In its last budget, the federal government introduced the tax-free savings account (TFSA), a completely new tax-sheltered investment vehicle. Although presented more in the context of an individual product, it is expected that most administration providers of capital accumulation plans will rapidly add a group TFSA to their product line-up in 2009.
A lot has been said on member engagement, education and investment performance, but it often seems like plan design and employer contribution rates are (relatively) rapidly dealt with. Will defined contribution plans deliver sufficient retirement benefits for their participants? The real question may very well be: “Are DC plans as well funded by employers as […]
Over the years, I have given hundreds of retirement planning seminars, for all types of employers—in multiple industries—with defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans. Now, what do you think the number one question at the end of each seminar is? Fishing for decent help Retirement used to be simple. You worked all your […]
• Part two of a two-part series • In part one, Jean-Daniel took a look at lifecycle (a.k.a. “target date”) funds from the perspective of plan members. He now considers their implications for plan sponsors. Even though lifecycle funds do not provide plan sponsors with a “safe haven” from member lawsuits in Canada, they do […]
Upon my return from holidays, I had—amongst a few others—two voice mails from clients. One plan sponsor was asking for guidance to draft a memo to its employees who were asking all sorts of questions regarding what to do about the recent market correction. The other was calling to see if it was normal that […]
So you’ve done your homework over the last couple of years and have your CAP Guidelines review, leading to the implementation of some plan monitoring policies. Some are fairly obvious and generally front and centre, such as looking after the performance and adequacy of your investment options. Others may fly a bit under the radar, […]
We have all heard this in one form or another: you should progressively invest more conservatively as you approach retirement (my personal favourite is the dictum that the equity portion of retirement savings should equal 100 minus your age). But does this make sense? Where does it come from? Should defined contribution (DC) plan members […]
In their hurry to convert defined benefit plans or to set up new defined contribution arrangements, plan sponsors spend surprisingly little time selecting the type of capital accumulation plan (CAP) that best suits their situation. Yet paying a little attention in the early design stages can dramatically improve both employee satisfaction and fit with the […]
Plan sponsors put in a lot of effort monitoring the performance of investment options. Perhaps going one step further can prevent DC disasters. Investment performance measurement has often focused on portfolio managers, individual funds available in the plan, and “plan” performance. But what does “plan” performance represent in a capital accumulation plan (CAP)? As a […]