Lessons from the U.S. U.S. defined contribution (DC) plans are transitioning from supplemental savings plans to the primary source of retirement income for many employees.…
Education and advice—some insights and learnings. Regulations for advice are framed around a holistic model, although many pension fund members seek advice on a limited…
Providing protection for Canada’s money purchase pension plans. Many employers would like to enhance their employees’ defined contribution (DC) retirement prospects, but may pull back…
Good governance and transitioning to retirement. Increasingly, plan sponsors are transitioning plan members into retirement. In fact, this is a growing responsibility. Statistics Canada states…
Spaced repetition erodes resistance. I am not certain Sir Isaac Newton was thinking of capital accumulation plan (CAP) members when he came up with his…
The case for lifecycle investing. Many Canadians are likely due for a jarring wake-up call come retirement. A closer look at the retirement equation and…
The active versus passive debate. The passive versus active debate has raged for years in defined benefit (DB) circles, and now the growing influence of…
Opportunities and pitfalls. The first part of the presentation focused on the observation that plan sponsors have a tendency to overestimate the importance of short-term…
How DC plan design can help ensure benefits adequacy for members. Much of the focus on enabling defined contribution (DC) plan members to save enough…
A glimpse into the future of Canada’s defined contribution pension plans. Over the years, Hollywood has put forward many versions of what the future might…
Helping Canadians see and shape their retirement reality. Despite the excellent work that’s been done to educate Canadian plan members about retirement and retirement planning,…
Is it an option? Some people think that advice is often given, rarely asked for and seldom used. When it comes to investment advice, group…
The retirement spending challenge. Roughly a generation ago, a number of economic and business trends began shifting retirement savings risk from institutions and employers to…
Delegates at the DC Plan Summit were assigned to teams and instructed to come up with a vision for DC Plans in the year…
When do you want to retire? What level of income will you need? How do you feel toward investment risk? How do you select from…
Most DC plan members aren’t jumping at the opportunity to get financial or investment advice—even if their employers absorb the costs. You’ve probably heard the…
Plan sponsors should focus on managing members’ expectations, not just on benefits adequacy. Whether liability driven investing (LDI) is a new idea or an old…
Nearly 40% of Canadians have access to employer-matched savings programs, but one out of five of them aren’t participating in such programs, according to a…
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)…
A plan sponsor’s guide to help members navigate the DC wilderness when transitioning to retirement. Plan sponsors and recordkeepers often focus on helping defined contribution…
Buying an annuity can be a confusing endeavour for plan members. There are two basic types of annuities—term-certain annuities and life annuities—but there are also…
As pension-related litigation increases, employers who offer defined contribution (DC) plans and group RRSPs require safe harbours, or legal protection or the availability of these…
Recent research confirms that automatic enrollment for new hires can improve initial participation rates, but will they save enough for retirement? A study conducted by…
High personal debt is affecting employees’ ability to save for retirement, according to a study by Fidelity Investments. The study found that one-third of American…
This is the fifth and final article in a series that has revisited the design of hybrid pension plans—plans that deliver the better of a…