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Editorial

Editorial: Wrapping up 2022 with healthy outcomes, award winners and a glimpse at the future of work

The autumn is typically a busy one for the industry, but this year was especially eventful over at Benefits Canada. After a brief hiatus, the…

Head to head: Is ‘quiet quitting’ a call for setting boundaries or updating job descriptions?

Over the past few months, the new buzz term became a divisive one for both employers and employees, so Benefits Canada asked two human resources experts to…

How BlackBerry’s wellness and spirituality rooms encourage employees to take a break

Ten years ago, while BlackBerry Ltd. was moving from its head office near the University of Waterloo campus to a complex of three office buildings in…

A look at the latest legal issues around ESG investing

As the University Pension Plan increases its focus on climate change, its responsible investment policy considers environmental, social and governance factors as essential to sound…

  • By: Blake Wolfe
  • December 16, 2022 December 15, 2022
  • 08:57

2022 CAP Suppliers Report: What’s on CAP sponsors’ wish lists for the coming year?

With the coronavirus pandemic and rising inflation causing economic uncertainty, capital accumulation plan sponsors are looking for new ways to help their members feel secure…

  • By: Sadie Janes
  • December 16, 2022 December 15, 2022
  • 08:57

How Möbius Benefit Administrators is asserting pension independence the prairie way

In 2014, Colyn Lowenberger, then the director of pension and disability administration at the City of Regina, heard a knock at his office door —…

Back to basics on third-party administrators

Third-party administrators are key health benefits industry players that have grown in size and influence but are relatively unknown and sometimes misunderstood. The Third-Party Administrators’…

Q&A with OTG Management’s Alan House

The airport hospitality company’s executive vice-president and chief human resources officer talks attraction and retention, succession planning and making memories with family. Q: What top…

Editorial

Editorial: Pandemic shining a spotlight on two black sheep benefits

In the midst of the enduring conversation about the changing nature of work and the workplace, some often underappreciated — and potentially underused — benefits…

Head to head: Should the design of portable benefits plans consider the role of employers?

As Ontario eyes a new system of portable benefits for precarious workers, one expert says these benefits can be an important attraction and retention tool…

How Bill Gosling used pandemic conditions to redesign its benefits plan

In March 2020, Bill Gosling Outsourcing’s benefits plan was facing unsustainable costs, as well as a deficit due to incoming premium increases. The coronavirus pandemic,…

  • By: Sadie Janes
  • November 18, 2022 November 28, 2022
  • 08:58

A look at the landscape for automatic features in Canadian pension plans

Matching employer contributions in capital accumulation plans are as close to free money as employees can legally get. “You’re not changing your risk — because…

2022 Top 40 Money Managers Report: The risks for DB, DC plan sponsors around alternative investments

When Saskatchewan’s Public Employees Pension Plan’s board introduced alternatives to its investment lineup in 2020 with an aim to improve the defined contribution plan’s risk-adjusted…

How InBenefits is aiming to prove the potential of target-benefit pensions

Alain Malaket has a nuanced perspective on risk — one informed by his experiences as a third-party administrator, pension regulator, consultant, pension plan director and…

Back to basics on employer-provided travel coverage

While the provision of travel insurance has long been a staple in many group benefits plans, it was thrust into the spotlight during the coronavirus…

  • By: Sadie Janes
  • November 18, 2022 November 28, 2022
  • 08:52

As employees’ screen exposure increases, is it time to update vision benefits?

Employees in most sectors are experiencing an exponential increase in the amount of time they spend in front of screens during work hours, so updates…

  • By: Sadie Janes
  • November 18, 2022 November 17, 2022
  • 08:51

Q&A with Fluor Canada’s Lisa Hari

Fluor Canada Ltd.’s manager of Indigenous relations and DEI discussed the post-coronavirus pandemic workplace, employee resource groups and fishing. Q: What top challenges do you…

Editorial

Editorial: Looking back and ahead as Benefits Canada celebrates 45 years

The first issue of Benefits Canada hit the desks of the country’s human resources, benefits, pension and investment professionals in 1977, four years before I…

Head to head: Should employees be saving for retirement or focusing on other financial priorities?

As Canadians face continued economic uncertainty, a recent university graduate and a long-time teacher share their views on balancing different financial priorities. Sul Mahmood, age…

  • By: Leah Golob
  • October 14, 2022 October 14, 2022
  • 08:59

KPMG’s new daily living benefit providing support for employees with disabilities

As employers increasingly focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in their human resources policies and benefits programs, KPMG in Canada has introduced a daily living…

A look at the past, present and future of benefits plans

The provision of employer-sponsored benefits has evolved significantly over the last 45 years, with the past decade ushering in the most consequential changes, fueled by…

2022 Top 50 DC Plans Report: How are DC pension plans evolving?

While defined contribution pension plans currently outnumber defined benefit pension plans, this wasn’t always the case, recalls Bita Jenab, a principal at RetirementWorks Services Inc.…

Late 70s back in vogue as institutional investors look to the future

As a fresh-faced elementary school student in 1977, Aaron Bennett wasn’t quite in the target demographic for the freshly launched Benefits Canada magazine. Still, Bennett…

45th anniversary column: Major shifts in benefits and their implications for employers

Our industry sometimes gets a bad rap for being overly traditional and slow to change. But there’s no question we’ve seen some major shifts in…

45th anniversary column: How employee benefits have changed in the last 45 years

I was a little daunted to write a piece for Benefits Canada’s 45th anniversary issue — it has been almost 15 years since I last…

  • By: Don Bisch
  • October 14, 2022 November 8, 2022
  • 08:52