Four of British Columbia’s public sector pension plans are educating trustees with a new plan-specific curriculum. The curriculum — a collaboration between the College Pension Plan, the Municipal Pension Plan, the Public Service Pension Plan and the Teachers’ Pension Plan — was developed in response to a lack of plan-specific information provided in external education […]
Hootsuite Inc. is giving employees an additional paid week off this summer to support improved mental health and work-life balance. The company will shut down between Aug. 29 and Sept. 2 for its second annual wellness week, says Paul Dhillon, director of total rewards at Hootsuite, adding the technology company received plenty of positive and […]
Manulife Financial Corp. is supporting its LGBTQ2S+ employees during Pride Month and beyond with speaker sessions and ongoing enhancements to its benefits plan. Throughout June, the insurer held numerous webinars, speaker series and learning sessions that continue to educate employees and support the company’s LGBTQ2S+ workers, said Michelle Taylor-Jones, the company’s global chief diversity, equity and […]
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives aren’t a new concept for employers — just ask any human resources professional. However, in a changing world marked by growing calls for social justice, many plan sponsors are extending these initiatives beyond workplace conduct and employee benefits into retirement planning, merging diversity with their pension plans’ designs and communications […]
Scotiabank’s win at Benefits Canada’s 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards led to increased employee engagement and peer recognition, says Rosemary Hatnay, director and head of total rewards solutions and global human resources services. The bank won in the Pension plan communications category for its streamlined approach to its defined benefit plan statements, making essential information more accessible to plan […]
Scotiabank is supporting its employees’ financial well-being with a week of information sessions in June. Ayman Alvi, director of global benefits at Scotiabank, says the sessions taking place the week of June 20 will focus on all aspects of financial well-being, including the bank’s pension plan and other financial benefits available to employees. “These events have […]
The union representing roughly 900 workers at Metro Inc. warehouses in Etobicoke, Ont. has ratified a new 4.5-year collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains. Sandeep Kakan, director of pension and benefits at Unifor, says the agreement includes an increase in the defined benefit pension plan’s flat-rate benefit, retroactive to 2001, as well as […]
A Toronto-based software company is offering a virtual veterinarian service through its benefits program. Nicola Watson, human resources manager at Tribalscale Inc., says pet-owning employees can use the service, operated by Vetster Inc., to schedule up to four virtual vet visits per year. She notes the offering is in line with TribalScale’s decision to shift […]
Changes to the calculation of commuted pension values in Canada are making it more challenging for defined benefit pension plan members to determine an optimal day to quit their job and receive the maximum payout, says one actuary. Peter Gorham, an actuary at JDM Actuarial Expert Services Inc., says while he used to point plan […]
While Canadian employers have spent millions of dollars to address and support employee mental health during the coronavirus pandemic, the co-author of a new study says employee feedback is key to addressing gaps in the improvement of workplace psychological health and safety. “We’ve got random acts of wellness and we’re spending millions of dollars on […]