DC – Benefits Canada.com

Back to basics on investment glide paths

bmcgovern — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 12:53:46 +0000

Simply put, a glide path is a calculation designed to support an employee’s desired retirement timeline through investments in a target-date fund. When an employee first joins a defined contribution pension plan with a target-date fund, they’re exposed to capital appreciation assets that offer the most attractive risk-adjusted returns in the wealth accumulation phase, typically […]

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Global pension assets up 11% in 2023: report

bwolfe — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:00:59 +0000

Global pension assets increased by 11 per cent to reach US$55.7 trillion in 2023, up from $50.2 trillion at the end of 2022, according to a new report by WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute. This growth was attributed to stronger capital market performance following a much more negative impact from markets in the correction of 2022, […]

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Halifax Port ILA/HEA assessing past, future of DB pension plans

bmcgovern — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:55:44 +0000

While Blair Richards understands why the industry is moving away from defined benefit pension plans, he worries about what may be lost in the process. When Richards — the chief investment officer at the Halifax Port ILA/HEA pension plan — joined the institutional investor 40 years ago, DB plans were an attractive hiring and retention […]

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45% of U.S. DC plan sponsors considering adding emergency savings options in 2024: survey

bmcgovern — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 20:00:08 +0000

More than two-fifths (45 per cent) of U.S. defined contribution pension plan sponsors say they’re considering implementing emergency savings features, according to a survey from MFS Investment Management. The survey, which polled 1,000 DC plan members and more than 140 plan sponsors, found nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of plan sponsors said they’d take […]

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Expert panel: Risk management, target-benefit framework among themes shaping pension industry in 2024

bwolfe — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 14:00:02 +0000

While it’s impossible to predict exactly how pension case law will evolve in future, one can offer an educated guess at some legislative developments and other issues that may confront pension plan sponsors and administrators in the coming year. Risk management Plan sponsors can expect a continued focus on risk management as a key part […]

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Pension plan sponsors more vigilant of cybersecurity risks when dealing with third-party vendors: expert

bmcgovern — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 14:00:21 +0000

Data management and transference is a key area of risk for pension plan sponsors as the vulnerability of engaging with third parties creates opportunities for cybercriminals, says Jillian Kennedy, a partner at Mercer. According to an online brief published last year by Ernst & Young, third-party service providers hired by public pension plan sponsors tend to […]

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Can IBM’s retirement benefit account revive the traditional DB pension plan?

lbailey — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:00:44 +0000

After closing its defined benefit pension plan nearly two decades ago and replacing it with a less riskier defined contribution plan, International Business Machines Corp. is launching a new retirement benefit account that allows its U.S. employees to have the best of both worlds. Last week, the company ceased its 401(k) matching and one per […]

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Financial market regulators establish committee to implement total cost reporting plan

lbailey — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:00:07 +0000

The Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators is establishing a committee to help implement its total cost reporting plan. The plan aims to increase investor and policy-holders’ awareness of the ongoing costs of owning investment funds and individual segregated fund contracts. The committee, which is comprised of joint forum members and industry representatives, will provide […]

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Head to head: Is it time for DC plan sponsors to quit the balanced fund?

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:59:57 +0000

One defined contribution plan sponsor sings the praises of the traditional balanced fund, while another outlines a different option that better matches risk levels according to plan members’ life stages. Rob Jackett, senior director of finance and administration at Canadian Baptist Ministries Balanced funds are still relevant today for employer-sponsored savings plans. It’s important for employers […]

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Would Brazil’s new bond work in Canada?

Sadie Janes — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:55:21 +0000

RendA+, an innovative bond instrument in Brazil, is serving as a relatively safe asset for defined contribution pension plans and lowering retirement risk, especially for those without a workplace pension plan. At a 2019 retirement security conference held in Brazil, Arun Muralidhar, chairman and chief investment officer at AlphaEngine Global Investment Solutions, proposed the introduction […]

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