Three major pension funds have made significant investments in property and casualty insurance companies in the past six months. What do the transactions suggest about pension plans’ interest in the insurance sector? It’s quite common for “mammoth” pension funds to invest in property and casualty insurers, says Joel Baker, president and chief executive officer of MSA […]
It may be fun for an architect to moonlight as a freelance photographer, but few people want a job title that’s full of slashes, whether as a social media manager/babysitter/barista or a substitute teacher/tutor/Uber driver. Many workers don’t have a choice, however. “In Canada, one of the things we see is employers moving away from […]
Last year was another significant one for the real estate market as British Columbia introduced its tax on foreign buyers and the federal government made another set of changes to mortgage rules. The market remained relatively strong despite the changes, but with the landscape for real estate in flux, many institutional investors are fine-tuning their […]
As we look to the year ahead, there are many dates for professionals in the pension, benefits and investment industries to add to their calendars. Better make it quick, because many of these take effect as soon as the new year arrives. January 1: An increase of $400 (from $54,900 in 2016 to $55,300 in […]
The situation for Canada’s pension industry looked fairly uncertain at the beginning of 2016. A significant portion of the industry was bracing for the implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. The markets were also looking uncertain. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s key index had been trending downwards for the latter half of 2015 and hit […]
The government of Manitoba has introduced legislation to bring pooled registered pension plans to the province, a move first referenced in the throne speech on Monday. The PRPP legislation will build on federal legislation in setting out rules and procedures for establishing the retirement plan, following other provinces that have made PRPPs a voluntary option […]
The government of Manitoba has announced it will introduce pooled retirement pension plans as a new option to help the province’s employees save for retirement. While the government offered scant details about the matter in its throne speech on Monday, it plans to propose PRPP legislation in the next couple of days, according to Duncan […]
With pensions a growing concern for Canadians’ livelihoods, the public has a valid interest in knowing how they’re performing. And when it comes to public pension plans, they represent both a cost to taxpayers as well as a benefit many people will collect from at some point in their lives. But how far should public […]
As most Canadian employees prepare to celebrate Canada’s birthday with a long weekend, some employees are still on the clock on July 1, so employers are being reminded of changes that came into effect last year around Canada Day pay rules. As part of both the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Labour Standards Regulations, […]
As companies consider their options around the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, national employers with staff who work in Ontario and other provinces face additional questions about what to do. Ian Howcroft, vice-president of on the Ontario division of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, has seen members of his organization face questions around internal equity since “now they’ll have a different requirement […]