After a tough couple of years, Canadians continue to face several challenges against an increasingly turbulent economic landscape. While most coronavirus restrictions were lifted in late spring 2022, the seventh wave of the pandemic arrived in July alongside rising inflation, which is compounding prices from the gas pump to the grocery store. Though the 2022 […]
A gig worker by any other name would be a lot more expensive. In most jurisdictions, Uber Technology Inc. drivers and their app-based brethren are classified as independent contractors and not employees. As contractors in Canada, they’re not entitled to minimum wage, employer Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance contributions or to participate in tax-advantaged […]
Canada ranks No. 15 among developed nations for retiree well-being, down from No. 10 in 2021, according to Natixis Investment Managers’ annual global retirement index. The index, which provides an overview of the relative well-being and financial security of retirees in 44 countries across four indices, ranked Canada No. 11 in health, No. 12 in […]
The modern economy is highly uncertain, with inflation and rising interest rates cutting into bottom lines everywhere. Employers are nervous as the cost of capital and the cost of their inputs seems to rise every day. But employees are nervous, too. And since no one knows when inflation will end, it’s difficult for anyone to […]
AGA Benefit Solutions is acquiring Vancouver-based Aptus Benefits Inc., a group benefits and retirement consultancy with expertise in collectively bargained plans and executive disability programs. Private equity firm Novacap will finance the acquisition, which is expected to expand AGA Benefit Solutions’ reach into Western Canada, according to a press release. Read: AGA Benefit Solutions acquiring J&D Benefits […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is providing feedback on the consultation draft of revisions to the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ guidelines for capital accumulation plans. If the guidelines are to be considered a minimum standard for plan administration, the increased responsibilities may act as a deterrent to employers choosing to make a […]
Married women are more likely to say they’re confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years than both divorced and single, never-married women, according to a new survey by the U.S.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute. It found married women (80 per cent) are more likely to have a workplace retirement savings […]
Capital accumulation plan member outcomes saw a modest decline in the second quarter of 2022, as rising interest rates and the corresponding rise in annuity rates helped offset the falling investment markets, according to Eckler Ltd.’s latest CAP income tracker. It found a typical male member retiring at the end of June 2022 achieved a […]
The vast majority (90 per cent) of low to moderate income workers say they’d open a long-term savings account if they were offered incentives, according to a new survey by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and non-profit organization Commonwealth. The survey, which polled nearly 1,000 employees living on low to moderate incomes, found most respondents […]
A fifth (19 per cent) of U.S. employees say they’ve adjusted their retirement strategy and are taking a more conservative savings approach amid economic uncertainty, according to a new report by Fidelity Investments Inc. It found the total savings rate for the second quarter of 2022 continued the positive momentum achieved in the first quarter, […]