expert says replacement rates vary with income and age, another argues the longstanding 70 per cent benchmark doesn’t actually work. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, director of financial security research for the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University Retirement financial security has become critically important with population ageing — now, more than ever, is […]
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago, the global economy has faced a bumpy ride, led by the lingering public health crisis, rising geopolitical tensions and high inflation. The 2023 Defined Contribution Investment Forum, which was held on Sept. 29 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, shared thought leadership on the various […]
Larry, a hypothetical defined contribution plan member, is facing a difficult calculus as he prepares to retire. Between his personal and DC plan savings, he’s accumulated $620,000 in savings for his retirement and is also expecting roughly $1,000 a month from the Canada Pension Plan and $650 in old-age security benefits. He has to determine […]
As a majority (84 per cent) of Canadian employers say they’re concerned about an emerging retirement income crisis, they also agree that, without access to employer-sponsored pension plans, workers will become a burden on the taxpayer (82 per cent) and the economy will suffer (79 per cent), according to a new survey by the Healthcare […]
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has agreed to convene a meeting with provincial and territorial finance ministers to discuss Alberta’s proposal to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan. The agreement comes after Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy called for the meeting in a letter to Freeland, saying Alberta’s withdrawal could cause “serious harm.” Freeland says any province […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau entered the Alberta pension-exit debate Wednesday, saying the federal government will fight any threat to the stability of the Canada Pension Plan. In an open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the prime minister also took her to task for launching the debate in the first place. Smith’s office didn’t immediately […]
Only 17 per cent of U.S. employees aged 50-plus and 23 per cent of retirees are very confident they’ll be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle throughout retirement, according to a new survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in collaboration with the Transamerica Institute. The survey, which polled more than 10,000 U.S. employees, […]
A third (34 per cent) of U.S. women say they don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, while a fifth (22 per cent) say they’ve emptied their employer-sponsored retirement account to meet non-retirement expenses, according to a new survey by software company Iralogix Inc. The survey, which polled more than 200 women, found nearly […]
The majority (95 per cent) of U.S. 401(k) plan sponsors say they intend to change their plan design by the end of the year, according to a new survey by Fidelity Institutional. The survey, which polled more than 1,300 employers, found a quarter said they plan to increase their matching contribution (26 per cent) and […]