Over the past 25 years, Canada’s retirement system has evolved significantly through new funding frameworks and federal and provincial reforms to facilitate innovation in plan design. And with Canadians living and working longer and investment returns predicted to soften, it’s no surprise the pension industry is calling for an update to the Income Tax Act […]
The federal budget has proposed the end of health and welfare trusts, suggesting either a conversion to employee life and health trusts or a windup by the end of 2020. While the government added rules in regards to employee life and health trusts to the Income Tax Act in 2010, the Canada Revenue Agency has been providing administrative positions about […]
B.C. plan sponsors will have lots of questions to consider as the provincial government prepares to introduce a new employer health tax. “It’s going to be interesting, because the employers, obviously, are going to be looking at that employer health tax as a cost of doing business,” says Avinash Maniram, a partner and senior consultant at PBI […]
Saskatchewan’s announcement that it’s reinstating its provincial sales tax exemption for life and health insurance premiums is welcome news for plan sponsors in the province. Debra Wiegers, a benefits consultant and head of the group benefits division at Saskatoon-based Wiegers Financial & Benefits, says calculations conducted by some of her employer clients show savings of between […]
British Columbia is introducing a new employer health tax as it moves to fully eliminate medical services plan premiums. During the province’s 2018 budget announcement on Tuesday, Finance Minister Carole James said the government will eliminate premiums by Jan. 1, 2020. The government estimates the move will save people up to $900 a year and families up to $1,800 a year. Read: Seven […]
Almost all Canadian middle-class families will see more money coming off their paycheques by the time changes to the Canada Pension Plan take full effect, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. The report, released today, includes both the portion of CPP contributions paid by the employer and the employee in its calculations and accounts for the full […]
Should Canadians be able to dip into their registered retirement savings plans to help their children buy their first house? The Canadian Real Estate Association certainly thinks so. It recently made a submission to the House of Commons standing committee on finance recommending the idea for the 2018 federal budget, as an extension of the federal government’s […]
A new report is recommending the immediate increase of the trigger age for drawing down registered retirement savings, suggesting it should continue to rise with longevity. The report, published by the C.D. Howe Institute, is targeting changes to age-sensitive programs, noting the expected budget crunch for Canadian governments as the workforce ages. It says the rules that dictate when Canadians can start receiving […]
The new tax framework for cannabis products will include medical marijuana, according to the proposed excise duty framework published by the federal government on Friday. Advocates for medical marijuana, including Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana and the Arthritis Society, have stated that while they recognize and welcome continued consultations, they believe the plan hurts patients. “Applying any tax to […]
The current environment is simply too difficult for Canadians to save adequately for retirement, given increased longevity and the low yields on appropriate investments, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute that suggests raising contribution limits to retirements savings plans to 30 per cent per year. “People are living longer and — […]