Pension and benefits litigation is on the rise in Canada. What should plan sponsors do to prepare? The past few years have shown a steady increase in pension and benefits disputes between employers and employees—due, in part, to the introduction of class actions in Ontario, said Stephanie Kalinowski, partner in Hicks Morley’s pension and benefits […]
Considering the rising costs of retirement in recent years—along with projected future increases—the “golden years” are looking a little tarnished. Sylvester J. Schieber, chairman of the U.S. Social Security Advisory Board, made some grim predictions for the retirement situation in Canada and in the U.S. at the 2008 Pensions Summit in Toronto on Monday. Ensuring […]
While pension risk remains a concern for Canadian organizations, many executives no longer view the situation as a long-term crisis, according to the results of the 2008 Survey on Pension Risk conducted by the Conference Board of Canada and Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Analyzing the responses from chief executive officers (CFOs) and vice-presidents of human resources […]
With the noteholder vote just days away, Purdy Crawford, chair of the Pan-Canadian Investors Committee, answered questions on the proposed restructuring of the Canadian third-party structured asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) at a Toronto CFA Society luncheon Tuesday. Francesca Guolo, partner at Goodmans LLP and Andrew Kresse, managing director, global structured solutions, with JPMorgan Securities, rounded […]
Should we worry about saving enough for retirement or are the Chicken Littles of the world making us paranoid? Dr. Sherry Cooper, executive vice-president and global economic strategist with BMO Financial Group and chief economist with BMO Capital Markets, talks about what retirement will look like in the future. Your recent book, The New Retirement, […]
Looking at the performance of global property investments, it really is all about location, location. A recent breakfast seminar in Toronto, hosted by ABN AMRO Asset Management and presented by Nancy Holland, global head of property, examined the past performance of global property and offered an outlook for the future. The presentation showed that performance […]
Take shelter from the storm, but also take heart, was the message delivered by Avery Shenfeld, managing director and senior economist with CIBC World Markets, at a lunch seminar sponsored by CIBC Mellon on Wednesday. Although fears persist about a recession in the U.S., the global economic outlook isn’t so grim. Emerging markets such as […]
Let’s get the party started! On Apr. 2, 2008, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) will once again be leading the celebrations for National Employee Benefits Day. Recognized both in Canada and in the U.S., the annual holiday was established by the IFEBP in 2004 as an opportunity for plan sponsors to reaffirm […]
Plan sponsors are going to great lengths in their benefits plan communications. Prepare to be amazed. With a wider range of options available than ever before, the search is on for better ways to communicate. Plan sponsors are thinking more strategically about how to get their employees to sit up and take notice. And that’s […]
EDS Canada was moving from a traditional plan to a flexible benefits plan and needed to get the message across to employees in a positive way. The challenge was to help employees understand their options and choose the coverage levels most appropriate to their individual circumstances. “When you move to a flex plan, you need […]