In my formative school years, it was mandatory for all students to learn cooking, carpentry and typing, among other non-academic pursuits. While I’m certainly grateful to have those life skills, as I get older I wonder why we weren’t taught to invest in the stock market, save for retirement or do our taxes. Generationally, I […]
In helping employees save for their future, the Royal Bank of Canada recognizes the importance of meeting its staff where they are on their financial journeys. Over the past few years, the bank noticed employees weren’t saving enough into its pension plans. In particular, new hires and younger workers who were invited to join the […]
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 […]