The union representing 89 employees at the University of Toronto has ratified a two-year agreement that includes retirement and benefits gains, including gender affirmation coverage. The agreement includes six retiring allowance packages equivalent to two months of base wages for employees who qualify for an unreduced pension in accordance with the University Pension Plan’s provisions. […]
An article on how defined benefit pension plan sponsors can use a surplus was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Expert panel: How DB pension plan sponsors can use surplus 2. Median solvency ratio of Ontario DB pensions rose to 115% in Q1 […]
The University Pension Plan is appointing Karen Rowe as its chief financial officer. In the new role, she’ll oversee the teams responsible for the UPP’s corporate finance, investment finance and operations functions. Rowe will also collaborate with the UPP’s leadership team and board to provide strategic leadership, advice and counsel on operational processes and business […]
After reaching a near 40-year high over the past year, headline inflation started to cool in the final months of 2022 following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index was up 6.3 per cent year over year in December, down from a […]
The Federal Court’s ruling that the termination of long-term disability benefits for Air Canada employees eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Termination of LTD benefits for Air Canada workers eligible […]
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, institutional investors are increasingly factoring geopolitical risks into portfolio construction, according to John Bai, senior vice-president and chief investment officer at NEI Investments, during a 2023 economic outlook seminar hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Wednesday. “All of a sudden, geopolitical risks went from […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec received the highest mark in a report card grading the climate strategies of the 11 largest public pension investment organizations in Canada. The Caisse’s strategy, which received a B+ from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, was praised for including provisions to divest its portfolio […]
“As the preceding presentations showed quite clearly, the climate is changing and the impact won’t have a linear correlation with temperature rises,” said Aaron Bennett, chief investment officer of the University Pension Plan, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 Investment Innovation Conference. This once controversial position underpinned the $11-billion multi-employer defined benefit […]
As the University Pension Plan increases its focus on climate change, its responsible investment policy considers environmental, social and governance factors as essential to sound long-term investing. “We’ve seen a lot of evidence from a variety of service providers — from investment banks to investment managers — that have demonstrated [the climate] is getting warmer […]
In 2022, the University Pension Plan implemented a growth plan, investment strategy, climate action plan and administration system. In a note to the jointly sponsored defined benefit pension plan’s 37,000 members, Barbara Zvan, its president and chief executive officer, touted the achievements during the UPP’s first full calendar year as well as the plans for its second. […]