More than half (61 per cent) of U.S. employees nearing retirement age believe low interest rates combined with rising inflation will make it difficult to create a retirement income stream that will last their lifetimes, according to a new survey by Global Atlantic Financial Group. It also found a quarter (24 per cent) of survey […]
A story that took an in-depth look at the federal government’s 2022 budget proposals and their potential impacts on employers and employees was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: What’s in the federal budget for employers, employees? Physical health, work-life balance and […]
In 2021, Foresters Financial redesigned its retirement and benefits plans to be more flexible, relevant and competitive, modernizing the plans with the recognition that employees have varying financial priorities. “Overall, we have a very diverse employee base,” says Ken Adams, the financial services company’s vice-president of total rewards. “Someone who is a few years out […]
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 […]
The vast majority of U.S. employers are eyeing enhancements to their defined contribution pension plans in an effort to boost their employees’ retirement security and financial well-being, according to a new survey by WTW. It found 75 per cent of DC plan sponsors made a change to their plans in the last two years and […]
Canadian employees’ top concerns are physical health and fitness, work load and work-life balance, ability to retire and mental health, according to a new survey by Mercer Canada. The survey, which polled 1,000 Canadian employees, found lower-wage workers were most worried about their ability to retire, followed by physical health and fitness and mental health. […]
Changes to the calculation of commuted pension values in Canada are making it more challenging for defined benefit pension plan members to determine an optimal day to quit their job and receive the maximum payout, says one actuary. Peter Gorham, an actuary at JDM Actuarial Expert Services Inc., says while he used to point plan […]
Empower Retirement, the U.S. subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc., has completed the previously announced acquisition of Prudential Financial Inc.’s full-service retirement business. With the completed acquisition, Empower’s reach in the U.S. is expanded to more than 17.1 million retirement plan participants and assets under administration to US$1.4 trillion on behalf of about 71,000 workplace savings plans, according to […]
While 84 per cent of U.S. employees believe their employer should be responsible for their financial well-being, only 55 per cent feel their company is concerned about their financial wellness, according to a new survey by SoFi at Work and Workplace Intelligence. The survey, which polled 800 full-time employees and 800 human resources leaders, found three-quarters (75 […]
In 2020, more than 6.2 million Canadians put aside a total of $50.1 billion for their retirement by making contributions to their registered retirement savings plan, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Compared with a year earlier, contributions increased 13 per cent in 2020, while the number of contributors increased 4.9 per cent. In current dollars, the median RRSP contribution […]