Draft policy has been issued.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) has issued a draft policy confirming that pension plans are permitted to invest in annuity buy-ins issued by a life insurance company.
In its capacity as plan administrator, Morneau Shepell Ltd. purchased several buy-in annuity contracts for the Stelco Inc. pension plan in July. The goals of the transaction are to preserve the favourable financial position of the plan, ensure fair treatment of all members and maximize benefit protection, said Morneau Shepell in a press release. The Canada Life Assurance Co., […]
When Loblaw Companies Ltd. purchased annuities to reduce the risk in its defined benefit pension plans in January 2017, the $350-million, inflation-linked buyout kicked off a year of significant activity in the Canadian annuity market. Group annuity purchases had reached nearly $2.5 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2017, according to Willis […]
Ford of Canada’s recent transfer of $923 million in pension liabilities to Desjardins Group, RBC Insurance and Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada augurs well for what has been a rapidly expanding group annuity buyout and buy-in market. “As of 2013, the group annuity market amounted to about $1 billion annually,” says Charbel Assal, senior […]
Higher long-term bond yields driven by rising interest rates are lowering the cost of annuity purchases for defined benefit pension plans, says Mary Kate Archibald, a principal at Eckler Ltd. Since January, the cost of an annuity purchase has decreased by between 10 and 15 per cent, as long-term bond yields increased from 1.7 to […]
The Canadian pension risk transfer market registered about $6.6 billion in annuity sales in the second half of 2021, far exceeding the activity of any previous calendar year, according to a new report by Eckler Ltd. It found total annual sales of about $7.7 billion were generated in 2021, with more than $200 million in business […]
Despite market upheaval as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Canadian pension risk transfer market had its third-best year for group annuity transactions, according to Eckler Ltd.’s latest report. By the end of 2020, pension risk transfer market transactions totalled $4.45 billion, only slightly behind 2018’s $4.5 billion but below 2019’s $5.2 billion, noted the report. […]
General Motors of Canada Co. is transferring the longevity risk for $1.8 billion in pension plan liabilities through a group annuity buyout. Jennifer Wright, director of communications at GM Canada, said in a statement that the automaker has been taking steps to reduce risk and strengthen its retirement plans with a view to protecting the […]
Defined benefit pension plans naturally carry a number of risks, from fluctuating interest rates and investments to the lifespan of their plan members. To mitigate those risks, DB plan sponsors are frequently turning to bulk annuity purchases, says Brent Simmons, head of DB solutions at Sun Life Financial. “Funded levels have been on a roller-coaster […]