In the fourth industrial revolution, technology is changing at a fast pace with a rolling effect on various industries. It’s also changing how people work, spend their money and save, said Jean-Philippe Provost, senior partner and wealth business leader at Mercer Canada. At the consultancy’s annual retirement outlook event on Thursday, Provost walked through current practices in the Canadian […]
Great-West Lifeco Inc. has signed a deal to sell its U.S. annuity and individual life insurance businesses to a subsidiary of Protective Life Corp. for $1.6 billion. Paul Mahon, president and chief executive officer at Great-West Life, says the deal will let the company focus on retirement and asset management markets in the U.S. Protective Life […]
Since plan administrators and sponsors aren’t generally pension or group retirement specialists, they depend on information from consultants and record keepers to determine the choices they’re going to make within a group retirement plan. They’re also inundated by outside information regarding what actions to take within the plan. All of this information can be overwhelming, so here are three […]
Canada should be considering the feasibility of a portable benefits plan for employees across the country, according to the Public Policy Forum. A portable benefits plan would fill the needs of transient employees engaged in part-time or temporary work who have limited or no access to benefits and pensions, noted the report. It would also provide […]
Fewer U.S. employees are reporting their employers are offering benefits, according to a new survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald & Associates. Despite a tight labour market, the survey found declines in eight out of the 10 most popular benefits offerings. Health insurance remained the most frequently offered (78 per cent) benefit in […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada isn’t supportive of providing a super-priority for unfunded pension liabilities and other post-retirement benefits in an insolvency situation. “While we recognize that the intention of such a change would be to enhance retirement security for plan beneficiaries, we believe that overall impact on the retirement income system would be negative,” […]
The gig economy has changed many Canadians’ ability to manage their finances and plan for retirement, according to a new survey by TD Canada Trust. The survey found only 11 per cent of non-traditional employees feel secure about their retirement. One in five (20 per cent) survey respondents who describe themselves as gig workers, job jumpers or postponed […]
Any modifications to federal pension legislation should encourage plan sponsors to continue offering defined benefit pension plans, while helping them fulfil their pension promises to plan members, according to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. “Fulfilling pension promises is especially important for those plan members who can least afford the risk of benefit reductions, such as those with […]
More than a third of Canadians aren’t confident they’ll reach their financial goal for retirement, according to a new survey by the Royal Bank of Canada. The bank, which surveyed 2,000 non-retired Canadians, found 16 per cent are very confident, 45 per cent felt somewhat confident and 39 per cent aren’t confident they’ll ever reach their retirement […]
Half of working-age Canadian women are worried they won’t have enough money to cover care and medical expenses once they retire, according to a new study by HSBC Bank Canada. Apart from medical needs, almost half (44 per cent) of this group said they’re afraid they’ll struggle to pay for basic necessities during retirement, compared with 37 […]