The Ontario government is moving forward with legislation around variable benefits from defined contribution plans, facilitating mergers into jointly sponsored pension plans and enabling the electronic designation of beneficiaries in pension plans. In its 2018 economic outlook and fiscal review, released on Thursday, the province said it will move forward with the change, which was […]
The numbers in the Toronto Transit Commission’s benefits fraud investigation are staggering — 725 total cases, 220 dismissals, 120 arbitrations, 10 employees charged and more than $3 million in exposure. “All this stuff is still ongoing. The insurance company hasn’t cut us a cheque yet,” Mark Russell, staff sergeant, investigative services at the TTC, told attendees at […]
Factoring environmental, social and governance considerations into investment decisions is good risk management, according to one pension plan sponsor. “Definitely for real assets, we see it presenting risks, but also opportunities,” said Donna Mathieu, chief executive officer of NAV Canada Corp.’s pension plan, while speaking on a panel at the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute’s 2018 […]
Marijuana. Cannabis. Pot. Weed. Bud. Grass. Reefer. Kush. Mary Jane. Ganja. Doobie. Trees. No matter what you call it, marijuana is dominating the Canadian news cycle in 2018. And I think it’s about time. At Benefits Canada, it’s cropping up in every area we cover, including how employers can add medical marijuana coverage into their […]
Imagine there was an option to assemble the ideal retirement savings plan: a pinch of automatic features, a teaspoon of benefits guarantee, a cup of pooled investments, stirring the best elements of a defined benefit pension into the structure of a defined contribution plan. It may not be as simple as combining ingredients, but as […]
I am woman. Hear me roar. It may seem a rather cliched way to open my first editorial for Benefits Canada, but it’s no exaggeration to say 2018 has been a watershed year for bringing attention to gender equality and diversity on a global scale. And whether we’re whispering, shouting or roaring, I believe we […]
As Air Canada seeks approval from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to form its own life insurance company, bringing it one step closer to the annuities market, will this move become a trend for large organizations with looming pension payouts? In an email to Benefits Canada, a spokesperson from the airline said the move is […]
The job of a pension consultant has evolved considerably over Bita Jenab’s 30-year career in the field. The mid-1990s saw a greater focus on governance and the arrival of the investment consultant, while the 2000s featured a mass move to defined contribution plans and significant changes to pension legislation. Through all of that, plan sponsors […]
After several months of negotiations between Nova Scotia’s East Coast Credit Union and Unifor, 44 employees have voted in favour of strike action over the proposed closure of their defined benefit plan. The credit union is proposing to close the pension to new entrants and then wind it up over 10 years, according to president and chief executive officer Ken […]
Facing a $10.3-million pension deficit in 2016, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa had some tough decisions to make. It felt that closing its defined benefit plan, converting to a defined contribution arrangement or cutting benefits were all out of the question. But with the Ontario government having enacted regulations in 2015 to permit the […]