As demographics change, companies will need to be more flexible in setting up work schedules, said Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge. Many individuals might want to stay active in the labour force well past the conventional retirement age and it’s important to remove any barriers to their continued participation, he explained in a speech […]
American companies and their employees don’t think their current benefit programs are fully meeting their needs, says a survey by Towers Perrin. Just 25% of the executive respondents agreed their programs are very effective at meeting cost control objectives and less than half said their programs are very effective at meeting recruiting and retention objectives. […]
Pension funds have been early consumers of 130/30 strategies, responsible for most of the US$50 billion invested, according to a report by Merrill Lynch. The growth of funds in this area is also expected to continue. Large quant managers “expect to see continued strong demand in the institutional arena, as their 130/30 quantitatively oriented strategies […]
Returns generated by private equity exceed those in the public markets, according to Mark Wiseman, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s senior vice president, private investments. Although the returns can’t be measured precisely, it’s no wonder institutional investors are moving into the space, he said yesterday at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. […]
The Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan(CCWIPP)and others are facing a lawsuit from California-based Case Financial. The company claims fraud arose out of their conduct with respect to prior litigation over agreements to purchase a waterfront hotel property in the Bahamas. The suit alleges that the defendants made fraudulent misrepresentations intended to induce Case Financial […]
The funding status of a typical U.S. pension plan dropped by 3.4 percentage points in February because of last week’s stock market tumble, according to Mellon Financial. Last month, the value of assets declined by 0.1% while liabilities increased 3.3%. The rise in liabilities was driven by a 30- to 35-basis-point decline in interest rates. […]
Nortel Networks says it understated its Canadian and American pension costs by US$104 million over several years. The Toronto-based firm identified certain errors primarily through discussions with its North American pension and post-retirement plan actuaries. Nortel will restate its financial results for 2004, 2005 and the first nine months of 2006, and will make adjustments […]
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that survivors of gay and lesbian partners will now be entitled to one year of retroactive Canada Pension Plan benefits. Plaintiffs in the case were seeking survivor benefits to be extended to 1985, when the Charter of Rights and Freedoms took effect. The court said making payments retroactive […]
Goodyear plans to freeze its defined benefit(DB)plans next year and replace them with enhanced 401(k)accounts. The company will also increase the amounts that current and future salaried retirees contribute toward the cost of their medical benefits, redesign retiree medical benefit plans to minimize cost impact on premiums, close its Medicare supplement plan to new entrants, […]
OMERS has appointed Michael Nobrega as the new chief executive officer. Earlier this month, current CEO Paul Haggis and the pension plan said his decision to leave was mutual. Nobrega is currently president and chief executive of Borealis Infrastructure, which manages infrastructure for OMERS. The March issue of Benefits Canada takes a look at Haggis’s […]