tax – Benefits Canada.com

Is the single-employer DB pension plan dead or merely modernizing for the future?

Jennifer Paterson — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:00:01 +0000

Predictions of the demise of defined benefit pension plans are premature. The reality is DB is still alive and well in the public sector, with a growing number of multi-employer plans making the promise of financial certainty in retirement provided by DB pensions available to private sector employers of all sizes. What’s under threat is […]

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A look at China’s private pension pilot project

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 12:54:14 +0000

Traditionally, Chinese workers have relied on two pillars of income in retirement — the basic state pension and employer-sponsored plans open to employees in certain sectors. However, in late 2022, the Chinese government poured some concrete into the mould of a third pillar, unveiling the details of a previously announced private pension scheme. Under the […]

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FSRA releases final pension deregistration guidance

Sadie Janes — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:00:53 +0000

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario has released its final pension deregistration guidance, which identifies the documents, information and timeframes that are required under exemptions from the Pension Benefits Act to avoid a plan’s deregistration under the Income Tax Act. Maintaining ITA registration will permit the pension plan and its members to continue to […]

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Proposed tax amendments add complexity for pension administrators, says expert

Jennifer Paterson — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 13:00:27 +0000

The Department of Finance’s proposals relating to the Income Tax Act, sales tax and other legislation adds complexity where compliance is already extremely challenging for pension plan administrators, according to Greg Hurst, managing director of Greg Hurst & Associates. In the legislative proposals, published earlier this month, the government released explanatory notes in relation to […]

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What are the legal considerations for employers returning to onsite working?

Sadie Janes — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 13:00:43 +0000

As the coronavirus pandemic recedes, employers planning a return to the office have several legal issues to consider. Hugh Christie, a Toronto-based managing partner at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, suggests employers first ensure their offices are properly set up for each department, as well as the personal situations of employees, such as workers with […]

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PIAC urging feds to allow tax-free mergers of target-date funds

bwolfe — Wed, 04 May 2022 13:00:29 +0000

The Pension Investment Association of Canada is urging the federal government to allow for tax-free mergers of maturing target-date funds. In a letter to the Department of Finance Canada, the PIAC said current tax rules don’t permit tax-free mergers of a target-date fund series into a terminal fund — where a target-date fund provider will […]

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Federal government extending pandemic aid for employers, employees

mdunne — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 14:00:31 +0000

The federal government is extending several coronavirus pandemic aid measures as the pandemic rages on. During the economic and fiscal update on Tuesday, the government announced it’s extending the simplified rules for deducting home office expenses and increasing the temporary flat rate from $400 to $500 annually. In 2020, the government set out a temporary flat-rate […]

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2021 GIC coverage: Pension investment and the use of leverage — a tax perspective

Gideon Scanlon — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 11:51:02 +0000

Some four decades ago, parliamentarians voted to restrict pension funds’ ability to borrow money without losing their tax-exempt status, though their reasoning has been lost to time. “These rules have been around forever, but . . . their intended purpose [remains obscure],” said Matias Milet, a partner at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP, during a […]

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Pensions for ousted and retired MPs could cost taxpayers $42M

Gideon Scanlon — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 19:00:41 +0000

The 17 pension-qualified members of parliament who stood down or were ousted during last week’s federal election will receive $1.4 million per year in payments, according to a new report by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The think tank, which tracks government expenditure in Canada, says that, should the MPs each live to 90 years old, […]

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How are employers supporting the big shift to remote work?

ANNA CAMPION — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 04:52:23 +0000

For years, many employees had ad hoc, work-from-home arrangements with their employers. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which kicked the shift to remote working into overdrive, forcing employers to spring into action to find ways to best use group benefits plans to support their employees through the change. As a result, employers came up with […]

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