More than half (56 per cent) of people in the world’s 10 fastest growing economies have retirement goals at roughly twice the size of what they’re actually likely to have accumulated by age 60, according to a new report by multinational financial services company Standard Chartered. In the top 10 fastest growing economies — which include China, […]
About a year ago, Benefits Canada introduced a few new columns and features, including our Head to Head, where every month we choose a hot industry question and open up a two-person debate. I’m often tempted to join in the discussion, but ultimately fall on the side of restraint. This month, though, I can’t resist […]
This month’s Head to head considers the merits of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans as the country’s pension landscape becomes an increasingly diverse patchwork. Jerry Dias, president of Unifor National: Let’s cut to the chase. Absent a voice for workers through a union and collective bargaining, there really wouldn’t be much debate around defined […]
Pension plan stakeholders will see a continued evolution of both short- and long-term reform, with some significant developments expected in 2020. “Hopefully, Ontario will finalize the rules for its target benefit regime — perhaps we’ll see the introduction of single employer target-benefit rules — and there should be some action on variable benefits because the […]
A new report by the C.D. Howe Institute is recommending the federal government amend legislation to allow Canadians to buy life annuities within a tax-free savings account. It also suggested the government modifies the draft legislation creating advanced deferred life annuities and variable payment life annuities to make them both available within a TFSA. “More than 45,000 employers […]
Eight hundred unionized employees of Regina-based Co-op Refinery remain locked out after contract negotiations stalled. The refinery, which is part of Federated Co-operatives Ltd., locked out members of Unifor Local 594 on Dec. 5. Unifor said Co-op is demanding major concessions on the employees’ defined benefit pension. Currently, the DB plan is fully funded by Co-op, but […]
Canadian insurance and risk management brokerage Navacord Corp. is acquiring Concord, Ont.-based SmartChoice Benefits Inc. The acquisition will allow Navacord to enter the third-party administration space, noted a press release. “It also shows our commitment to building the required scale, carrier relationships, . . . products and technology solutions to place us among the leaders in the Canadian market for […]
Heading into 2020 and beyond, the outlook for interest rates is impacting the federal government’s projected pension obligations and its budgetary balance. In its 2019 fall economic update on Monday, the government reduced the projected budgetary balance by $4.2 billion in 2019/20 and $11.6 billion in 2024/25. While the balance projections aren’t entirely related to pension obligations, […]
Two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadian millennials said they worry if they buy a home and delay their savings, they won’t have enough for retirement, according to a new survey by KPMG. However, among millennial survey respondents who do own a home, 42 per cent said they’re putting their retirement savings on hold to pay […]
The majority (70 per cent) of U.S. employees said their top financial concern is saving enough money for retirement, according to a new survey by StanCorp Financial Group Inc. The survey, which polled 1,000 full-time U.S. employees between the ages of 21 and 69, also found 57 per cent said they’re also concerned about monthly […]